I Did a Deep Dive on Jaxson Hayes. Here’s What I Learned.

Do you remember how nice it was when the Jazz used to have a good defense? I won’t blame you if you say no – 2022 was the last defense Utah has put forth that has been above league average, and even then, everyone knew it was a paper tiger. In recent years, the Jazz haven’t even had the luxury of a fool’s gold defense; over the past 4 years, the Jazz have been rated the 23rd, 30th, 30th, and 29th best defenses, respectively. While frustrating to watch, it was permissible (and maybe even advantageous) for these tanking iterations of the team. But now? The Jazz expect to win, and win they will not unless that defense takes a major step forward. And if defenses are really built on the shoulders of giants, then whichever free agent center Utah brought in this offseason had better be a real gamechanger.

This is, admittedly, an unfair expectation for new Jazzman Jaxson Hayes. However, it is true that competent teams often rely on competent big men – my pick for the best 4 teams last season (Spurs, Thunder, Knicks, Timberwolves) each fielded 48 minutes of above-average center minutes. Hayes will likely be asked to play similar minute totals to fellow Western backups, such as Luke Kornet and Jaylin Williams, and a certain level of dependability is a must if the Jazz want to at least competitively spar with these rival clubs.

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The question that naturally follows, then, is “Can he do it?”. In an attempt to find an answer, I went on a journey. NBA.com offers the wonderful feature to watch the plays that accompany every one of a players box score statistics from a season, and of that I took full advantage in conducting my comprehensive Jaxson Hayes deep dive. I streamed each of his shot attempts, assists, steals, blocks, and turnovers, all in very quick succession, to supplement the understanding of his game that I already held with me as a dedicated fan of the NBA. Now, out of the goodness of my heart, I’ll present my findings from this statistical expedition, so no other Jazz fan will have to repeat this rather repetitive task.

Before I begin, Jaxson Hayes’s personal history requires a disclaimer. This…

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Publish date : 2026-08-15 22:53:00

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