With the summer reaching its conclusion and the preseason fast-approaching, the basketball press is ramping up its NBA coverage. In what has become an annual tradition during this time of year, multiple publications are putting out their player rankings; lists that are tediously crafted by panels of respected hardwood pundits.
In Sports Illustrated’s Top 100 list, the Utah Jazz received a lot of love. All five of the team’s projected starting five appeared in the rankings, with Gordon Hayward and Derrick Favors showing up inside the Top 30.
Rudy Gobert fell just short of that distinction at No.