Mo Bamba Giving Utah Jazz Reason to Increase His Minutes

The Utah Jazz's depth within the frontcourt has been depleted throughout the start of the new NBA season, to say the least.

Lauri Markkanen has just gone down with a wrist injury for multiple weeks. Jaren Jackson Jr. has been out since last month. Jusuf Nurkic hasn't even made his season debut due to a preseason foot injury. And on Friday night against the Houston Rockets, the Jazz also saw their starting center Jaxson Hayes leave early due to a knee injury.

It's been far from the optimal start for the Jazz from a health standpoint and from a team success standpoint, as they now stand at just 1-12 through the first 13 games of their season, and currently sit in the middle of an 11-game win streak.

However, despite those multiple injuries suffered within the frontcourt, the Jazz have seen one pleasant surprise shine through the chaos further down the depth chart: and that's been Mo Bamba.

Mo Bamba Has Been Everything the Jazz Could've Hoped For

Throughout the last 10 games for the Jazz, Bamba has slowly crept his way into a nightly rotational role as a backup big netting around 15 minutes a night.

And it's been in those opportunities where Bamba has excelled pretty nicely. He's averaging 7.4 points on strong 73.7% shooting from the field, paired with 5.9 rebounds and 1.9 blocks.

As an interior finisher, screener, rebounder on both ends, and rim protector, he's really been just what the Jazz have needed at the center spot as they've been without multiple key pieces within their rotation.

Jazz head coach Will Hardy spoke about Bamba's play after the team's latest loss to the Rockets, going as far as calling him a "stud" that's stood out, no matter what role he's been put into.

"Mo is a stud. He's given us everything he can every night," Hardy said after Utah's loss to the Rockets. "Again, his role has changed a few times here, and he takes it all head-on."

"He's giving us a ton as a screener and roller, along with some big offensive rebounds. I think his presence around the rim defensively has helped us. He's been great.

Nov 13, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Utah Jazz center Mo Bamba (44) rebounds against the Houston Rockets during the fourth quarter at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Now as the Jazz move deeper into the season without their frontcourt at full capacity, it's become increasingly hard to keep Bamba out of the nightly rotation. And against the Rockets, Utah gave him his second-highest count for minutes of the season so far, that could be a sign of things to come.

That's especially so if Hayes––who went down with a knee injury against the Rockets––is due to miss any extended time moving forward.

Without him, the Jazz's center rotation will be slimmed down to just Bamba, Tony Bradley, and Kyle Filipowski. Bamba will essentially be forced into a bigger role compared to what he's seen through the first few weeks of the new year, and of those three, Bamba has seen the most minutes in Utah's lineup this season by far.

Bamba has played 159 total minutes on the season through the nine games he's been active for, while Bradley and Filipowski have combined for just 114.

Therefore, depending on whether or not Hayes can play for the Jazz's next game against the San Antonio Spurs, don't be surprised to see if Bamba is due to land his first start of the season. And if he does, maybe he's able to keep his play up as strong as he's looked through the past few nights.

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