Utah Jazz's Kyle Filipowski Talks Challenges of Coming Off Bench

Through the first part of his second season with the Utah Jazz, big man Kyle Filipowski has remained a key fixture off the bench as a contributor in the frontcourt for just over 20 minutes a night.

And within those first 20 games, Filipowski has made an emphasis to "recalibrate his shot." While he was a 50% shooter from the field and logged 35% from three in his rookie season, the Jazz big man wanted to build even better habits as a shooter moving forward into his career to take his game to the next level.

Right now, he's still working through the motions of those tweaks, shooting a bit of a lesser percentages from his rookie year at 43.9% from the field and 32.7% from deep with 8.7 points per game.

But when asking Filipowski, he still feels like his shot is feeling good, even through the challenges that may pair with coming off the bench.

"It feels good," Filipowski said of his shot. "You know, there's sometimes, just in the moment, you may not catch it the best, or, you're coming off the bench, you have to stay ready."

"You're not warmed up, per se. Like, you're warming up right before the game, and, you're getting your 20 shots or something. You're coming in, you have to be ready."

Dec 1, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz forward Kyle Filipowski (22) puts the ball up to the basket during the second quarter against the Houston Rockets at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Chris Nicoll-Imagn Images | Chris Nicoll-Imagn Images

"So, it's always a challenge, obviously, but, you know, that's what putting in all the work's for; putting in that time, putting in that effort, and being really intentional with your shooting during practices and workouts, just for moments like that. To just, you know, feel the most confident you can at the moment."

Kyle Filipowski Continuing to Work on His Shot in Year Two

In his first six weeks of the season, Filipowski has actually performed better off the bench than he has in his five games as a starter, averaging more points on higher efficiency with about two more rebounds a night as part of the second unit as well.

There are nights where Filipowski does have the opportunity to fill in for the starting five, but when the Jazz are at full health, he's able to slot into the second unit behind the trio of Ace Bailey, Lauri Markkanen, and Jusuf Nurkic, offering a welcomed presence on the offensive side of the ball.

Especially with his ability as a facilitator with size, he can open up Utah's scoring to be even more effective when he's on the floor showing quality vision. That offensive effectiveness gets even better when he can space the floor on a consistent basis.

The scoring and efficiency are bound to come around for Filipowski. He showed he was more than capable of scoring at a high rate when he was the focal point of the Jazz's offense just a few months ago in summer league.

As he continues to work on his shot and get comfortable in year two, that process could take a bit more time to come to form, but the flashes are there to have some steady confidence in what his potential holds moving forward.

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