There’s been a Talen Horton-Tucker sighting. The second-year Jazzman was spotted at the Chi League Pro Am in Chicago, showcasing the reasons he’ll have a shot of being the Utah Jazz starting point guard on opening night.
Horton-Tucker’s future with the Jazz was up in the air due to having the option of testing the 2023 free-agent market. But when the rubber met the road, he decided to bet on himself, giving him at least one more year with the Jazz.
'THT' spoke on his first season with the Jazz at his end-of-season press conference.
“I love it here, honestly. Just being able to—you guys are great, honestly,” Horton-Tucker said back in April. “I got an opportunity here. I’m appreciative of that. I don’t know anybody who wouldn’t love it.”
Horton-Tucker will be a name to keep a close eye on when Jazz training camp starts on October 2. Despite some efficiency issues and a high turnover rate, THT still made a case that he should be Utah’s point guard of the future.
In the month of March, he averaged 18.1 ppg while dishing out 6.1 assists. It’s a small sample size, but at only 22 years old, there’s still more room to grow.
Horton-Tucker spoke on his summer plans to take his game to the next level.
“I really just want kind of to keep my development process on the right path,” Horton-Tucker said. “So I feel it’s like just continue to work throughout the summer. [I’ll] probably take a few vacations later in the summer before we go back. I just want to continue to get better. Just seeing myself and seeing what I was able to accomplish the last half of the season, I feel like it was just scratching the surface.”
Indeed, Horton-Tucker turned some heads last year, including a 37-point performance versus the Charlotte Hornets, followed by a season-high 41 points against the San Antonio Spurs. He can be a matchup nightmare against smaller guards in the league due to his 235-pound frame paired with a 7-foot-1 wingspan.
The Achilles heel in THT's game is his three-point shooting efficiency. When shooting from long distance, he's a career 28% three-point shooter, while only knocking down 28.6% in his first year in Salt Lake City.
That said, there’s still too much upside not to give Horton-Tucker a fair shake to be the future point guard. THT touched on his first career opportunity to play the one at season’s end.
“I always felt like I could be a point guard in the NBA,” Horton-Tucker said. “I just never got the opportunity. I feel like just using this second half—it just really got the opportunity for myself to see where I am as an NBA player. So I feel like I’m going to go into the summer preparing to be a point guard. Just going into—trying to be the best at that position.”
The competition will be stiff to earn the starter’s role, with five potential candidates vying for minutes at the one. Collin Sexton, Jordan Clarkson, Kris Dunn, and Keyonte George are also plausible solutions to be the opening night starter.
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