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SALT LAKE CITY — Jordan Clarkson looked around at his teammates and searcher for a familiar face.
There was no Donovan Mitchell, Joe Ingles or even Trent Forrest. Mike Conley, meanwhile, was even sitting on the bench in street clothes since he had been given the preseason game off.
That's when it hit Clarkson: He had to initiate the offense.
That was different.
"I was just like: 'Where are they? Who's talking?'" Clarkson said, recalling the moment against the San Antonio Spurs last week.
That's when his new reality fully sank in.
"Oh, it's just me. I've got to speak up and become that guy."
Clarkson has long been an unrepentant gunner. He's a guard who has never seen a shot that he didn't like, and more importantly, one he didn't think he could make.
The Jazz embraced him and his style of play; and for nearly three seasons, he fit comfortably into a role that seemed tailored made for him. He'd come off the bench and fire away. It fit his laid-back, care-free vibe. There wasn't much else to think about other than scoring.
There is now.
"It's kind of taking me a little bit out of my comfort zone in terms of being who I am as a player," Clarkson said.
Against the Spurs, Clarkson finished with a team-high seven assists.
Instead of simply "going out there and shooting," as Clarkson put it, the veteran guard has been tasked with "getting guys in spots, making plays, making reads, or just getting the ball and getting it flowing."
In some ways, the new responsibilities are representative of Clarkson's new presence on the team. It's probably not accurate to describe a player who's been featured in GQ, walked red carpets and won a Sixth Man of the Year award as someone who's been in the background. But, in a lot of ways, that's been the case.
Clarkson openly admitted that he has never had to take on a leadership role. He's let guys like Conley, Mitchell, Ingles, Rudy Gobert and other veterans handle those duties. He just needed to crack jokes and be a good drinking buddy.
Clarkson, 30, is one of just four players on this Jazz roster who are over the age of 26. With age comes more influence.
Before training camp began, coach Will Hardy met with Clarkson to explain just that. Hardy wanted Clarkson to be his "good vibe" self that has made him a favorite among the fan base and in the locker room, but he wanted him to help bring the younger players along as well.
"That's part of his role now," Hardy said. "He needs to give himself to the group and try to help some of these younger players because he has a wide variety of NBA experiences. I would say to this point Jordan's been outstanding."
Conley, who essentially has become a player-coach on the young roster, agreed.
"He's making extra passes for guys, doing things that I don't think he's really had to do throughout his career," Conley said. "You'd just go out there and say, 'JC, go score, go score, go score.'' And now it's like, 'Hey, we got a lot of guys that can do that. We need more ball movement', and he goes out there and he does it."
So is Clarkson The Gunner gone? Hardly. He's among Utah's best pure bucket-getters, and he still hasn't seen a shot he doesn't think he can make. After all, he was second on the Jazz in shots attempted during the preseason; however, he was second in assists, too.
"His ability to kind of reform himself, reshape himself around that idea is leadership in itself," Conley said. "And he's been awesome."
