Utah Jazz analyst reveals why they might not get Cooper Flagg

It’s been a while since the Utah Jazz were a competitive team. It’s been even longer since they made it to the NBA Finals, which hasn’t happened since Michael Jordan ended their hopes twice in consecutive seasons.

That’s why they’ve decided to go face-first towards the bottom of the standings. That would put them in a better position to land a potential generational prospect like Cooper Flagg.

They’re tied for the highest odds (14%) to land the first-overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. Unfortunately, as team analyst Matt John pointed out, they have never found luck in the lottery.

The Utah Jazz have never moved up in the NBA Draft lottery

“By getting the league’s worst record, the Jazz can’t fall lower than the No. 5 pick,” wrote John. “Even so, in all the times the Jazz have played the odds, they’ve never moved up higher than their pre-lottery position. Three times, they’ve moved backward. Last year, they had the eighth-best odds and wound up with the No. 10 pick, which turned out to be Cody Williams.”

Cooper Flagg #2 of the Duke Blue Devils

Of course, it’s not like the Jazz have fully embraced the tank, either. If anything, they’ve tried to stay competitive despite not having as much talent as other Western Conference teams.

They absolutely tried to get the worst record this time around, and while history hasn’t been kind to them, the odds seem to be in their favor, and it’s hard to think of a better draft class to end this curse.