The play of Lauri Markkanen was one of the biggest storylines of last season. A career 15-point-a-game scorer up until 2022-23, the seven-foot stretch forward broke out for a career-high 25 points per game on nearly 50/40/90 shooting splits. This resulted in a Most Improved Player award and a surprisingly competitive season from a team that was thought to have been tanking. Rookie Walker Kessler pitched in an excellent defensive season and Jordan Clarkson and Collin Sexton were spark plugs on the offensive end. After exceeding expectations a year ago, Utah now looks to prove that their near play-in berth was not a fluke.
NBA Odds: The Utah Jazz are incredibly weird
