Back in the NBA, Kris Dunn is making an early impact in Utah
Kris Dunn is back in the NBA, and he’s already making a difference in Utah.
Dunn, a McDonald’s All American out of New London, CT who signed with Providence before Ed Cooley had ever coached a game in Friartown, had one of the greatest careers in Friar history. He was a two-time Big East Player of the Year and an AP All American in 2016 before being drafted fifth overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The first six years of Dunn’s career were marked by instability and injury. Minnesota traded him (along with Zach Lavine and Lauri Markkanen) for Jimmy Butler after his rookie season. Dunn then became a double digit scorer during his first season in Chicago, averaging 13.4 points, 6.0 assists, and 4.3 rebounds per game in his sophomore campaign. He played 52 games that season, and has never been able to stay healthy enough to play 60 games in a season since his rookie year.
The past three years have been particularly trying. Dunn signed with Atlanta to be a defensive counter to Trae Young, but saw action in just four games due to leg injuries and surgery. He played in 15 games for Portland late last season, starting three, but spent 2022-23 in the G League before signing a ten-day contract with Utah last week.
The signing felt overdue. Playing point guard for the Capital City Go-Go, Dunn averaged 16.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 2.6 steals per game, while shooting .419 from long range in the G League this year.
Making his debut against Oklahoma City last week, Dunn finished with 11 points and two steals in an overtime win. He backed that up with an even more impressive effort in a 118-102 victory over San Antonio — 15 points, eight assists, and seven rebounds, to go along with a steal and a block in 23 minutes.
“Kris played with a ton of confidence tonight,” Jazz coach Will Hardy said after the win over San Antonio. “13 field goal attempts and I thought they were all good ones. He did a great job bringing the ball up the floor did a good job attacking off the dribble.”
The 15 points were the most Dunn had scored in an NBA game since December 2019.
Long-time NBA writer Sam Smith wrote about Dunn in his weekly mailbag:
Sam: Another for the could have beens? Dunn’s disappearance, exacerbated by injuries and coaching and personnel dysfunction in the losing seasons, was another of the unfortunate point guard Bulls stories. He looked like he was going to be a version of Jason Kidd. He had this incredible story of growing up abandoned, and perhaps all that history haunted him when his career got away. A successful return would be a heck of a story and maybe hurt the Bulls a little as that trade was Jimmy for LaVine, Markkanen and Dunn. If Dunn makes it back in a big way and can actually shoot now, that could have been the trade of the era. Markkanen has become the near great player we actually thought he’d be as a rookie when there really was debate about if the draft were done again he’d be taken before Jayson Tatum and Donovan Mitchell. He’s showing now it wasn’t such a ridiculous debate. Yeah, a lot of what ifs when your luck is bad.