JORDAN Clarkson is setting his eyes on one goal this coming NBA season: to win the Sixth Man of the Year award.
"Probably one goal and achievement that I do want to have under my belt is to win the Sixth Man of the Year award," the Utah Jazz guard said in his media availability on Saturday. "I feel like I'm kind of out of the conversation a lot just because I've been traded to multiple places a lot."
The Fil-Am swingman definitely has a shot at that award entering his seventh year in the league.
Since being traded to Utah from Cleveland, the 6-foot-5 slasher has become a welcome jolt of instant offense in the Jazz' campaign last year.
He posted averages of 15.6 points on a 46-percent shooting, alongside 2.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists in the 24.7 minutes he played in the regular season.
Clarkson continued to step up when the playoffs rolled in, averaging 16.7 points, 3.4 boards, and 2.1 dimes in the seven-game battle Utah had against the Denver Nuggets.
The 28-year-old expects more from himself as he thrives in the role coach Quin Snyder put him in.
"Having that opportunity to come out there and be with this organization, that's just going to be great for me. So I have to come out and perform and help the team get wins," he said.
"I know if we're winning and performing well, that will put the spotlight on me. So I'm definitely going to shoot for that."
No Jazz player has ever won the Sixth Man of the Year award, and what better way for Clarkson to get that distinction in the first year of a fresh four-year, $52 million contract he signed in the offseason.
Of course, team success comes first as Clarkson reiterated that as sweet as those individual accolades will be, winning a championship is still going to be the greatest feeling in the world.
"We're just going to go out there and win every game," he said, with Utah once again banking on the might of super scorer Donovan Mitchell and defensive demon Rudy Gobert.
"We have a great and talented team and we'll try to compete for championship and make it to the playoffs."
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