Favors played high school basketball at South Atlanta High School, where he was ranked as one of the best high school basketball players in the class of 2009. Scout.com rated him the #1 player in the country, #2 in the ESPNU100, and #4 by Rivals.com. On March 14, 2009, he led South Atlanta to the Georgia Class AAA state championship. He scored 38 points and had 21 rebounds in the championship game against Westover High School. He was named to the 2009 McDonald's All-American Team. He led the East to a 113–110 victory and was named the MVP of the game. He scored 19 points and had 8 rebounds. Favors was selected to participate in the 2009 Nike Hoop Summit in Portland, Oregon but pulled out due to personal reasons and he was also selected to play in the 2009 Jordan Brand Classic at Madison Square Garden where he scored a game-high 21 points and was named MVP for the black team, while Renardo Sidney was named MVP for the white team. He finished his senior season averaging 28.1 points, 13.3 rebounds, 5.0 blocks, 3.0 steals and 2.0 assists per game and holds the career records in points, rebounds and blocked shots.
College career
Favors committed to Georgia Tech in January 2009, which he chose over Georgia and North Carolina State. Favors played both power forward and center for Paul Hewitt's Yellow Jackets. The front court consisted of a three-man rotation of Favors, Gani Lawal and Zach Peacock. In ACC games, he averaged 11.8 points and 8.7 rebounds per game and shot 62.5% from the field. He also helped lead the Yellow Jackets to the ACC tournament finals against Duke. During the tournament, he posted 17 points, 9.8 rebounds and 3 blocks per game. Favors was named ACC Rookie of the Year and to the ACC All-Freshman Team.
Professional career
New Jersey Nets (2010–2011)
On April 9, 2010, Favors announced he would forgo his final three years of college eligibility to enter the 2010 NBA draft where he was subsequently selected with the third overall pick by the New Jersey Nets. Favors was 19 years 104 days when he made his NBA debut, thus becoming the youngest player ever to set foot on court for the Nets. In just his third game with the Nets on October 31, 2010 against Miami, he recorded his first career double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds in a 101–78 loss.
Utah Jazz (2011–2019)
On February 23, 2011, Favors was traded, along with Devin Harris two future first-round picks, and cash considerations to the Utah Jazz in exchange for Deron Williams. He went on to score a season-high 17 points on April 9 against San Antonio. On October 19, 2013, Favors signed a four-year contract extension with the Jazz. On November 1, 2014, Favors scored a then career-high 32 points in a 118–91 win over the Phoenix Suns. On November 12, 2015, he recorded 25 points, 12 rebounds and a career-high 7 blocks in a loss to the Miami Heat. On December 5, 2015, he scored a career-high 35 points in a 122–119 overtime win over the Indiana Pacers. On January 25, 2016, Favors returned to the floor after a 16-game absence due to a back problem. He played 19 minutes off the bench and recorded 14 points and 5 rebounds in a loss to the Detroit Pistons. On March 13, 2018, in a 110–79 win over the Detroit Pistons, Favors climbed to 10th place on Utah's all-time rebounding list with 3,602 rebounds. He passed former Utah center Mehmet Okur, who pulled down 3,599 rebounds with the Jazz. On April 11, 2018, in a 102–93 win over the Portland Trail Blazers, Favors played in his 500th game with the Jazz, becoming the 12th player in franchise history to reach the milestone. In Game 2 of the Jazz's first-round playoff series against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Favors had career playoff bests of 20 points and 16 rebounds in a 102–95 win. On July 6, 2018, Favors re-signed with the Jazz. On January 11, 2019, he had a then season-high 13 rebounds in a 113–95 win over the Los Angeles Lakers, thus passing Greg Ostertag for fourth place on the franchise's all-time rebounding list. On March 2, 2019, he had 23 points and tied a career best with 18 rebounds in a 115–111 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.
New Orleans Pelicans (2019–present)
On July 7, 2019, Favors was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for two second-round picks previously acquired from the Golden State Warriors.
Career statistics
College
NBA
Regular season
Playoffs
Endorsements
Favors signed a shoe deal with Adidas just before the 2010 NBA Draft. Favors has been loyal to Adidas since he was 15, when he was playing for his AAU team, the Atlanta Celtics.
