Jazz's Taylor Hendricks Drops Bold Message Ahead of Year Two Campaign

The Utah Jazz's lottery pick from last summer is ready for his next challenge.

Oct 7, 2024; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz forward Taylor Hendricks (0) reacts to dunking the ball against the Houston Rockets during the third quarter at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images / Rob Gray-Imagn Images

Heading into their looming 2024-25 campaign, the Utah Jazz will be eyeing several players on their roster, projecting to be a group mixed with valuable veteran contributors, along with a variety of young talents primed to make a jump during the season to come.

One of those young players to keep a keen eye on for the few months ahead is none other than Utah's lottery selection from the 2023 NBA Draft, Taylor Hendricks, who has the stage set for a big-time sophomore season after a limited, yet productive rookie year.

Hendricks recently spoke to the media ahead of his second-year pro, where the 10th-overall selection from a year ago had a renewed sense of confidence to express this season:

“I feel way more confident heading into year two," Hendricks said. "Just having that year of experience under my belt, knowing what to expect, having around the same group of guys and the close-knit bond that we have. I feel just ready.”

While it may just be two games into the preseason, we've already begun to see some key signals surrounding Hendricks's pending second-year jump. Head coach Will Hardy opted to place Hendricks in the starting lineup from day one alongside Lauri Markkanen and Walker Kessler in the frontcourt, and so far, it's led to two wins and a couple of productive performances to pair with it.

Hendricks has made it clear that he's been busy in his preparation across this offseason, expressing an apparent emphasis on getting stronger and filling into his frame, ultimately leading to the 20-year-old seeing over a 20-pound increase this summer.

“That was an emphasis for me heading into year two," Hendricks continued. "I really wanted to work on my body, just because I know the role I’m going to be playing and I feel like my body is going to be a big part of that, my physicality. So I really just took that challenge and really worked on it.”

Combining his extended opportunity and his offseason progressions, it's easy to expect big things from Hendricks during his second-year pro. We'll see if he can live up to those expectations.

Hendricks and the Jazz will take on their third of six preseason games on Thursday, as they'll travel for their first road battle of the year vs. the Dallas Mavericks.

---

Follow Inside The Jazz on Facebook and X.

Subscribe on YouTube for breaking Jazz news videos and live streams!