Kyle Filipowski’s NBA Summer League Foreshadows Year Two Breakout with Jazz

Now over a year into his NBA career, Kyle Filipowski’s journey has been somewhat unexpected. After being projected to be taken in the middle of the first round in the 2024 NBA Draft, the 6-foot-11 big slipped into the second round to the Utah Jazz. 

From there, he was projected to play a fairly significant role as a rookie on a rebuilding team, and quietly had a solid first campaign. He started in 27 games and logged more than 20 minutes per contest on average, converting on 61.4% of his shots inside the arc and 35% from distance. He also pulled down 6.1 boards per game and had a positive assist-to-turnover ratio. There were times he struggled defensively, but Filipowski largely didn’t get as much praise as he deserved as a rookie. 

Now, he’s making a statement. Filipowski has put together an incredible performance in NBA Summer League, foreshadowing what could be a breakout second season. 

In the Salt Lake City Summer League, the 21-year-old was somewhat inconsistent in scoring, but he pulled down 34 rebounds in three games. From there, Filipowski scored 32 points to go along with six rebounds and five assists to kick off his Las Vegas stint late last week against the Charlotte Hornets, followed by scoring 21 points in 24 minutes against the Golden State Warriors on Sunday. The very next night, on Monday against the San Antonio Spurs, he put together a very impressive double-double with 35 points and 11 rebounds. 

There will be plenty of opportunities for Filipowski in Utah during the 2025-26 campaign, which could be a season that he takes a huge step forward. That’s especially true following the trade of John Collins this offseason, making even more room in the frontcourt. 

When considering which players could take a sophomore leap this season, Kyle Filipowski should be near the top of the list.