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Can the Utah Jazz land a star with the 9th pick of the draft? Here’s what history says

Ryan McDonald
·4 min read
Utah Jazz’s Gordon Hayward (20) drives past Charlotte Hornets’ Kemba Walker (15) during an NBA basketball game in Charlotte, N.C., Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2016. Hayward was a No. 9 pick in the NBA draft.

With just over two weeks to go until the June 22 NBA draft, there is debate about just how good of a player the Utah Jazz will be able to land with the ninth pick, assuming they don’t trade it.

The Jazz are in search of star talent, but will they get such a player at No. 9? Every draft is different in terms of the overall strength of it, and no one knows how players are going to pan out, but perhaps history can be an indicator of the Jazz’s chances of landing a star.

Here’s a look back at the last 25 players who have been taken with the ninth pick of the draft, broken down into tiers.

* Denotes still active

10x+ All-Stars

  • Dirk Nowitzki (1998): Drafted 25 years ago out of Germany, Nowitzki became one of the greatest players in NBA history. He is sixth all-time in points scored, was named to the league’s 75th Anniversary team, was an NBA Finals MVP and a 14-time All-Star.

Multitime All-Stars

  • Shawn Marion (1999): “The Matrix” was a four-time All-Star selection and garnered All-NBA Third Team honors in 2005 and 2006.

  • Amar’e Stoudemire (2002): After jumping straight from high school to the NBA, Stoudemire went on to be named Rookie of the Year, an All-Star six times and All-NBA five times (one First Team honor in 2007 and four Second Team honors).

  • Joakim Noah (2007): Noah was named an All-Star just twice (2013 and 2014), but in 2014 he finished fourth in MVP voting and was named Defensive Player of the Year.

  • DeMar DeRozan* (2009): Still an excellent player in the league, DeRozan has been named an All-Star six times (including this year), and All-NBA three times — Second Team twice and Third Team once.

  • Kemba Walker* (2011): An All-Star four straight years from 2017-2020, Walker was also named All-NBA Third Team in 2019.

  • Andre Drummond* (2012): An All-Star in 2016 and 2018, Drummond was also named All-NBA Third Team in 2016 and has led the league in rebounding four times.

1x All-Stars

  • Andre Iguodala* (2004): Although Iguodala has been named an All-Star just once (2012), he was a key player on four Golden State Warriors championship teams and won Finals MVP in 2015.

  • Gordon Hayward* (2010): Hayward developed into an All-Star with the Jazz in 2017, but injuries have severely hampered him since then.

Starters/quality backups

  • Joel Przybilla (2000): Was in the NBA for 13 seasons, and although he missed a lot of games, he started the majority of the ones he played in.

  • D.J. Augustin* (2008): Although he’s just 5-foot-11, Augustin remains in the league and has appeared in at least 70 games in seven seasons.

  • Jakob Poeltl* (2016): One of the more underrated big men in the NBA, the former Utah Runnin’ Ute started his career as a reserve but has been a full-time starter the past three seasons.

  • Rui Hachimura* (2019): Hachimura could qualify for the category below, but through four seasons, he has started 127 of the 210 games he’s played in and averaged 12.5. points per contest.

To be determined

  • Deni Avdija* (2020): Has played 212 games with 80 starts and has averaged 8.1 points per game.

  • Davion Mitchell* (2021): Has only missed 12 games in two seasons but saw his production decline in his second year compared to his rookie campaign.

  • Jeremy Sochan* (2022): Sochan has the tools to be an excellent player and averaged exactly 11 points per game as a rookie while playing in 56 games (53 starts).

Didn’t/hasn’t panned out

  • Ike Diogu (2005): Was in the league from 2005-2012 but didn’t play more than 42 games in any season after a rookie year in which he played in 69.

  • Noah Vonleh* (2014): Is still in the league, but outside of three somewhat decent seasons, hasn’t done much.

  • Kevin Knox Jr.* (2018): Has bounced around four teams since January of 2022 after 3.5 rather nondescript seasons with the New York Knicks.

  • Dennis Smith Jr.* (2017): Was on his fifth team in six years last season, but had a bit of a resurgence, as he appeared in 54 games for the Charlotte Hornets.

  • Trey Burke (2013): Traded to the Jazz on draft night in 2013, Burke had a few bright moments but mostly didn’t produce much and played in the NBA G League last season.

  • Frank Kaminsky* (2015): Is still in the league, but hasn’t played in more than 47 games in a season since 2018.

Busts

  • Rodney White (2001): Was out of the league by 2005.

  • Mike Sweetney (2003): Was out of the league by 2007.

  • Patrick O’Bryant (2006): Was out of the league by 2010.