Utah Jazz's Mt. Rushmore Features One Noteworthy Snub

When turning the clock back to take a look at the past 25 years of Utah Jazz basketball, who would be the top four names to grace atop the team's Mt. Rushmore for the best players of this century?

That's the question Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes asked for, not just the Jazz, but the entire NBA by sorting out each team's top four players who would be listed among a hypothetical Mt. Rushmore for the most memorable players in recent memory.

So what was the verdict for Utah?

Well, for starters, the first two players Hughes gave the nod to were the easier ones: Rudy Gobert, who won three Defensive Player of the Year awards in a Jazz uniform, and Andrei Kirelenko, a frontcourt staple in Utah's lineup throughout the 2000s.

"Rudy Gobert is the easiest nominee. His 86.6 win shares are nearly 20 more than anyone else who's played for the team since 2000. Another defensive dynamo, Andrei Kirilenko, is a surprising No. 2 in that stat. It's easy to forget because AK-47 left Utah in 2011, but he was among the most impactful defenders in the league for a good half-decade. He also happens to lead all Jazz players with 8,411 points this century."

Beyond those two, though, is where the Mt. Rushmore gets a bit more interesting for Hughes.

With just two more spots left to hand out, Hughes rounds his group of four out by naming a pair of players a part of the Jazz's successes in the late 2000s: Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer.

"Lastly, we're throwing Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer into the final two spots. D-Will's 4,003 assists are nearly double the total of anyone else since 2000, and Boozer made a pair of All-Star games while posting the franchise's only two 20-point, 10-rebound averages since 2000."

Both multi-time All-Stars were a critical part of the Jazz's last roster to reach the Western Conference Finals in 2007, so it's hard to discredit their placement among the best in recent Jazz history. However, those two getting in the mix inevitably leaves one glaring omission: Donovan Mitchell.

Apr 28, 2022; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell (45) warms up prior to the game against the Dallas Mavericks during game six of the first round for the 2022 NBA playoffs at Vivint Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

Sure, Mitchell's time with the Jazz was cut short, only playing five years with the franchise. Sure, Mitchell never quite reached the peak of a Western Conference Finals appearance in Utah, and still hasn't since his trade to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2022.

But regardless of those shortcomings, it's still hard to have a ranking of the best recent Jazz players where Mitchell is not a part of at least the top four.

Mitchell was the offensive engine that drove the latest competitive roster the Jazz have put together to the heights they accomplished, being the consistent force for Utah to land a playof appearance in all five years he was in town.

He was a near Rookie of the Year winner next to Ben Simmons in 2017, claimed an All-Star appearance in three of his five total seasons, and paired alongside Gobert to lead some incredibly talented rosters atop the West.

That, on paper, seems Mt. Rushmore-worthy, even in a tough field to choose four names from, like the Jazz have in their recent history.

If you were asking me who to take off in place of Mitchell, I'd likely lean towards the one-time All-Star in Kirikenko, despite his ability as a consistent world-class defender. Though if anything, it's a testament to the strong talent Utah has had across the past 25 years, even if their current state of the roster doesn't look as appealing.

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