All Bruins

Johnny Juzang Comes Through in Clutch For Utah Jazz in NBA Summer League

The former UCLA star made a quick recovery from a car accident and put up big numbers for his new team.

Sam Connon

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Johnny Juzang made a name for himself closing out games for the Bruins in Indianapolis last year.

The sharpshooter is now doing the same for the Jazz in Las Vegas.

The former UCLA men's basketball guard signed a two-way contract with the Utah Jazz just moments after the 2022 NBA Draft in June, marking the start to his professional career. Juzang's debut in a Jazz uniform was delayed slightly, though, as he was involved in a car accident and held out of his new team's first practices as a precautionary measure.

Juzang was out for the entirety of the Salt Lake City Summer League in concussion protocols, but he made it back on the court when the Las Vegas Summer League began on July 9.

In his professional debut, Juzang played 23 minutes in the Jazz's 72-66 win over the Atlanta Hawks. Juzang shot just 1-of-6 from the field, including 0-of-4 from 3, leaving plenty of points on the table in his first-ever outing.

Juzang was in the starting lineup again Monday night versus the Dallas Mavericks. This time around, Juzang was far more successful from deep, drilling all three of his attempts from beyond the arc.

Juzang's third and final 3 was the biggest of the night, as he received a kickout pass from his teammate and stepped back for a dagger that put the Jazz up four with 35 seconds left in the fourth. The former Bruin finished with 11 points and five rebounds in his breakout summer league performance, clinching a second-straight win for Utah in the process.

The wing guard from Harvard-Westlake School (CA) averaged 15.8 points and 4.4 rebounds per game on .436/.356/.854 shooting splits across his two seasons at UCLA after transferring from Kentucky. Juzang made waves when he led the Bruins to the Final Four in 2021 with 22.8 points per game in the NCAA tournament, and he once again led the team in points per game as a junior en route to a Sweet 16 appearance.

Juzang made the All-Pac-12 Second Team in 2021 before declaring for the draft that spring, only to withdraw at the last minute and return to Westwood. Juzang achieved All-Pac-12 First Team status in 2022, in addition to making the NABC's All-American Third Team to cap off his collegiate career.

The UCLA product will take the court again Wednesday at 4 p.m. against the Toronto Raptors, looking to extend the Jazz's perfect run through the Las Vegas Summer League.

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Sam Connon
SAM CONNON

Sam Connon was the Publisher and Managing Editor at Sports Illustrated and FanNation’s All Bruins from 2021 to 2023. He is now a staff writer at Sports Illustrated and FanNation’s Fastball. He previously covered UCLA football, men's basketball, women's basketball, baseball, men's soccer, cross country and golf for The Daily Bruin from 2017 to 2021, serving as the paper's Sports Editor from 2019 to 2020. Connon has also been a contributor for 247Sports' Bruin Report Online, Rivals' BruinBlitz, Dash Sports TV, SuperWestSports, Prime Time Sports Talk, The Sports Life Blog and Patriots Country, Sports Illustrated and FanNation’s New England Patriots site. His work as a sports columnist has been awarded by the College Media Association and Society of Professional Journalists. Connon graduated from UCLA in June 2021 and is originally from Winchester, Massachusetts.