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Oct 15, 2024; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz forward Taylor Hendricks (0) reacts to a play against the Sacramento Kings during the third quarter at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images Rob Gray-Imagn Images

Utah Jazz's Taylor Hendricks Makes Bold Claim on His NBA Future

Originally posted on Utah Jazz on SI | By Jared Koch | Last updated Oct 1, 2025 11:00 AM ET

The Utah Jazz will finally be able to see their lottery pick from two summers ago in Taylor Hendricks taking an NBA floor once again this year, following his lengthy recovery from a season-ending leg injury last season.

Heading into what will be Hendricks' third year in the league, albeit coming fresh off a limited sophomore campaign, he's clearly ready for what the season ahead will bring and antsy to get back in the mix after a near calendar year of being forced to the sidelines.

"I was almost tearing up, because it's been so long," Hendricks said of playing basketball again during Jazz media day. "I was just so grateful to finally be able to move around again, and run up and down the court, and be tired, and all of those emotions."

And after months and months of extensive rehab and getting in the lab to get right for the season ahead, Hendricks still has his hopes set high on being a major difference maker in the league, especially on the defensive side of the ball.

The 9th-overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, the Jazz brought Hendricks in as someone who could be a wildly impactful and versatile defender. He's lengthy, athletic, twitchy, and has shown clear signs of having the upside of being a top-end contributor on the defensive end throughout the league.

But Hendricks doesn't have hopes of just being a good defender. He believes he can be the best in the NBA, and that starts with proving himself to the Jazz staff through training camp.

"I just want to continue to build my reputation of being the best defender," Hendricks said. "I feel like I can be the best defender in the league. So, that comes with first proving that to the coaching staff here, and them trusting me moving forward. But, that's what I want to accomplish in camp right now."

Despite sitting on the sidelines for the past year, Hendricks clearly hasn't lost confidence in what he could bring to the table for the Jazz.

At 21 years old, in the grand scheme of the Jazz rebuild, he's still an extremely young player with tons of potential to take his game up another notch through the course of the 2025-26 campaign. That also relies on his health making a full recovery with a bounce-back third-season pro, but to this point, signs seem to be pointing in the right direction for that being well within the cards.

In the meantime, while Hendricks gets right with the rest of the roster for year three, he'll have one other critical goal in mind: just get back to having fun.

"I just want to get back to having fun. I feel like when you're having fun out there and playing off instinct. That's the best you're playing; they call it flow state. So, that's really what I'm trying to get back to. It's been a while since I've played in an actual game. It's pretty much having fun, working hard, and bonding with my teammates while doing it."

This article first appeared on Utah Jazz on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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