When you have scored more than 7,000 points for one team, it’s hard to pick a favorite bucket.
Derrick Favors won’t soon forget the straight-away jumper that clinched a decisive Game 6 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2018.
But a simple layup in the third quarter of a regular-season game might now mean just as much. That’s the bucket that moved Favors past Mehmet Okur (7,255) and into 10th place on the Utah Jazz’s all-time scoring list.
“When somebody told me, I took that moment and I took it in, like, ‘Damn! I’m top-10 scoring for an organization,’” Favors said. “It’s a blessing. It’s something I didn’t even think about coming into the NBA or even this year.”
— Derrick Favors (@dfavors14) April 9, 2021
After spending last season in New Orleans, the 29-year-old Favors is now in his 10th season with the Jazz. And while his role is different, the center’s influence in the locker room remains the same.
“It says a lot about him that we brought him back immediately,” said Donovan Mitchell. “Everybody missed him, first and foremost as a person. As a player, he comes in does his job. He’s a pro’s pro. He’s humble, hardworking. If you didn’t say anything, he probably wouldn’t have said a word about breaking into the top-10 list. He just goes out there and does his job every day, and he does it the right way.”
Favors has averaged 11.6 points per game during his 10 seasons with the Jazz. This season, the center is averaging 5.8 as he comes off the bench.
“I think I’ve got everybody’s respect on the team,” he said. “Just the way I carry myself, how I work during practice, the offseason, how I play during the games and don’t complain much. I just accept the role and play it to the best of my abilities and try to always encourage the other guys.”
Those guys will now be encouraging Favors to keep climbing the Jazz leaderboard.
Next up: Deron Williams’ 7,576 points as a Jazzman.
Recent Comments