This article was first published as the Jazz Insiders newsletter. Sign up to receive the newsletter in your inbox each Friday.
For the last few years, the NBA draft lottery has been a stress-inducing pressure cooker of a situation for the Utah Jazz and Jazz fans. This year, Jazz fans should enjoy lottery night, and whatever the result ends up being, it will be a good one for Utah.
The Jazz have time and time again had to tank enough during the regular season to circumvent the pick that was promised to the Oklahoma City Thunder. As the rebuild has gone on over the last four years, it’s been disheartening for fans to watch the efforts of the Jazz tank get rewarded with just the ninth pick in 2023, the 10th pick in 2024 and then, even with the worst record in the league, still only get the fifth pick in 2025.
Of course, Taylor Hendricks (No. 9 overall in 2023) was a part of the deal that landed the Jazz Jaren Jackson Jr. this year at the trade deadline, and Keyonte George, who was the No. 16 overall pick in 2023, ended up being the real prize for the Jazz.
Also, Ace Bailey, who the Jazz took at No. 5 last year in the draft, looks to have some real star potential. But on the night of the lottery of those years, things seemed bleak.
There were no celebratory hoops and hollers from Jazz executives when they learned their lottery position at any point during this process. Last year, Jazz owner Ryan Smith made a quick and unhappy exit from the ballroom where the lottery results are broadcast in Chicago, clearly disappointed with all of the tanking efforts resulting in just the fifth pick, while the Dallas Mavericks got the No. 1 overall selection, despite the Mavs’ measly odds going into the night.
Jazz fans felt the same way. They felt robbed of what they felt was a deserved top pick. And, in each of the last few years, the lottery results came with the knowledge that there was more pain and more losing and more of the same to come.
They knew that this year would be another tanking season for the Jazz and that there hadn’t been any big acquisitions to bolster the team. They knew that the rebuild was going to continue.
But this year, Jazz fans can watch lottery night knowing that no matter what draft spot the Jazz are given after the lottery drawing, they are no longer handcuffed by the obligation to OKC, and the team is not going to be tanking next season.
They know that this next stage of the rebuild is going to be about getting better rather than racking up losses.
Of course, the Jazz decision makers and fans alike want to get one of the top draft spots, but the Jazz’s future does not depend on it, the way that it seemed like it did in years past.
If everything goes to plan, the Jazz have a starting five of Jackson, George, Bailey, Lauri Markkanen and Walker Kessler lined up for the 2026-27 season. Their lottery pick, which cannot fall lower than eighth, will either be a depth pick or will have to compete for a starting spot.
So, rather than going into lottery night thinking about the misery that is to come, the continued losses and tanking and collection of assets, Jazz fans can finally enjoy the lottery, knowing that better days are on the horizon.
New with the Jazz
From the archives
Extra points
- The Utah Jazz’s defense has to be addressed for the 2026-27 season (Deseret News)
- Utah Jazz announce dates for Salt Lake City Summer League (Deseret News)
- Mammoth’s playoff run will affect Delta Center renovation (Deseret News)
Around the league
- Jaden McDaniels scores 32 and Timberwolves eliminate Nuggets
- Knicks end Hawks’ playoff run with record-breaking win
- NBA asks for tighter restrictions on prediction markets
Up next
- NBA draft lottery | May 10 | 1 p.m. MDT