Utah Jazz’s 2024 draft pick Kyle Filipowski has allegedly cut off all ties with his family and was groomed into Mormon culture by his 26-year-old girlfriend — according to his brother.
via Complex:
On Thursday, the Utah Jazz selected Filipowski in the second round, a move that confused experts as the Duke star was projected to be drafted in the first round. NBA analysts reported that teams were reluctant to pick the 6’11” big man due to off-the-court concerns.
According to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, Filipowski’s relationship with his longtime girlfriend Caitlin Hutchison raised flags due to their age difference and the athlete separating himself from his family. Filipowski is 20 years old, while Hutchison is reportedly 26.
“NBA teams are talking about the fact that they had question marks about his girlfriend being so much older than him, why was he estranged from his family because of this whole situation,” Givony said on an episode of NBA Today. “He apparently doesn’t talk to his parents or his brother and It’s a very, very odd situation. I personally don’t understand why it would cause him to drop like this into the second round.”
Shortly after Givony’s report, people claiming to be Filipowski’s brother and mother added more fuel to the fire by stating Hutchison had been grooming the basketball player and forced him to cut his family off in 2022. Both alleged family members claimed the issue has been ongoing and no one spoke on it for nearly two years.
Filipowski falling to the second round to the Jazz, a team that plays in a state considered the center of cultural influence for Mormonism, has people wondering what’s really going on. It also doesn’t help that the couple’s first picture together was taken during his senior prom in 2022, where Hutchison would have been 24 years old and Filipowski only 19.
Despite the questionable off-the-court happenings, Filipowski is projected to fit well with the Jazz next season. At Duke, he averaged 16.4 points, 8.3 rebounds and became a force from the three-point line, shooting 34.8 percent from the perimeter.
Yikes.
