Utah Jazz's 'Best Kept Secret' Revealed for Upcoming NBA Season

The Utah Jazz have some tricks up their sleeve for the coming year.

Apr 7, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; Utah Jazz guard Collin Sexton (2) shoots a technical free throw during the third quarter against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Kupbens-USA TODAY Sports / Bob Kupbens-USA TODAY Sports

While the Utah Jazz may not be expected to be the most competitive team in the league the next NBA season, that's not to say this roster is void of talent down the depth chart. There's several key names across the squad that enter the 2024-25 year primed to have a big season in Salt Lake City.

The youth movement on this team is the main focus when taking a step back to look at the state of the Jazz, yet a few veteran components on hand will still have a vital part in Utah's rotation, and ultimately, success for the campaign to come.

Of those veterans, writer Grant Hughes of Bleacher Report sees Collin Sexton as the Jazz's biggest kept secret for the upcoming year, crediting him with a considerable case as being the team's second-most valuable player behind Lauri Markkanen

"Lauri Markkanen is the Utah Jazz's undisputed best player, but most wouldn't suspect that the gap between him and Collin Sexton was pretty narrow last season... In fact, Sexton added more to the Jazz's bottom line than Dunn and Walker Kessler (2.3 wins), who ranked fourth, combined... After two years trying to get himself back on the floor consistently, he was finally ready to reintroduce himself to a wider audience last season. Whether Utah ships him out for draft picks or tries to eke out 40-something wins, Sexton has a case as the team's second-most valuable player."

- Grant Hughes, Bleacher Report

Sexton is coming off one of his best seasons in recent memory, averaging 18.7 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 4.9 assists on 48.7/39.4/85.9 shooting splits. He emerged as a top contributor on the offensive end in Utah last season, emerging as the second-leading scorer right behind Markkanen's 24.5 PPG average.

He's a bit of an overlooked portion of this Jazz core at times since he's not exactly part of the new and refreshed youth movement, instead being brought in as an additional piece of the Donovan Mitchell trade in 2022. Since rehabbing his torn meniscus though, he's gotten better each of his two years being in Utah and will look to build onto a third in 2024.

While his role within this new Jazz roster is unknown two months ahead of the season, whether that be back as a starter or returning to a bench role, there's ample reason to expect another near-20 PPG output from the former lottery pick in his age 25-season.

---

Follow Inside The Jazz on Facebook and Twitter/X, and subscribe to YouTube for breaking Jazz news videos and live streams!