Among moments of greatness spread through the second half of the season, one stood above the rest for rookie Ochai Agbaji.
When Utah hosted hosting Boston in a vital game in late March, the Jazz found themselves down by three with under two minutes to play. After grabbing an offensive rebound, Lauri Markkanen kicked out to an open Agbaji a few feet behind the three-point line.
Without hesitation, the rookie rose up and buried the triple, making it a one-point game. While the Celtics would answer the shot before the Jazz pulled away late for the win, the fact that he took it left the biggest impression on the team.
"That was the biggest moment for me," head coach Will Hardy said. "The fact that he took that shot, much less made the shot, that he took that shot is a huge part of growth. I don't think a month ago he even looked at the basket in that situation."
Upon hearing his coach's comments about whether or not he would've taken that shot a month earlier, Agbaji agreed.
"Would I have taken that shot earlier? No," Agbaji said with a laugh. "But, my coaches and my teammates have given me the confidence to step up and try and make plays when they matter."
After a slow start to his NBA career in which he bounced between the Jazz and their G-League affiliate, Agbaji looked like a completely different player once the calendar flipped to 2023. Carving out a legitimate role in Hardy's rotation as a backup wing, he emerged as a starter late in the season when Utah's depth took a hit due to injuries.
Overall he averaged 7.9 points and 2.1 rebounds in 20.5 minutes per game, shooting 35.5% from beyond the arc. But those numbers were drastically better late in the season. He averaged 13.9 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game over March and April.
"We reached a point in the season where he'd put in a really good body of work, and it was time to try and get him some minutes and see how he did," Hardy said of Agbaji's increased playing time. "I'm not sure you ever know if somebody is ready. … When we look at Ochai and the way he's approached every day and his mentality that he's had when he's been in the G-League, the way he's dealt with good games, the way he's dealt with bad games, the way he's dealt going back and forth, he's never complained."
One of his most memorable games of the year came just two nights after Utah's victory over Boston.
Agbaji led the Jazz to a victory over the Kings when he dropped a then-career-high 27 points, adding five rebounds, three assists, and a +18 rating in 33 minutes. Most impressive was his efficiency on the night, shooting 8-of-14 from the field, 6-for-10 from deep, and a perfect 5-for-5 from the line.
Making that night even more special was who was in the crowd.
"It's a really special night for her to see that," he said about having his mom in the crowd for the first time. "My teammates kept me confident throughout it all. … We really keyed into what Will (Hardy) had to say late, all the communication that went into it defensively was big time. I'm proud of my team for making big plays down there in the end. … It was a big win."
He would later drop a career-high 28 points against Denver in the home finale, only to end the season on a high note with seven assists against the Lakers in the final game of the year.
Agbaji first came to Utah as part of the blockbuster trade with Cleveland on Sept. 1, 2022. While Markkanen and Collin Sexton were the headliners in the trade, there was a lot of intrigue surrounding Agabji after he had just won a national title with Kansas and was named national player of the year the season prior.
"Just showing up every single day with a good attitude, not worrying about all the outside noise because there's so much outside noise," Agbaji said. "Not worrying about that, but worry about what everyone in the Jazz (organization) is doing for me and what they're trying to do for me."
The future remains bright for Agbaji as he goes into the offseason with a clear path on what's expected of him, both over the summer and next year.
"I'm not going to sit here and pretend like I saw this coming," Hardy said of Agbaji. "I think as a staff, we were very confident that his approach was going to be correct and that he was ready to dig in mentally to play in an NBA game. … He was fantastic."