Utah Jazz: 'Angels' helped mold Al Jefferson

SALT LAKE CITY — Since arriving in Utah late Wednesday, Al Jefferson has made no secret how blessed he feels to get a new lease on his basketball life with a winning organization.

After three loss-heavy seasons in Minnesota and five straight years of watching the playoffs as a spectator, the Jazz's new big man on court even humbly mentioned that the basketball gods must be looking after him.

It's not the first time he's had special assistance, either.

In his news conference Thursday, Jefferson spoke from the bottom of his heart about a couple of angels who helped mold him into the person and player he is long before the mythical hoops helpers guided his path to Utah.

Shortly after passing his physical and making his trade to the Jazz official, Jefferson seemed nearly as exuberant to talk about his two grandmothers from his small Mississippi hometown of Prentiss as he was to beam about his opportunity to play in Utah.

Jefferson's father died when he was a baby, but his mother didn't need to look far for help raising him.

"My two grandmothers took over," a smiling Jefferson said. "They raised me to the man that I am today."

That man — and player — is someone the Jazz front office is thrilled to welcome into the family.

And they might want to send some thank-you cards to Jefferson's influential relatives.

"They really taught me when you want to do something, you want to do something bad enough, you've just got to work and get it," Jefferson said. "No one will give it to you, so that's the mindset I always had."

Advice like that was among the reasons his grandmas, who each had 12 children apiece and took care of numerous grandkids, "were the two I always looked to."

One grandma specialized in giving out tough love — kind of along the lines he admitted to getting in Boston from coach Doc Rivers during his first three NBA seasons and about what he fully expects and eagerly anticipates receiving from Jazz coach Jerry Sloan.

"My mom's mom, she knows the game," Jefferson said. " I averaged 42 points a game in high school, and I swear nothing I did was good enough for her."

That wasn't a complaint. He loved her approach.

"If I missed a rebound, she's going to tell me," he said, laughing. "And I'm talking about embarrassing me, coming out there after the game in front of all my friends and fans who think I'm amazing, and she's grabbing me like, 'What's wrong with you? Why didn't you get that rebound?"

The 20-point win didn't matter.

"She's tough," Jefferson said.

That grandma, along with the rest of his family and friends, couldn't be happier Jefferson ended up in Utah after asking to be traded from Minnesota because he wanted to win.

He hasn't been to the playoffs since his rookie year in 2005.