FanPost

Do the Jazz Have an All-NBA Caliber Player

I made the comment on nc003's fan post that I believe the Jazz have 2 All-NBA caliber players currently on the roster. That comment was dismissed as I "obviously got carried away." I'm willing to admit if that's the case, but I wanted to check and see if my assertion had some substance behind it. I went back over the last 5 years and looked at the All-NBA team members, and compared their stats to those of Hayward, Favors, and Gobert.

I won't post the full table here (it's huge), but I will post certain pieces that should give a decent view of how our guys stack up against the best in the league.

Guards

Hayward is the only player that could potentially sneak in as a guard even though he plays small forward. Here's how he compares to All-NBA guards (multiple All-NBA players stats have been averaged):

PLAYER PTS/36 TRB/36 AST/36 STL/36 BLK/36 TOV/36 PER TS% WS WS/48 OBPM DBPM BPM VORP
Stephen Curry 25.0 4.5 8.5 1.9 0.2 3.6 26.1 0.624 14.6 0.257 8.5 0.2 8.7 7.3
Chris Paul 18.6 4.1 10.2 2.4 0.1 2.3 25.8 0.586 13.8 0.267 7.0 0.4 7.3 5.8
Dwyane Wade 23.6 5.6 4.9 1.7 1.1 2.9 25.3 0.570 10.0 0.212 3.9 1.5 5.4 4.2
Russell Westbrook 25.1 5.6 7.7 1.9 0.3 3.9 24.9 0.536 9.9 0.185 5.4 0.6 6.1 5.2
James Harden 25.1 4.9 6.0 1.7 0.5 3.6 24.4 0.608 14.0 0.231 6.3 0.2 6.5 6.3
Derrick Rose 24.1 3.9 7.4 1.0 0.6 3.3 23.5 0.550 13.1 0.208 5.8 0.1 5.9 6.0
Kobe Bryant 26.2 5.2 5.0 1.2 0.3 3.3 22.9 0.548 9.1 0.161 4.5 -0.9 3.6 3.9
Manu Ginobili 20.7 4.4 5.8 1.8 0.4 2.6 21.7 0.581 9.9 0.195 4.9 0.4 5.3 4.5
Kyrie Irving 21.5 3.1 5.1 1.5 0.3 2.5 21.5 0.583 10.4 0.183 4.7 -1.4 3.3 3.7
Goran Dragic 20.8 3.3 6.0 1.4 0.3 2.9 21.4 0.604 10.3 0.186 4.9 -1.1 3.9 4.0
Tony Parker 21.0 3.1 8.0 0.9 0.1 2.8 21.3 0.561 7.4 0.175 2.9 -1.6 1.3 1.7
Klay Thompson 24.5 3.6 3.3 1.3 0.9 2.2 20.8 0.591 8.8 0.172 3.6 -1.0 2.7 2.9
Gordon Hayward 20.1 5.1 4.3 1.5 0.4 2.8 20.2 0.567 8.7 0.159 3.3 0.1 3.4 3.6
Damian Lillard 20.8 3.5 5.6 0.8 0.3 2.4 18.6 0.568 9.6 0.157 4.4 -1.7 2.7 3.5
Rajon Rondo 11.6 4.7 11.4 1.7 0.1 3.6 17.5 0.483 4.9 0.121 0.6 0.7 1.3 1.6

When looking at per36 stats, Hayward doesn't look great, but he's not the worst in any of the main categories (points/reb/ast/stl/blks/tov). He's also not the worst in any of the advanced stats. He is, however, one of the lowest ranked wings in many of these categories. His stats compare most favorably to Klay Thompson, where Hayward outperformed Klay in rebounds, assists, steals, DBPM, BPM, and VORP. He also fell just short of matching Klay in WS, OBPM, and PER. Basically, if Klay Thompson is an All-NBA player, then Hayward has a case for being at that same level.

