Utah Jazz: Respect for Joe Ingles goes beyond Utah

Utah Jazz guard Joe Ingles (2) laughs with Utah Jazz forward Rudy Gay (8) at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City on Friday, Dec. 17, 2021.

This article was first published as the Jazz Insiders newsletter. Sign up to receive the newsletter in your inbox each Friday.

When Joe Ingles collapsed on the court on Sunday night in Minnesota because of what would later be confirmed to be a season-ending ACL tear, his teammates and coaches and all of Jazz nation were pretty devastated. But so were some of his fiercest competitors.

“I have a lot of respect for Joe Ingles the player, the man and who he is,” said Michael Malone, head coach of the Denver Nuggets. “I feel bad that he suffered that injury.”

Ingles first joined the Jazz in the 2014-15 season, the same year that Quin Snyder became head coach of the Jazz. The following year, Malone took over as the head coach of the Nuggets, the Jazz’s divisional rival.

To say that Malone has seen a lot of Ingles over the years would be an understatement. From all of the regular season games to playoff battles and then the time that was spent in the bubble, just across the hall from each other.

“In that bubble, for 83 days, we had a room and right across the hall was the Jazz,” Malone said. “So we became like “Three’s Company.” I mean, they were right across the hallway from us and I got to spend time with him.”

Ingles has long been the bane of many NBA players, with how unassuming he looks, but how skilled he is on the court.

Through his eight years in the league, Ingles has gained the respect and ire from across the NBA, and for the best reasons.

“When you’re playing against Joe Ingles, he has a really high IQ, great playmaker,” Malone said. “They just max out his talent. Not the most athletic guy, but really, really smart and has the ability to make everyone around him better.”

New with the Jazz

Donovan Mitchell denies reports that relationship between he and Rudy Gobert has deteriorated

Stat of the week

For the second straight week, Trent Forrest scored a career-high, this time with an 18-point performance against the Denver Nuggets in a 108-104 win on Wednesday. He finished the night on 6 of 7 shooting, went 5 of 6 from the free throw line, hit a 3-pointer, dished out eight assists and had zero turnovers.

This week on ‘Unsalvageable’

Check out “Unsalvageable: A Utah Jazz Podcast,” hosted by Deseret News Utah Jazz beat reporter Sarah Todd and lifelong Jazz fan Greg Foster (no, not that Greg Foster). This week the crew recaps how tough of a month the Jazz had in January by first discussing the Joe Ingles injury and what it means moving forward.

New episodes come out every week. You can listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Overcast and anywhere else you stream podcasts.

From the archives

This week in Jazz history

On Jan. 29, 2021, Joe Ingles cemented himself in Jazz history by passing John Stockton for the most made 3-pointers in franchise history. Ingles has hit 1,071 3-pointers in a Jazz uniform.

Extra points

Jazz can breathe again after gritty win over Nuggets (Deseret News)
Joe Ingles insists his career will continue after ACL recovery (ESPN)
Joe Ingles’ last interview before his ACL tear (Salt Lake Tribune)
For the first time the NBA will have an all-woman crew to cover an upcoming game, and it’s in Salt Lake City (Deseret News)