KU’s Ochai Agbaji reflects on first season as NBA player in Utah Jazz exit interview

Utah Jazz guard Ochai Agbaji says his “welcome to the NBA moment” actually occurred six weeks before the 2022 Big 12 Player of the Year and consensus first-team NCAA All-American took the court in a regular-season pro game.

“I’ll always say it was getting traded,” said Agbaji, a 23-year-old former University of Kansas guard, taken No. 14 by Cleveland in the 2022 NBA Draft after leading KU to the ‘22 national title.

Prepared to move his belongings into an apartment in Cleveland on Sept. 3, 2022, he instead scrapped those plans two days prior to the move-in date when he learned he’d been shipped by the Cavaliers to the Utah Jazz.

“It’s just kind of how the NBA is. There’s stuff you can’t control in that sense,” Agbaji stated.

Agbaji, a Kansas City native and graduate of Oak Park High School, reflected on many aspects of his highly-eventful rookie season during his recent season-ending “exit interview” with members of the media who cover the Jazz.

The 6-foot-5, 215-pound Agbaji played in 59 of 82 games for the Jazz (37-45), a team in playoff contention until two games remained in the regular season. Utah barely missed making the playoffs for the first time in seven years.

From G League to NBA starter

Agbaji — a regular in the starting lineup by season’s end (in all he started 22 games for the Jazz) — opened the season in the G League, starting and playing in nine games for the Salt Lake City Stars.

He averaged 7.9 points (off 42.7% shooting, 35.5% from three), 2.1 rebounds and 1.1 assists a game overall for the Jazz, upping his scoring mark to 12.6 points per game after the All-Star break. He averaged 13.2 points per game in the G League contests.

“I hit that moment where I said, ‘I can play at this level and be me at this level,’ when I had my first career high in Houston. Then I followed that playing in Chicago and had another career high. That’s when I said, ‘I can do this,’’’ Agbaji said.

Agbaji scored 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting (3-of-4 threes) in a 131-114 victory over the Houston Rockets on Jan. 5 in Houston. He scored 19 points on 7-of-7 shooting (4-4 from three) in a 126-118 loss to the Chicago Bulls on Jan. 7 in the Windy City.

Agbaji was a double-digit scorer in seven of Utah’s last nine games. Down the stretch he scored 28 points against Denver, 22 points versus the Los Angeles Lakers and 20 against Sacramento.

His first NBA campaign a ‘positive experience’

“An experience,” Agbaji said, asked in his exit interview to describe the 2022-23 season. “I’d say a positive experience for me, not only for my growth as a player but where I’m going, where I feel I can go.”

Agbaji said nothing about his first NBA season surprised him. He felt well-prepared after playing four years of college ball and winning a national title at KU.

“Nothing different — just the everyday grind,” Agbaji said, noting the most grueling game for him may have come April 4 against the Los Angeles Lakers. He scored 22 points while playing 38 minutes in a 135-133 overtime loss in Salt Lake City.

“I collapsed on my bed after the game and I was like, ‘Dang.’ That’s when I actually felt it,” Agbaji said. “It was a while before I started to play real minutes so I know there’s another part to the season I haven’t experienced. I guess I haven’t really hit the rookie wall since I haven’t played a full season. I may not know what that looks like when you do hit it. You have to take care of your body even more preparing for the season so you don’t hit that wall.”

Agbaji mostly played on the wing his rookie season. However, the Jazz did use him some at the point guard position down the stretch.

“Forging into any role, whatever role is needed,” Agbaji said of his reaction to playing lead guard. “Really the positive experience about it is trying different things — playing point guard, experiencing that, taking stuff from that. Now going into this (offseason) it’s what can I do to be more ready for those positions or for these roles when the time comes.”

Agbaji brings ‘hustle, defense, work ethic’

He has a good idea of what he needs to bring to the court every night for the Jazz in year two in the league.

“Knowing what’s keeping me on the floor at the end of the day really is my hustle, my defense, my work ethic, just being out there changing the game when I’m not scoring (and) always focusing on the game and competing,” Agbaji said.

Agbaji said the plan for this offseason is to take a few weeks off to let his body recover from a long season, then begin workouts.

“I’ll be here (Utah) and also working with my trainer in Phoenix,” Agbaji said of trainer Phil Beckner. “Being efficient and effective in my time on the court and in my workouts will be important. I don’t know how long I’ll take off, some time to get my feet under me. Just take a mental break, (then) get back on it and attack the workouts.”

Agbaji made it clear he’s not feeling burned out on basketball after his rookie season. His plans are to watch as many NBA playoff games on TV as possible.

“It’s different now watching everybody you competed against in the playoffs,” Agbaji said, “because last year (at KU at this time), it was, ‘Where am I going to be in the NBA next year?’ Now it’s different. This year you competed against those teams and those guys. You are curious who makes it out of the West and East because there are a lot of question marks.”

Future of Jazz, Agbaji appear bright

Of his team’s future in the league, Agbaji said: “I think we are in the mix as well (for a playoff spot in 2023-24). We compete night in and out. We have confidence we can be in that position, too.”

As far as his own future as a pro Agbaji said: “I don’t think I have a ceiling. As hard as I work I feel there’s always stuff I am trying to achieve, trying to go for. I feel the only person stopping that is me.”

Jazz coach Will Hardy said on NBA reporter David Locke’s podcast: “We continue to see his game expand. Ochai has been in a very natural progression this season in terms of he started the beginning part of the year in the G League, then he cracks into the rotation, is playing very much off the ball, a lot of time as a spacer and cutter and not getting a ton of opportunity in those minutes because he’s not a focal point necessarily of what we’re doing.

“(Then) things change. Your role on the team changes. I’ve made it clear to Ochai that I have belief in him and we have belief in him. This is a guy who has had a lot of success his basketball life. He was national player of year at Kansas. To go from that to where you are the focal point of your college basketball team to then you are in the G League and you are sort of working your way into the rotation, it’s about unlocking that part of your brain again where you do go for it more. Ochai is a great kid. He really competes. I have the utmost faith in him.”