After a month of speculation, the Utah Jazz learned their draft fate on Sunday afternoon.
Utah entered the day with a 26.2% chance of selecting in the top four of the draft and a 34.5% chance of staying put at No. 8. In the end, Utah will have the No. 10 pick in the upcoming NBA Draft.
The Jazz now own the No. 10 pick, the No. 29 pick (from Oklahoma City), and the No. 32 pick (from Washington).
Utah made excellent use of its three first-round picks last season, taking Taylor Hendricks (No. 9), Keyonte George (No. 16), and Brice Sensabaugh (No. 28). George emerged as Utah's starting guard for much of the season—and should be an All-Rookie selection—while Hendricks and Sensabaugh both flashed potential, especially late in the season.
The Jazz can now add another lottery talent to that young core.
"It's a unique draft," CEO of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge said during his season-ending press conference. "I think that it's harder to find franchise-altering players in this draft. There are a few, to a handful of players that I really like. … I have no idea if they'll be there."
The Jazz have never had the top pick in the draft, but did choose Darrell Griffith at No. 2 in 1980. They've selected eight times in the top 10, choosing Deron Williams (2005) and Enes Freedom (2011) with the No. 3 pick.
In their 50-year history, the Jazz have never had the No. 10 overall selection.
Despite missing the postseason the past two years after embarking on a massive rebuild, there is a different level of excitement entering this offseason compared to last. The year may not have ended as the team hoped, but head coach Will Hardy believes there were plenty of positives to take into the summer.
"I thought the guys played really hard," Hardy said upon reflection. "I also felt that despite how the end of the season went, despite some of the noise around that, nobody made excuses, nobody complained, nobody blamed anybody else. … That's from the top down. We are all in it together. … What happens at the Delta Center is a reflection of all of us. We win together and we lose together, that's just how this has to be. I feel like I had the utmost confidence in our entire organization because even though we had some tough times at the end of the year, I didn't see any behavior internally that was alarming. We all have to do the work, we all have a part to play."
After a breakout 2022-23 NBA season that saw Lauri Markkanen take home the NBA's Most Improved Player of the Year award and become a first-time All-Star, many wondered what sort of encore he would provide the following season. It turns out that breakout year was nothing flukey. Although his numbers weren't precisely the same as last season's, he averaged 23.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 2.0 assists while at the top of the scouting report, which is just as impressive.
Alongside the three rookies, center Walker Kessler is a key piece of Utah's young core. At just 22 years old, coming off an All-Rookie campaign and being selected for Team USA at the FIBA World Cup, Kessler overcame some inconsistencies to finish the year averaging 8.1 points and 7.5 rebounds on 65.4% shooting. He also finished with 2.4 blocks per game, second in the NBA.
Although this season may not have ended the way the Jazz hoped, one thing they can hold their head high about is that Utah finished the year with a winning record at home. With the win against Houston on April 11, the Jazz secured their 44th season with a winning record at home — tied for the best in the NBA since Utah joined the league in 1974-75. Since the franchise moved to Utah in 1979, the Jazz have recorded 40 seasons with a winning record at home — the most in the NBA.
"It reaffirms to me the authenticity of our fanbase," Hardy said when asked about Jazz Nation. "Pro sports, the NBA, is full of fair-weather fans. It's full of arenas that you go to, and if the team isn't great, the building can be not very full. … There are plenty of instances throughout the season where we go out on the road, and it just doesn't feel the same. I think that our fans prove that every single night, they're truly Jazz fans through and through."