I think it was hard to not be in that moment. I think we got caught up in it a little bit, especially with how the game was going. – Gordon Hayward
SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Jazz didn’t make the NBA playoffs again this season, which has the team and fans bummed out and bored in yet another postseason.
There is a silver lining to missing out.
Once again, the Jazz will get a lottery pick.
Though it came oh-so-close to extending its basketball season, Utah ended the regular season with the 12th-worst record in the league at 40-42. That’s one spot behind Orlando (35-47) and one ahead of Washington (41-41).
Houston, also 41-41, will pick 15th with the first non-lottery slot despite finishing with a worse record than Chicago (42-40), because it qualified for the playoffs.
Barring a draft lottery miracle, this will be the second straight summer and third time in six years the Jazz will have the No. 12 pick.
Utah ended up selecting Kentucky freshman Trey Lyles in that slot in 2015, while passing up on sharpshooter Devin Booker. In 2011, the Jazz snagged then-Colorado sophomore Alec Burks 12th overall.
Of course, the Jazz won’t give up hope on actually moving up to one of the top three spots in the May 17 draft lottery.
At No. 12, the Jazz will have a 0.7 percent chance of winning the No. 1 overall pick, a 0.8 percent chance of getting the No. 2 selection and a 1.0 percent chance of moving up to No. 3. Combined, that gives Utah a 2.5 percent chance of a top three position.
The odds of them staying put are 93.5 percent (accounting for the slim chance they could be leapfrogged by a team behind them).
This is the fourth June in a row the Jazz will have a lottery pick.
In 2013, Utah traded its No. 14 selection (Shabazz Muhammad) and No. 21 pick (Gorgui Dieng) to the T-Wolves for No. 9 Trey Burke. In 2014, the Jazz drafted Aussie point guard Dante Exum fifth overall. Lyles, who showed big-time promise at times this season, was the most recent lottery grab.
The actual NBA draft will be held on June 23.
TUNED IN: The Jazz's season finale had the biggest ESPN2 audience ever for an NBA game (3,465,000). That’s especially impressive considering they played a 16-win team.
STARSTRUCK: The biggest reason many people watched Wednesday’s game, of course, was to see the final game of Kobe Bryant’s Hall of Fame career.
Even Jazz players admitted they got caught up in the excitement of the Black Mamba’s 60-point grand finale.
“(Wednesday) night was crazy. It was historic, the end of one of the all-time greats,” Gordon Hayward said. “I think it was hard to not be in that moment. I think we got caught up in it a little bit, especially with how the game was going.
“I felt like we didn’t make the plays down the stretch, but respect for Kobe Bryant and everything he’s done in his career. Obviously a great way to go out.”
Like many, Rodney Hood was flabbergasted that Bryant scored 60 on 22-of-50 shooting.
“I was in awe. I know we’re playing against him, but that’s a hell of a way to go out into the sunset — to go out putting 60 the last time on your home court,” Hood said. “Nobody expected that. I don’t think he expected that. It’s just a fairy tale ending.”
GREEN LIGHT SPECIAL: Jazz players smiled when asked if they will ever get permission from their NBA coach to shoot the ball 50 times a la Kobe.
“I hope so,” Hood said. “If I ever do, that’s the ultra-green light right there.”
Hayward won’t hold his breath.
“Fifty times? I don’t know about that,” he said. “That would be fun, but, no, probably not.”
Rookie Trey Lyles, who didn’t like losing but called Bryant’s epic outing “a great thing to be a part of,” might revisit the subject in a couple of decades.
“Maybe,” he said, “when I’m 38 years old in my last game.”
WILL POWER: Jazz coach Quin Snyder on Bryant’s last stand, which included 23 fourth-quarter points and 13 of the Lakers’ final 15:
“His will is a powerful thing. It’s what we saw (Wednesday) at the end of the game. Hats off to him and his career and what he’s done for this game. I just have so much respect for him.”
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