From scorer to leader, Clarkson is maturing right before our eyes
Jordan Clarkson is a certified bucket-getter, but the Filipino-American scoring machine is proving he’s not a one-dimensional player. And Gilas Pilipinas fans should be elated.
Clarkson was forced to don the leader mantle for the Utah Jazz following an overhaul last summer that saw franchise duo Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert shipped to different teams.
The 2021 Sixth Man of the Year was elevated to starter and showed improvement in all facets. With increased minutes, JC not only upped his points to career high, his percentages and rebounds also increased from last season’s.
More importantly, Clarkson has proven that he can be a better facilitator with career best assists of 4.5 per game—almost double from his career average.
“The game is slowing down picking up points throughout the game, being aggressive and also being aggressive for my teammates. It’s more of being aggressive, drawing defenders and making the next play,” Clarkson said in a one-on-one interview with Boom Gonzalez of Cignal TV.
(Video courtesy of NBA Philippines)
That’s music to Filipino hoops fans who fear the Gilas Pilipinas offense might turn stagnant with an iso-oriented scheme with Clarkson at the helm.
Clarkson for his part knows being a leader requires not only putting buckets through the net.
“I think I did a good job of controlling that. To have the opportunity to do it, this year as a starter. I think it prepared me for this moment, being a sixth man, in that role, I think I was a complete scorer and just got baskets, but here I have greater responsibilities.”
Jordan Clarkson is expected to lead the national team in the 2023 FIBA World Cup this coming August to September, but before that, the combo guard is laser-focused on making the NBA Playoffs.
Utah shocked the league after starting on top of the West in the first weeks of the season, only to crash below the top eight during the holidays.
Clarkson, though, expects the Jazz to make good music these coming weeks to reclaim their spot.
“I’ve seen a lot of growth in us. I think the second half of the season, we’ll really see us kicking in the gears, stringing some games, going on a good win streak that will bring us back to the top in the West.”