Breaking down Jordan Clarkson’s Jazz career — and if the Flamethrower has made his last appearance

Utah’s 119-147 loss to Houston marked Jordan Clarkson’s 6th straight game sidelined with a right groin strain. Groin strains are indeed no joke – a regular strain usually heals itself in 3 weeks or more – and Clarkson has been dealing with them since March 13th. The only problem is, this isn’t the first time Clarkson has been sidelined with a sprain.

Let’s go back to March 3, 2023, when the Jazz announced that Jordan Clarkson was sidelined with a “sprained left hand and fourth finger.” This injury would sideline him for the remainder of the 2022-23 season, where the Jazz would win 7 of their final 12 games during that span.

It was pretty clear that this move was purely to allow the Jazz to win more games and play their younger cats, but there’s no denying that Jazz fans feel the same way with Clarkson’s current injury. The difference between the two seasons is the franchise’s attitude toward its future with the team. Clarkson’s $51.2 million contract with Utah Jazz This once seemed like a good deal, as the team hoped to have the same scoring production from him on a rejuvenated roster. Unfortunately, this was not the case. Clarkson went from a 20.8 PPG scorer to 17.4, and his field goal percentage from 44.4% to 41.7%. Now, he’s the subject of the next Jazz player “on the chopping block,” with many fans assuming JC won’t return for the 2024-25 season. To commemorate 5 years as Utah’s guard, I dove into Jordan Clarkson’s key moments in a Jazz uniform.

Utah acquires Jordan Clarkson

It was December 24, 2019. The Utah Jazz held an 18-12 record before the trade announcement and were still trying to build a name for themselves as playoff contenders. Adrian Wojnarowski announced Tuesday afternoon that the Utah Jazz will send former fifth overall pick Dante Exum for the 27-year-old guard from Missouri.

The exchange seemed like an idealistic match. The Jazz needed to take Donovan’s load and gambled on a 14.6 points per game scorer who needed to find a new situation. Utah got a legitimate game-winning piece for a player who probably wasn’t going to play another season for them (shout out to Exum for returning to the Mavericks). And the stage was set: Clarkson would make his Utah Jazz debut on December 26 against the Portland Trail Blazerswhere he would record 9 points on 4-12 shooting in a 121-115 victory.

Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images

“There is a hunger in him. I think he plays with the level of confidence that we need. This is what the former Jazz head coach had to do say about Jordan Clarkson’s performance against Portland, naturally noting that he was “thrown into the fire.”

Clarkson played in 42 games for the Jazz to finish the season, a total of 71 games during a turbulent COVID-19 year. He recorded 15.6 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists on 46.2% FG and 36.6% three-point shooting. It was a good indicator of what was to come for his future on the Jazz.

The Sixth Man of the Year 2020-21

The following season rewarded Clarkson with NBA Sixth Man of the Year honors, making him the first Jazz recipient of this award in franchise history. The decision was probably fairly unanimous, considering its other competitors. His scoring production suddenly increased to 18.4 points per game, helping Utah secure the top seed in the Western Conference with a 52-20 record.

On February 15, 2021, in just 29 minutes, he scored 40 points and made eight three-pointers, tying a career high. He marked one of 3 players since 1984 scoring 40 or more points in 29 minutes or fewer coming off the bench for just the third time since 1983-84.

It was obvious that Clarkson loved being a Jazzman and that the Jazz loved Jordan Clarkson. Despite a disappointing end to the postseason, the team was poised to make Clarkson a go-to player off the bench.

“This team is just incredible, how we bonded… You only get an opportunity like this once or twice. This organization, this team definitely has a different feel. – Jordan Clarkson after winning the 2020-21 NBA Sixth Man of the Year award

A change of role

Fast forward to the 2022-23 season, where Jazz All-Stars Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, head coach Quin Snyder, as well as key player Bojan Bogdanovic, have all been moved away from Utah after redirection complete franchise. Mike Conley was then traded to Minnesota at the trade deadline. The only Jazzman left? Utah’s Jordan Clarkson, who was the essence of jazz culture and lifted the spirits of jazz fans with every game played at the Delta Center.

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Clarkson was introduced into the starting lineup by Jazz rookie head coach Will Hardy, a role he had never played before with the team since before his acquisition. And for a while, it worked. The team started the season off to a wonderful 11-3 start – with NBA fans everywhere talking about the red-hot Jazz. As previously mentioned, Clarkson’s point production jumped to 20.8 points per game and ranked 12th among the NBA in total points scored in the clutch (120).

I am starting to separate myself from that Sixth Man guy and become a trusted starter and someone who can make plays, can score points in a group. If the game needs to happen at a certain time or if the lead needs to be extended, I think all those times this year I’ve answered. -Jordan Clarkson

Eventually, the Jazz settled down and finished with a record (which they should have expected) of 37-45. Utah traded players Mike Conley, Jarred Vanderbilt, Malik Beasley and Nickeil Alexander-Walker in a trade so the team could realistically build a future contender. Clarkson missed the final 12 games of the regular season with a sprained left fourth finger.

But one thing was clear: Jordan Clarkson had to stay. Utah was quick to re-sign Jordan Clarkson to a 4-year/$51.2 million contract with the Utah Jazz over the summer, bringing back the flamethrower for a few more years as an offensive spark .

Clarkson’s role during the 2023-24 season hasn’t been affected as much, but Utah’s victories have been short-lived. They were 8-16 in their first 24 games with injuries to Markkanen, Kessler and George. But once things improved with a healthy roster, the Jazz returned to 22-20 on January 16. But on January 1, 2024, the impossible happened.

One of Clarkson’s most memorable moments during that stretch was unanimously breaking Utah’s triple-double drought that had lasted since 2008, set by Carlos Boozer. That streak was finally snapped on New Year’s Day when JC posted an incredible 20 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists in a blowout win over the Dallas Mavericks. Clarkson’s first career triple-double is only the 25th in Jazz history and the 3rd in league history among players coming off the bench.

“Honestly, I’m the longest-serving senior player here. Yeah, just break this record, seeing all the teams and guys, it’s crazy. I played with Carlos Boozer. It was just good. This is a very interesting stop to put on my list. -Jordan Clarkson

The current dilemma

Utah’s hot streak didn’t last long. The franchise opted to send more veterans, namely Kelly Olynyk and Simone Fontecchio, out of the lineup to face their younger ones for a second straight season. What is Jordan Clarkson’s place in this youth revolution? Well, he didn’t.

His last game played came on March 13 in a 123-107 loss to Boston. In potentially his last game in a Jazz uniform, he collected 21 points, 2 assists and 1 steal in 33 minutes on the bench.

There is a lot of speculation that Jordan Clarkson has thrown in the towel this season and could potentially sit out the final 11 remaining games of the season. It’s important to note that Jordan Clarkson’s five-year tenure is one of the most notable we’ve seen as an actor, and he’s an integral part of modern jazz culture. And if we finally saw the end of its run, then it was certainly a fun ride.

Where does Jordan Clarkson rank in the Jazz Career Leaders:

• 4th in Triples (737)
• 20th in points (5381)
• 19th in assists (967)
• 6th in usage percentage (27.5)
• 5th* in Triple-Double (1)

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