Utah Jazz Rookie Shines in Blow Out Loss to San Antonio Spurs

The Utah Jazz started forward Kyle Filipowski against the San Antonio Spurs and Victor Wembanyama and despite the blow out loss, the Duke product had a really good game that coudl spark his rookie campaign.

Oct 29, 2024; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz forward Kyle Filipowski (22) holds the ball while Sacramento Kings forward Keegan Murray (13) defends during the second quarter at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images / Rob Gray-Imagn Images

With each passing loss it is evident that the Utah Jazz - who are now 0-5 and the final winless team in the NBA - need to lean into playing the kids. In the 2024 NBA Draft, the Jazz selected Cody Williams, Isaiah Collier and Kyle Filipowski all of whom at one point in the 2024 class were considered lottery picks.

Ahead an impressive game against the Sacramento Kings where Filipowski poured in 12 points, hauled in eight rebounds, dished out two assists, swiped a steal and only picked up one foul in a blow out loss. That was a career night against Sacramento off the bench after being held scoreless in the first three tilts in limited minutes.

After that game against the Kings, and wihile having to matchup with Victor Wembanyama's Spurs, Will Hardy elected to start the Duke rookie big man next to Walker Kessler on Thursday.

In that game, and his first career start, Filipowski played 20 minutes en route to 12 points, five rebounds, and an assist but was hit with a trio of fouls. The rookie big man went 2-for-4 from beyond the arc and only missed one shot inside the arc posting a 5-for-8 shooting performance from the floor.

Filipowski worked well of of Kessler though, this is a pairing you might not see much of in the first five until March as this was a game Larui Markkanen did not play in.

Fellow rookie Cody Williams labored in this game going 0-for-6 from the floor, 0-for-5 from beyond the arc but 2-for-2 at the charity stripe with five rebounds and two assists.

---

Want to join the discussion? Like Draft Digest on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest NBA Draft news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.