Kyle Korver’s time to talk with the press was over. According to the Salt Lake Tribune’s Andy Larsen, the cameras were packed up and turned off. Then Korver, the veteran swingman for the Jazz, decided he wasn’t done talking. He called the press back. Then he talked about his teammate.
Before we get to what he said, some context: The Utah Jazz fell to 0-3 in their opening round series to the Houston Rockets on Saturday night, as Houston was able to overcome an 0-15 start of the night from James Harden to pull out a 104-101 win.
With 8.7 seconds left in the game, and Utah trailing 102-99, Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell had a chance to tie the game with a pretty good look from 3. The shot didn’t fall. The Rockets got the rebound, the Jazz fouled, and the game was essentially over.
It was a tough moment for Mitchell, the team’s leader, who had an otherwise excellent night, finishing with 34 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. He was clearly affected by the last shot however. Which is where Korver comes in.
Once Korver got the media re-assembled and the cameras were turned back on, he said this:
The transcript, via SLC Dunk:
I have never been around a young player like Donovan Mitchell. I have never seen someone so young take ownership of a team, take ownership of his play … do it with charisma, do it with class. I have never seen that in my 16 years in the NBA.
And he missed a tough shot tonight, but it’s just going to be part of his story. If you’ve played any meaningful basketball in the NBA, you have a shot like that. … I don’t care who it is in history, everyone has a shot they want back. I think of who he is, he’s going to put too much on that shot.
We missed free throws. We missed dunks. We missed layups. We missed threes. It was not about that shot. We had so many more chances to win that game. But we’re super proud of him. … He’s on a great path in this NBA.
Korver’s team may not have won, but he’s shown himself to be a great leader and veteran over the course of this NBA season, first with a Players Tribune article about understanding his white privilege, and realizing his responsibility as a white player in the NBA to listen to and advocate for black players in the league.
