Lauri Markkanen Lone Jazz Player to Appear in CBS Sports' Top 100

The Utah Jazz got little representation in the latest league rankings.

Nov 4, 2022; Los Angeles, California, USA; Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen (23) dribbles the ball against Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (6) in the second half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

It's no secret that the Utah Jazz are clearly within a rebuilding phase of their team-building process, and that status remains apparent as the latest player rankings shake out closing into the start of the upcoming 2024-25 NBA season.

The latest news outlet to appear with their player rankings is CBS Sports, stacking up the top 100 players in the league heading into the looming year ahead. The list was topped by Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic for the second straight season, followed by Giannis Antetokounmpo and Luka Doncic to round out the top three.

When it came to the Jazz, their representation was limited, only seeing Lauri Markkanen find his way into the top 100, ranked 31st in the NBA. CBS Sports' Brad Bonkin provided some added praise to Markkanen's game, dubbing him a "seven-foot sniper" with shooting similarities to Kevin Durant:

"Markkanen is 27 years old, just entering his prime, but the Jazz aren't close to competing. You wonder about that marriage of those timelines, but you can bet Danny Ainge has a plan and that Markkanen, a seven-foot sniper who averaged 23 and 8 last season on a better true-shooting clip that Kevin Durant, is central in it."

- Brad Botkin, CBS Sports

Markkanen is coming off another strong season in Utah, averaging 23.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 2.0 assists on an efficient 48.0% shooting from the field and 39.9% shooting from deep in 55 games. He's also fresh off a summer where he inked a well-deserved five-year, $238 million contract extension to stay in Utah long-term.

Beyond Markkanen, the Jazz failed to get any other mentions from the roster. Guys like Collin Sexton and Keyonte George are players who may be worthy of that consideration, yet were ultimately left out of the mix.

Though, heading into the coming season with an added year and summer of progression, there's optimism the Jazz could find better production from their young talent to find more names in the top 100 fold moving forward. Candidates like George, Walker Kessler, Taylor Hendricks, and rookie Cody Williams may have a golden opportunity to take the next step in 2024-25-- effectively steering this rebuild in the right direction.

Regardless of the outlook for this season, it's clear that Utah has a top-tier talent to lean on in Markkanen, and will continue to have him locked in until the 2029 season. Expect another elite, top 100-worthy season from the one-time All-Star for the 2024-25 campaign, and the potential for more to come from the Jazz in the near future.

The Jazz action kicks off in under two weeks, as training camp officially begins on October 1st.

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