The NBA Draft Lottery Just Turned The Utah Jazz Into A Sleeping Giant

Their reward for that? They landed Taylor Hendricks with the No. 9 overall pick in 2023 and took Cody Williams with the No. 10 overall pick in 2024. Hendricks struggled to stay healthy during his time in Utah, while Williams had one of the worst rookie seasons for any lottery pick in NBA history.

In 2024-25, the Jazz ripped the Band-Aid off and began to shamelessly tank. They received a $100,000 fine for violating the league's player participation policy by resting an otherwise healthy Lauri Markkanen at one point, and they began pulling starters from games prior to the fourth quarter. That did not draw a punishment from the NBA, perhaps in part because the Toronto Raptors and Washington Wizards were doing the same.

The Jazz finished the 2024-25 campaign with the NBA's worst record, which guaranteed them a top-five pick. They entered the 2025 lottery with a 52.1% chance of landing a top-four pick and a 47.9% chance of dropping to No. 5, which is exactly where they wound up. They used that pick on Rutgers forward Ace Bailey, who showed legitimate flashes of promise as a rookie while averaging 13.8 points per game.

The Jazz continued with those same types of tanking shenanigans this past season. The NBA eventually hit them with a $500,000 fine for "conduct detrimental to the league," which only further highlighted the league's inconsistent handling of tanking teams. The Jazz were hardly the only team pulling healthy starters in competitive games. If anything, it was worse than ever.

The lottery did not smite the egregious tankers, though. If anything, it rewarded them.

The Washington Wizards became the first team with the NBA's worst record to win the No. 1 overall since the league flattened the lottery odds ahead of the 2019 draft. The Jazz, who entered the night with the fourth-best odds, jumped up to No. 2. The Memphis Grizzlies and Chicago Bulls, both of whom conducted a comprehensive teardown over the past season, rounded out the top four.

The Wizards have some sleeping-giant potential of their own after buying low on Trae Young and Anthony Davis ahead of this year's trade deadline. If they pair Dybantsa—the early favorite to go No. 1—with those two, Alex Sarr and the rest of their young core, they should be headed for a quick rise.

The Jazz are even better equipped, though.

The Jazz's Pre-Agency

Ahead of this year's trade deadline, the Jazz sent Hendricks, Kyle Anderson, Walter Clayton Jr., Georges Niang and three first-round picks to the Memphis Grizzlies for a package headlined by former Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr.

If the Jazz re-sign Walker Kessler, who's a restricted free agent this offseason, they'll be able to start a super-sized lineup with Bailey (6'9"), Markkanen (7'1"), Jackson (6'10") and Kessler (7'2"). Jackson has plenty of experience playing the 4, so he shouldn't require too much of an adjustment, and Markkanen did play as a jumbo 3 in Cleveland alongside Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen.

The Jazz could be the Western Conference version of that. And that's before considering who they should take with the No. 2 pick.

According to CBS Sports' Adam Finkelstein, the buzz around the draft combine was that Dybantsa reportedly hoped to stay in Utah. "His family is now with him in Utah, and they've grown to like the state and were hoping to stay," he added. However, Dybantsa's camp "reportedly indicated to some that they weren't interested" in manipulating his draft stock "despite their preference to end up in Utah."

If the Wizards do take Dybantsa at No. 1, most people at the draft combine expected the Jazz to take Peterson at No. 2. Finkelstein said "some people, including myself, wonder if some inside the Jazz front office might consider him to be a superior talent."

Peterson was the consensus No. 2 prospect in his recruiting class behind Dybantsa, so it would only be fitting for them to go No. 1 and No. 2 in the draft, too. Even if Utah would prefer that Dybantsa somehow slips to No. 2, Peterson would be an incredible consolation prize if he doesn't.

Keyonte George is coming off averaging a career-best 23.6 points and 6.1 assists per game this past season. George, Peterson, Bailey and Kessler could form the foundation of Utah’s future, while Jackson and Markkanen can push them into a win-now window.

The Jazz aren’t likely to challenge the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs for Western Conference supremacy yet. Jackson played only three games with Utah before getting shut down for the season because of a growth in his knee that needed to be surgically removed. Kessler played only five games before suffering a season-ending labrum injury. Whomever they select at No. 2 hasn't even played in the NBA .

But don’t be surprised if the Jazz begin a rapid ascent up the standings next year.

Unless otherwise noted, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball Reference. All salary information via Spotrac and salary-cap information via RealGM. All odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.

Follow Bryan on Bluesky.

This article was originally published on Forbes.com