Forwards

Favors and Hayward both qualify here. This group is also a bit more crowded than the guard position is, simply because there are a lot of really good forwards in the NBA right now. LeBron James and Kevin Durant are basically guaranteed a spot here if they're healthy, and Blake Griffin is making himself a regular as well. Here's how our guys compare to All-NBA forwards (again, multiple All-NBA players stats have been averaged):

PLAYER PTS/36 TRB/36 AST/36 STL/36 BLK/36 TOV/36 PER TS% WS WS/48 OBPM DBPM BPM VORP
Anthony Davis 24.3 10.2 2.2 1.5 2.9 1.4 30.8 0.591 14.0 0.274 4.2 3.0 7.1 5.7
LeBron James 25.5 6.9 6.6 1.6 0.6 3.3 29.0 0.613 15.1 0.265 7.6 1.9 9.5 7.9
Kevin Durant 27.0 7.0 3.8 1.2 1.0 3.2 27.0 0.620 15.6 0.251 5.8 0.4 6.2 6.1
Kevin Love 25.0 12.4 3.2 0.8 0.5 2.3 26.2 0.580 12.2 0.234 6.2 0.3 6.5 5.4
Pau Gasol 18.9 11.1 3.0 0.5 1.8 1.9 23.0 0.570 12.6 0.210 1.9 2.2 4.1 4.4
Tim Duncan 19.3 11.7 3.5 1.0 2.8 2.3 23.5 0.557 9.0 0.199 0.2 4.7 4.8 3.7
Dirk Nowitzki 23.7 7.3 2.6 0.6 0.6 2.0 22.6 0.588 9.4 0.194 2.8 0.1 2.8 2.9
Blake Griffin 21.8 9.3 4.2 1.1 0.6 2.5 23.1 0.566 10.3 0.192 3.0 1.4 4.4 4.2
Zach Randolph 19.9 12.1 2.2 0.8 0.3 2.0 22.6 0.552 10.5 0.185 2.6 -0.1 2.5 3.1
Derrick Favors 18.7 9.6 1.8 0.9 1.9 1.9 21.8 0.558 8.3 0.175 0.8 1.7 2.4 2.6
Carmelo Anthony 25.9 6.7 3.2 1.0 0.5 2.7 23.0 0.543 7.9 0.172 3.8 -1.2 2.7 2.6
Paul George 19.2 7.0 3.8 1.8 0.5 2.8 18.5 0.543 9.9 0.162 2.4 2.4 4.7 5.0
Gordon Hayward 20.1 5.1 4.3 1.5 0.4 2.8 20.2 0.567 8.7 0.159 3.3 0.1 3.4 3.6
LaMarcus Aldridge 22.2 9.8 2.1 0.8 1.0 1.7 22.0 0.528 9.1 0.158 0.6 0.4 1.0 2.1
David Lee 18.1 11.0 3.5 0.8 0.3 2.6 19.2 0.561 9.1 0.150 1.1 1.5 2.5 3.3
Amar'e Stoudemire 24.7 8.0 2.5 0.9 1.9 3.1 22.7 0.565 8.0 0.134 0.8 -0.1 0.7 1.9

The main thing I noticed here is that Favors regularly outperformed 3x All-NBA player LaMarcus Aldridge in the advanced metrics. Aldridge scores more than Favors, but that makes sense as Aldridge is a 1st option and Favors is behind Hayward. Beyond that, however, the two are almost identical, they're within 0.3 rebounds, assists, steals, turnovers, and PER. That's a really small difference. Favors has a pretty significant advantage in blocks, WS/48, DBPM, and BPM. Basically, Favors is more efficient on offense while providing much better defense. Favors is also pretty close to David Lee, and doesn't look to be that far off of Nowitzki, Stoudamire, or Randolph. He definitely fits into this group.

Hayward's all around game may actually hurt him here. He's near the top in assists and steals, while being the worst rebounder of the group and on the low end of PER and blocks. Everywhere else, he's somewhere in the middle. His raw stats are most similar to Paul George, with rebounding being the only area where he's at a disadvantage. In the advanced stats, George is easily the better defender, but Hayward is easily the more efficient offensive player. Their WS/48 are almost identical. I'd say that Hayward's case may not be quite as strong as Favors, but he still fits almost as well as anyone else on the list.

