A heartfelt goodbye to Derrick Favors from all of us at SLC Dunk

Derrick Favors has been the connective tissue from the post-Deron Williams era to the Quin Snyder era to the Donovan Mitchell-Rudy Gobert era. He was selfless. A former number three pick in the NBA Draft, he was humble enough to allow a young player like Rudy Gobert to usurp him in the lineup. He was patient when injuries limited him. He was clutch when the Utah Jazz needed him in the playoffs. He was fine with finishing games on the bench or on the floor. He was a Jazzman through and through.

With the news that Derrick Favors will soon be released to make room for Bojan Bogdanovic, we here at SLC Dunk wanted to compile together all of our memories of the longest tenured Jazzman of the past Utah roster. Here are our memories.

“Shoutout to his crazy game against Miami a few winters ago with 7 blocks with Rudy out”

I absolutely adored Faves - the biggest memory of him was stepping up in Game 2 against OKC in the 2018 playoffs and his amazing play stepping up through injury to power us through the 2017 series against the Clips. Shoutout to his crazy game against Miami a few winters ago with 7 blocks with Rudy out and everyone loving Whiteside at the time.

- @acheng98

“The thing that stands out most to me is how steady the man is.”

The thing that stands out most to me is how steady the man is. No matter how bad things looked for us, Derrick came to play every night, even when everyone thought he was trade bait. Total pro. Also, I loved and hated how he'd mess with us around FA/trade deadline time. Hope he finds a great landing spot--as long as it isn't the Lakers.

- Dan

“When the Jazz needed him the most, he delivered”

There was a time when Derrick Favors was the best player on the Jazz roster. Always dependable and always reliable. His role was eventually decreased and he never got the credit he truly deserved. I loved his big playoff performances the last few years. He stepped up when he was needed and was a huge part of Utah’s playoff success. As one of the longest tenured players in the entire league, it will be so weird (and terrible) to see him in a different uniform. But I am so excited for him to be a starting center and show the league what he can really do. All the best Favs!

- Tavan

“He was the one constant amidst all the transition since Sloan left.”

Favors is one of my favorite Jazz players. He was the one constant amidst all the transition since Sloan left. Favors always played with heart. He never played for himself. He played for the team. No matter the role that he was asked to play he did it with that million dollar smile on his face. I will miss Favors and I will always be cheering for his success.

“A total pro’s pro and a humble guy.”

Favors was one of my favorite Jazz men during his time in Utah. He just quietly went about his business, many times playing out of position or in a decreased role. A total pro’s pro and a humble guy.

My favorite memory of Derrick... after a long, hard-fought game (I’m pretty sure it went to overtime), Favors was doing a post-game interview on the court. He was clearly tired and wanted to get back to the locker room to shower, change, and head home. After his interview finally finished, he started heading towards the locker room when a young Jazz fan waved at him. Favors stopped, walked over to this young fan, and talked with him for a few moments while signing some jerseys or hats or something. Such a lovable guy and a great basketball player - even when he was the square peg being forced into a round hole (UDQM)

- Jordan Cummings

“Night in and night out he did what was asked of him and what was best for his team.”

Team is Everything? Na, Derrick Favors is everything. Night in and night out he did what was asked of him and what was best for his team. When I think of Derrick Favors, I think of him coming up huge in big games. I think of the huge grin on his face as he embraced Donovan Mitchell after their playoff victory over OKC last season. I think of a guy that’s a true professional someone the kids can look up to. I also think of him posterizing fools and pounding his chest while screaming “Y’ALL CAN’T F*** WITH ME”. love u faves.

- Taylor Griffin

“If there’s one memory that has to come to mind, it would be his play in the 2016-17 playoff series against the Clippers.”

It’s hard to nail down a singular thing that makes me love Derrick Favors. It’s a long list of little things that made him my favorite Jazzman for years and the only player whose jersey I owned (until I added a Gobert one to the mix a year or so back). There were few things that made me smile more than seeing Favors get his hands on the ball under the hoop, wind up, and unleash a thunderous two-hand hammer over the mere mortals who dare oppose him.

If there’s one memory that has to come to mind (and there will be many in the coming weeks), it would be his play in the 2016-17 playoff series against the Clippers, specifically game one. Rudy Gobert played all of 17 seconds before leaving with an injury. Favors stepped up and guarded Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan. Favors wasn’t at his healthiest and it showed, but the heart he displayed in (somewhat) slowing down two dominant All-Star bigs won’t be forgotten to this man.

- Jason Walker

“Favors consistently shut up the haters even when those haters were me.”

Derrick Favors always played with heart, but one memory of mine that stands out is when Derrick Favors literally called me out on twitter. Derrick Favors had had a rough few weeks. On the SLC Dunk account I had tweeted out that he was having a rough game. This was during the Gordon Hayward days. Derrick Favors ended up finishing with an amazing game.

After the game, he found that tweet and responded “lmao” to the account. Derrick Favors didn’t have to say much. I doubted him. I was wrong.

Derrick Favors had to fight for minutes with a glut of big men, had to fight through injuries, had to fight through the NBA’s three point revolution, and, despite all that, he is considered one of the best big men in the NBA. Derrick Favors humbled me that game. He ended up being a big part of Utah’s success that postseason against the Clippers when Gobert went down. Favors fought through injuries in that series to help complete the upset. Derrick consistently shut up the haters with his play on the court even when those haters were me. He was Jazz DNA. He will be missed.

- Mychal Lowman

Once a Jazzman, always a Jazzman. Goodbye, Derrick.