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Forward · 2010–17

Gordon Hayward

The half-court heave that nearly beat Duke in the 2010 NCAA final made Gordon Hayward famous, and the Jazz took the Butler sophomore ninth overall that June. Over seven Utah seasons he grew from Jerry Sloan's cautious rookie into the team's leading man, earning an All-Star selection in 2017 — then signed with Boston that summer, only to fracture his tibia and dislocate his ankle five minutes into his first game.

A two-time all-state tennis player before a late growth spurt, Hayward won an Indiana state title at Brownsburg on his own buzzer-beater. He played 14 NBA seasons in all, closing with Charlotte and Oklahoma City.

HOW HE CAME & WENTUtah took him ninth overall in 2010, a pick that surprised even him, and matched Charlotte's maximum offer sheet in 2014 to keep him. In 2017 he left for Boston on a four-year, $127.8 million deal, reuniting with his Butler coach Brad Stevens — his agent said the decision broke his heart.

Full name
Gordon Daniel Hayward
Utah Jazz tenure
2010–17
Position
Forward
Born
1990, Indianapolis
Height
6′6″ (199 cm)
Weight
212 lb (96 kg)
College
Butler
Drafted
2010, 1st round (No. 9), Utah
Signatures in the archive
  • 2013-14 Panini National Treasures Game Gear Patch #/25 Jazz
  • 2010-11 Utah Jazz Team-Signed Adidas Jacket

No photograph of this signature is online yet.

With the Jazz

GORDON HAYWARD · 2010–17 · PER GAME
SEASONTEAMGMPGPPGRPGAPGSPGBPGFG%3P%FT%
2010–11UTA7216.95.41.91.10.40.3.485.473.711
2011–12UTA6630.511.83.53.10.80.6.456.346.832
2012–13UTA7229.214.13.13.00.80.5.435.415.827
2013–14UTA7736.416.25.15.21.40.5.413.304.816
2014–15UTA7634.419.34.94.11.40.4.445.364.812
2015–16UTA8036.219.75.03.71.20.3.433.349.824
2016–17UTA7334.521.95.43.51.00.3.471.398.844
JAZZ TOTAL7 SEASONS51631.315.74.23.41.00.4.444.368.820

Season by season, regular season, with this franchise only. More info: Basketball-Reference ↗  ·  Wikipedia ↗

Did you know

GORDON HAYWARD · 8 NOTES
  • Was a nationally ranked junior tennis player before committing to basketball.
  • A genuinely serious esports player — ranked in League of Legends, wrote gaming columns, and has said he might have tried professional gaming had basketball not worked out.
  • Announced his departure in a Players' Tribune letter published on the Fourth of July, 2017 — a date Jazz fans have not forgotten.
  • Stood just 5 foot 11 as a high school freshman before an eight-inch growth spurt changed everything.
  • In Game 3 against the Clippers in 2017 he scored 40 points, including a franchise playoff record 21 in a single quarter.
  • He skipped AAU basketball one summer to chase a state tennis title, and Brad Stevens once scouted him at a tennis match instead.
  • His company, Whiskey Creek Productions, released its first feature film in 2023, and he spent time at Skywalker Ranch during post-production.
  • A chess player since childhood games against his mother, he took the game up again and became a Chess.com streaming partner.