Centers

Here we have Gobert and Favors. This group seems to be a little different from the others in that a lot of these guys have made their mark on the defensive end. Here you go:

PLAYER PTS/36 TRB/36 AST/36 STL/36 BLK/36 TOV/36 PER TS% WS WS/48 OBPM DBPM BPM VORP
DeMarcus Cousins 25.4 13.4 3.8 1.6 1.8 4.5 25.2 0.545 6.0 0.144 1.4 3.3 4.7 3.4
Al Jefferson 22.5 11.2 2.2 0.9 1.1 1.7 22.7 0.532 7.8 0.146 0.3 1.5 1.8 2.5
Andrew Bynum 19.1 12.1 1.4 0.5 2.0 2.6 22.9 0.594 8.0 0.183 0.7 1.2 1.8 2.0
Derrick Favors 18.7 9.6 1.8 0.9 1.9 1.9 21.8 0.558 8.3 0.175 0.8 1.7 2.4 2.6
Tim Duncan 19.3 11.7 3.5 1.0 2.8 2.3 23.5 0.557 9.0 0.199 0.2 4.7 4.8 3.7
Rudy Gobert 11.4 12.9 1.8 1.1 3.2 1.9 21.6 0.627 9.3 0.206 0.7 5.1 5.8 4.3
Dwight Howard 19.5 13.2 1.6 1.2 2.2 3.2 22.8 0.590 9.4 0.177 -0.2 3.2 3.0 3.2
Tyson Chandler 12.2 10.7 1.0 1.0 1.6 1.8 18.7 0.708 9.5 0.220 1.4 2.8 4.1 3.2
Al Horford 15.7 9.6 3.5 0.8 1.1 1.6 20.7 0.587 10.1 0.179 2.0 2.4 4.4 4.4
Marc Gasol 16.7 8.2 4.1 1.0 1.8 2.2 20.6 0.559 10.9 0.190 1.5 4.0 5.5 5.2
Joakim Noah 12.9 11.5 5.5 1.3 1.5 2.5 20.0 0.531 11.2 0.190 1.1 5.5 6.6 6.1
Pau Gasol 18.9 11.1 3.0 0.5 1.8 1.9 23.0 0.570 12.6 0.210 1.9 2.2 4.1 4.4
DeAndre Jordan 12.1 15.7 0.8 1.0 2.3 1.4 21.0 0.638 12.8 0.217 0.9 3.2 4.1 4.3

Rudy Gobert blends right in to this group. He's top 4 in rebounds, steals, blocks (where he's #1), TS%, WS/48, DBPM, and BPM. Everywhere else but points (where he's dead last) he's in the middle. His stats are closest to DeAndre Jordan. Rudy's the better defender, while Jordan's a better rebounder and little more efficient offensively. What surprised me is how Gobert looks next to 4x All-NBA center Dwight Howard. Howard scores a lot more than Rudy, but the rest of their per36 stats are pretty close. When looking at the advanced stats, Gobert dominates.

Favors is a little tougher. His per36 stats are close to Al Horford and Marc Gasol, but both are much better passers than Favors. Derrick's advanced stats are similar to Andrew Bynum and Al Jefferson. Overall, he's probably closest to Bynum, which is weird, since Bynum is the only All-NBA player who's now out of the league, despite only being 27. If I didn't have the names, I probably couldn't tell which player was Favors, which says he belongs in the group, but it's not as cut and dry as it was with Gobert.

***

Overall, I'd say that all three of Hayward, Favors, and Gobert could be considered All-NBA caliber players, though I'm not convinced Hayward or Favors will ever get that recognition. While All-NBA teams are usually less big-market biased than the All-Star teams, they are still voted on by members of the media, so it may be tough for Jazz players to break into them without a compelling national storyline to draw interest toward the team.

All comments are the opinion of the commenter and not necessarily that of SLC Dunk or SB Nation.