National Basketball Association

Utah Jazz: Joel Bolomboy's Back-and-Forth Journey Continues

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 9:11 p.m. ET

Fansided, Ryan Aston/FanSided via Purple and Blues

After another cup of coffee with the Utah Jazz, Joel Bolomboy’s back-and-forth journey continues with another D-League assignment.

“There and Back Again” is an important phrase for a large segment of the populace. In case you didn’t know (shame on you if this is the case), it’s the subtitle to J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit. It’s also the title its hero, Bilbo Baggins, lends to his memoirs recounting the book’s story.

Now, to my knowledge, Utah Jazz big man Joel Bolomboy isn’t a hobbit, didn’t win the Ring of Power from Gollum and hasn’t met the dragon Smaug or participated in the Battle of the Five Armies, but the title probably works just as well for the tale of his rookie season so far.

As a means to get floor time in a crowded, veteran frontcourt, Bolomboy is constantly on the move. Rather than stagnate on Utah’s bench, the Weber State product has been back and forth (or there and back again) between the Jazz and their D-League affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars, more times than you can shake a stick at.

After another cup of coffee with the Jazz this week — he saw four minutes of floor action against the Golden State Warriors, then was a DNP-CD the next night against the Sacramento Kings — Bolomboy was reassigned to the Stars once again on Thursday. This marks his sixth D-League assignment of the season.

The move came just in time for Bolomboy to suit up for Salt Lake City’s home game against former BYU star Kyle Collinsworth and the Texas Legends. As was the case in his previous Stars stint, the Jazz rookie owned the floor.

Although SLC lost once again (to fall to 3-13 on the year), Bolomboy scored 23 points on 7-of-12 shooting and hit two three-pointers in the game. He also grabbed 23 rebounds, blocked three shots and had three steals.