It’s been quite the season for Jordan Clarkson.
Just 20 games in and he’s the leading catalyst for the surprising Jazz. Despite adding 10 new players and a new head coach — and one of the league’s most difficult schedules — Utah sits at 12-8 and in fourth place in the Western Conference (.5 game out of first).
While Clarkson has been having a career year, averaging career-highs in points and assists, he added another accolade on Wednesday night.
With a shot from beyond the arc early in the third quarter against Detroit, Clarkson moved up to fifth all-time in made three-pointers in Jazz history. He currently sits at 551 made three-pointers in 209 games, his fourth season in Utah.
He passed former teammate Bojan Bogdanovic to move into fifth place. Ironically, Bogdanovic had a great view of the shot as he was playing for the Pistons at the time.
“That would be pretty cool, just knowing that was someone I played with and had an opportunity to share the court with, and do special things here,” Clarkson said of passing Bogey while playing against him. “It’s definitely a cool experience to have.”
His assault on the record books has been well-documented, beginning the season in 11th place with 491 made three-pointers. He’s since gone 60-for-160 to start the year, knocking down 37.5% of them — the second-best rate in his career.
The move into the starting lineup has been revolutionary for the 30-year-old guard from Missouri. He’s averaging 19.3 points and 4.5 assists on 31.6 minutes per game (second-best in his career).
Most impressively, he’s unlocked the play-making portion of his skillset, showing off an array of offensive moves and brilliance that very few in the league knew he had.
Clarkson and the Jazz have Thanksgiving off before returning to action for a brutal back-to-back, set to begin at Golden State on Friday before traveling to Phoenix on Saturday. Tipoff in the Bay Area is set for 8 p.m. MST.