Is Darryn Peterson walking into somewhat of a curse as he begins his career with the Utah Jazz?
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In the annals of Jazz lore, jersey No. 22 has become rather synonymous with nothingness and failure, to the point that some have even called it cursed.
But that is precisely the jersey number Peterson will not only wear (at least as a rookie) with Utah after being taken second overall by the team in the 2026 NBA Draft last month, but he actually bargained to get it, as new teammate Kyle Filipowski has worn it the past two seasons.
Several times over the years — and as recently as 2017 — former Deseret News and Salt Lake Tribune sports reporter/columnist Kurt Kragthorpe chronicled the lack of success Jazz players who have worn No. 22 have had in the NBA.
“Some players have worn the number with a degree of success at times, but nobody’s Jazz tenure ever truly has ended well in No. 22,” Kraghorpe wrote nearly nine years ago.
Since then (Thabo Sefolosha was wearing it at the time), the three players who have worn it for the Jazz have been Jeff Green, Rudy Gay and the aforementioned Filipowski.
Anyone who followed the Jazz in 2020 or 2023 knows that both Green and Gay were quite bad during their stints in Utah, and perhaps we’ll give an incomplete to Filipowski, who will switch to No. 2 with Peterson’s arrival.
Interestingly, no number has been worn by more players in Jazz history (this includes the franchise’s days in New Orleans) than No. 22, according to Basketball Reference. Incidentally, Peterson will be the 22nd player to don it.
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Perhaps it should come as no surprise that No. 22 has been a very transitory number in Jazz history. Seven of the players (not including Peterson) appeared in only one or two games total for the franchise. One more (Malcolm Thomas) played in seven. Two more (Stu Lantz and Bernard King) both played in only 19.
Elsewhere, there is a group of players who underperformed considerably compared to expectations (hello, Curtis Borchardt, Morris Almond, Green and Gay).
Several others (including King) had off-court troubles during their time with the Jazz and didn’t contribute a whole lot on the court.
That really only leaves five players who had solid stints for the Jazz while wearing No. 22 — Nate Williams, Carl Nicks, John Crotty, Sefolosha and Filipowski.
Williams (1975-1978) averaged double digits in scoring three of his four years with the Jazz, his high being 14.3. Nicks averaged 7 points over 120 games in two seasons (1980-1982). Crotty was a longtime backup to John Stockton. Sefolosha averaged 5.7 points over 88 games in two seasons. Filipowski has had a solid start to his career, primarily as a backup.
Peterson comes to Utah as a ballyhooed prospect and the second pick in the draft. He’s drawn comparisons to some of the greatest guards to ever play in the NBA, including Kobe Bryant.
He comes with some skepticism, too, however, as his lone freshman season was marred by mysterious injury. Can he overcome that, along with the history that his No. 22 has unfolded with the Jazz?
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