Former Utah Jazz Fan Favorite Calls It a Career

As of today, Paul Millsap has officially retired from the NBA after last appearing in the 2021-2022 season with Brooklyn and Philadelphia.

With that said, it’s a great time to look back on the former Utah fan favorite.

Paul Millsap was drafted by the Utah Jazz in 2006 with the 47^th overall pick, a spot where expectations weren’t necessarily high.

Utah was entering year two of the Deron Williams era and had expectations to surpass the 41-41 record posted in 2005.

The Jazz had went out and acquired veteran point guard Derek Fisher to pair with Williams, and resigned Matt Harpring to add more depth to a loaded frontcourt consisting of Mehmet Okur and Carlos Boozer.

With a starting 5 of Deron Williams, Derek Fisher, Andrei Kirilenko, Carlos Boozer and Mehmet Okur, Utah was ready to make some noise.

They drafted that off season for team needs rather than future prospects or potential franchise changers.

With the 14^th overall pick, Utah nabbed Ronnie Brewer, an athletic defensive minded wing from Arkansas.

With two picks in the 2^nd round, the Jazz had back to back selections with pick 46 and 47.

Deep into the 2^nd round, few expect to find gold, let alone a player who will even make it past training camp.

So with pick 46, Utah took Dee Brown out of Illinois, a guard and former teammate of Deron Williams.

Brown would do what many in selected in that draft spot would do, fizzle out of the NBA within years logging only 68 career games, 49 with the Jazz.

The next pick, Paul Millsap, came out of Louisiana Tech University, the former home of Jazz legend Karl Malone.

Despite being one of the best rebounders in college hoops for his run with the Bulldogs, Millsap fell down the draft ranks as an undersized power forward with less athleticism than his peers.

Then Utah decided not to overthink it.

Besides, Millsap wasn't expected to do anything other than look cool, and watch Utah’s established frontcourt go to work.

Except that didn’t happen. Jerry Sloan didn’t see a project or a development piece or a player unfit for the big leagues, he saw a ball player and an efficient one at that.

He logged 9 minutes an opening night against the Rockets grabbing 2 boards and scoring 2 points on 2 shots and would be fully entrenched in the rotation by game six of his rookie season.

The Jazz went 51-31 in Millsap’s rookie season and made an appearance in the Western Conference finals before being dispatched by the San Antonio Spurs.

Paul Millsap wasn't just there for Utah’ success but was a major contributor to it as a rebounder and defender.

His rookie season saw the 47^th pick finish 3^rd on the team in total rebounds per game, 2^nd in blocks, 2^nd in offensive rebounds, 4^th in effective field goal percentage and 3^rd in field goal percentage, all while coming off the bench for 81 of 82 games.

Millsap would finish 6^th in rookie of the year voting finishing above players like LaMarcus Aldridge and Rajon Rondo.

That first year set the tone for Millsap who would end up making exceeding expectations the norm.

Paul played 6 more seasons in Salt Lake City, putting on a Jazz uniform 540 times, starting 265 games.

Millsap would finish his Jazz tenure in 2013 with averages of 12.4 PPG, 7 total rebounds, 51.6 percent shooting from the field. 1.8 assist and 1 block per contest.

Utah didn’t much allow Millsap to extend his shot beyond the arc and he never much tried on 0.2 attempts a game, unless you look at his 46 point outburst in Miami, a sign that Utah maybe should have let him shoot more.

His time in Utah would see him get votes for sixth man of the year and most improved player, but it wouldn't be until the 2013-2014 season on his new deal with the Atlanta Hawks that he would claim hardware.

Millsap was named an All-Star that season and three season after for 4 total All-Star appearances.

Those 4 years in Atlanta saw Millsap shoot nearly 47 percent from the field with a 34 percent three point shot on about 3 attempts a game.

That put him at averages of 17.2 points to mix with 3.2 assists and 8.5 total rebounds.

Although many NBA fans will remember Millsap of Atlanta or even later in his career with Denver, Millsap was first appreciated by Utah Jazz fans.

Paul ends his career with the following impact in the Jazz history books:

10^th in 2 Point FG Attempts

6^th in total offensive rebounds

10^th in total rebounds

8^th in steals

10^th in field goal percentage.

10^th in offensive win shares and defensive win shares

8^th in overall win shares.

Paul Millsap was valuable to any team he suited up for, and for Jazz fans they can say they were some of the first to truly see how impactful a player like Paul can be, regardless of draft status or size.