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SALT LAKE CITY — Upon hearing that Kyle Korver was one of the 12 finalists for the Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year Award, Joe Ingles, as usual, had a joke.
“He hasn’t even been here long enough for us to vote for him,” Ingles said.
To his point, Korver has only been with the Jazz for four months. He didn’t go through training camp with the team and didn’t have to deal with the brutal November schedule (he got the December one, though), so Ingles' quip has some merit.
But what Korver has done in those four months has his teammates all believing he is not only deserving but that he should be the one accepting the award during the NBA Awards show on June 24.
“He’s fitted in perfectly since he got here,” said Ingles in a less joking manner. “He’s obviously helped our team with the spacing of the floor. Off the floor, he’s just a great guy."
His teammates have sung his praises practically since Korver first walked into the Jazz locker room.
Donovan Mitchell said he immediately bombarded the 16-year veteran with questions. Questions that Korver was more than happy to answer.
Korver has helped Mitchell, Royce O’Neale, Georges Niang and anyone else who has asked for it with their shot.
But it’s more than just basketball advice that he has provided for his younger teammates.
“I think he brings a lot of experience and seen a lot of different things,” Niang said of Korver. “And when you have seen so many things, you can offer a lot of advice to young guys in the locker room like myself or Donovan or Grayson (Allen) or even other guys that have been in the league longer.
“I think the best thing about him is he cares,” Niang continued. “He genuinely cares about everyone on this team. He goes around and you see him give everyone some personal time of his. I think that's important to him and I think that’s rare to see.”
Niang said he has been impressed with how Korver always wants to do more. He wants to show players his routine, wants to help them learn how to shoot, wants to give advice. Korver just wants to help.
“He has a way about him that affects the team in such a positive way,” Niang said.
That’s something Jazz coach Quin Snyder has appreciated. Especially because of how Korver has been able to do it.
“Especially coming into a team during the year, the things he has been able to do — sometimes in subtle ways, sometimes more vocally,” Snyder said. “Whether it be with me, looking after his teammates or talking with somebody. … He is very aware of his teammates. He’s not thinking about it. It's just the way he conducts himself.”
And that has allowed Korver to fit in with the tight-knit Jazz immediately.
“I think it would’ve been hard for anyone else, but I think that Kyle is such an outgoing and great human being that it was seamless,” Niang said. “He came in, left his imprint, made shots. He’s always a positive guy. And I think if you have someone who is always positive all the time. It makes life so much easier.”
