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SALT LAKE CITY — Kris Dunn's father wouldn't speak to him.
"I felt like we were in jail," Dunn joked. "He was bumping me and whatnot; he wasn't talking to me."
The reason for the sudden silent treatment? His father, John Seldon, had just figured out that Dunn was quitting football. Some passions run deep — real deep.
Dunn had displayed remarkable skill on the football field as a youngster. He starred as a safety and defensive back, but also proved to be a capable runner as a good fill-in quarterback.
"Quarterback went down and I chimed in at quarterback," recalled a suddenly boastful Dunn.
An exasperated Keyonte George overheard it and said: "Oh my gosh!"
"Yeah," said Dunn, with his voice growing louder. "Threw for 13, ran for 13, then they threw me at wide receiver. I was a little bit of everything."
Seldon, who played college ball, saw his son's talent — especially on the defensive end. The instincts, the quick reactions, the eye for the ball, it was easy for Seldon to picture Dunn going pro.
Dunn did end up going pro, just in another sport; and his dad was happy to know his days on the gridiron played a big role in that.
Last week, ESPN's Zach Lowe said, "I am not sure there is a better guard defender in the world than Kris Dunn." It seems just about every night he does something to back that lofty claim up.
On Saturday in Houston, Dunn picked Jalen Green's pocket and raced back for an uncontested dunk. Last week against the Pacers, he twice jumped passing lanes for steals — one of which he genuinely looked like a defensive back high-pointing a ball. Earlier this month against the Raptors, he stopped a two-on-one break by himself by knocking the ball free — not once but two times.
Those plays have become commonplace since Dunn became a regular in the starting lineup last month. Since then, the Jazz are 12-4 and he has put a highlight reel together of ridiculous transition stops and steals.
Jazz coach Will Hardy even used him as a rover against Giannis Antetkoumpo during Utah's win over the Bucks earlier this season — and even went as far as to call him a "free safety" when describing the defensive scheme.
Yeah, Dunn was more than comfortable with that role.
"I mean, he's been that way as long as I can remember," Lauri Markkanen said. "Just being a dog on defense — just get blocks, get steals, deflections and even if he doesn't, he's affecting the ball handler."
Funny enough, Dunn used the same terminology when he was asked what made him such a good defender: "I was a dog at football."
Football helped Dunn hone in on his natural abilities. He learned how to use his speed and instincts to attack the ball, and learned to anticipate routes to jump passes. He never forgot those lessons.
"I have good instincts, just God-given ability," he said. "I can see what you're about to do because I can do the move you're doing. So you can bring anybody into court and we do drill work, I could do the same exact moves. So I could kind of see what's happening before it happens."
Dunn crediting his football past for his defensive prowess isn't a surprise to his head coach. Hardy pointed out how players who grew up playing soccer pick up spacing concepts quicker and have a better understanding of angles — especially when it comes to cutting and give-and-go plays.
There is always crossover — whether it's learning how to be ultra-fast on a track, jump higher, or to jump a receiver's route, there are a lot of skills that can help on the hardwood; no matter where they are learned.
"Kris, obviously, is a good example of that. I can imagine that his toughness was just as good on a football field as it is on the basketball court," Hardy said. "It's amazing the kids coming in the draft now, you go to interview them and you find out they were all-state in like three sports and, 'Oh yeah, I could have gone to Ohio State to play football, but instead I went to Kentucky to play basketball.' It must be nice."
As was the case with Dunn.
Could he have had a very productive football career? Most likely. He very well could have been the pro defensive back his dad envisioned. So how did he choose between the two? It's a simple answer really — one was played indoors.
"The cold," Dunn said when asked why he quit football. "Honestly. I moved from Virginia to Connecticut once I got to high school, and it got a little chilly out there. I'm not hitting nobody when it gets cold."
After being a top-five pick in the NBA draft and now resurrecting his career in Utah, it's safe to say things worked out OK. Heck, even his football-loving father would agree with that — even if it did take some time.
When Dunn was asked when his dad realized that he had made the right decision choosing basketball, he said in jest: "When I became a McDonald's All-America. Oh, I'm a McDonald's All-American — now you want to buy in!"
Fortunately for Dunn, the silent treatment ended long before then.
"I think after a month, he bought into it," he said.
