Gordon Hayward’s Goal is to Make the All-Star Team


Heading into his third NBA season, the Utah Jazz’s talented Gordon Hayward says he’s aiming to become an All-Star. Per the Deseret News: “Hayward finished the 2011-12 season as a Jazz starter, and he’s prepared to battle to keep a spot in the first five. ‘You want to start for the team and you want to make sure you’re the one out there on the court, getting as many minutes as you can,’ Hayward said. ‘So especially in training camp, there’s going to be some competitions going on. I think that will further benefit all of our games and make us better as a team.’ While making an impact on a playoff team, Hayward also wants to turn himself into one of the NBA’s elite players. ‘I think I’ve shown that I belong in the league. It’s something that you work for and you work towards,’ Hayward said. ‘Now I think I know that I belong and everything. Now you push yourself even further, try and become an All-Star. That’s definitely a goal of mine, but I think first and foremost I think if we were to win games that will help that out.’ Hayward has high hopes for the Jazz. He believes his personal progression mirrors the Jazz’s improvement trajectory — in part because of how many solid players are loaded into each position. ‘I expect us to do better than we did last year,’ he said, reflecting back on a better-than-expected 36-30 record and first-round playoff appearance in the lockout-shortened campaign. ‘I think as a player you kind of want to improve both as a team and individually from year to year,’ Hayward added. ‘I’ve done that from my rookie to sophomore year. Hopefully I’ll do that again this year. Same goes for the team. We missed playoffs first year (39-43 in 2010-11), made it barely the second year, so this year needs to be better than that.'”