SACRAMENTO — The Utah Jazz have just 14 games left to play in the 2025-26 regular season. Since the Jazz won’t be going to the playoffs and they aren’t trying to win games, it can be a little hard to know what to root for, so I’m here to help.
Root for the young guys
You can still root for small accomplishments and development for the players on the Jazz roster. The hope is that Ace Bailey’s concussion symptoms don’t last too long and that he’ll be able to play again. Root for some big nights from him, the chance for more plays to be called for him and for him to take on a bigger role in the final days of the season.
The same can be said for Cody Williams, who has shown some signs of improvement recently. The Jazz would be overjoyed if he gained even more confidence and opened up his game more as the team heads into the offseason.
Even if there isn’t enough development or promise to make you confident in a player being a part of the Jazz’s future, a good showing throughout the rest of the season could make a player a more valuable asset to be used in an offseason trade. So, good performances are always a welcomed sight.
Root for Jazz losses
This needs little explanation. The Jazz want to keep their pick in the upcoming draft and the only way to increase their chances of doing so is to lose as many games as possible.
Two ways to quell the sting of rooting for losses are; embrace the hilarity of the situation; or, root for the other team to win.
Root for other teams to win
This is where your rooting interests can get interesting. Any win for the Sacramento Kings, Indiana Pacers, Washington Wizards and Brooklyn Nets would be great for the Jazz. Those are the teams that currently have worse records than the Jazz do, so they are competing for lottery odds. If the Jazz could possibly end up with a worse record than any four of those teams it would be great.
Notably, if the Jazz have one of the four worst records at the end of the season it guarantees that they keep their pick.
There are also a couple of teams that are dangerously close to the Jazz in the standings and if they go into a free fall in this last stretch of the season, it would mean more lottery competition for the Jazz. So, you also want the Dallas Mavericks, New Orleans Pelicans and Memphis Grizzlies to win games.
Root for yourself
This is the option that would probably give you the most peace of mind. You don’t have to watch these games that feature bad teams playing bad basketball. You can tune out. You can check the standings and check back on May 10 for the draft lottery results and then again in late June for the 2026 NBA Draft.
In between, enjoy March Madness, enjoy the NBA playoffs, and think about the Jazz getting a high pick and finally trying to win games when the 2026-27 season begins.