Every Utah Jazz First-Round Pick of the Last 20 Years: Hits and Misses

The Utah Jazz have a pretty solid track record when it comes to their recent first round draft picks.

In all, the Jazz have had 22 first-round rookies on their opening-night roster throughout the past 20 seasons. Many of those have developed into, at the very least, solid rotational pieces, a few have honed into starting-level talents, and a handful of others have made that leap into becoming a star.

But some of those picks also didn't pan out quite as initially anticipated. Whether that be due to injury, an early trade that shipped them out, or simply just a lack of development, not every one of those first-round picks has ended up successful.

With that in mind, let's turn the clock back through the past 20 drafts the Jazz have had a first-round pick, and sort out just how well things have gone for them by deciding whether each selection from the past two decades has been a hit or a miss.

2026

Darryn Peterson, Pick 2: TBD - There's been some good signs from what Peterson has shown in his Jazz tenure thus far, but he's still yet to play a regular-season NBA game. So it's hard to tell whether or not he's much of a hit or a miss just yet. Utah's No. 2 pick might have the best chance of winning a Rookie of the Year award of anyone since Donovan Mitchell, though.

2025

Ace Bailey, Pick 5: TBD - Bailey's rookie season was a positive one. He made All-Rookie Second Team and improved virtually every month he took the floor for the Jazz. Now, he'll be looking to build upon that first year with an even better sophomore campaign, which might be able to truly certify just where exactly Bailey sits in Utah's future plans.

2024

Cody Williams, Pick 10: MISS - After an up-and-down first two years with the Jazz, the front office finally closed their chapter with Williams as they traded him to the Minnesota Timberwolves earlier last week in exchange for Josh Green. For a top 10 selection with previously high hopes, it's a bad blip on the radar for this typically sharp draft room.

Isaiah Collier, Pick 29: HIT - Collier was one of the more surprising draft fallers in the first round back in 2024. And two years in, he's proven more than worthy of that near-second-round selection. He's Utah's primary backup point guard behind Keyonte George, and one of the better young playmakers in the NBA.

2023

Taylor Hendricks, Pick 9: MISS - After Hendricks suffered his major leg injury at the beginning of the 2024 season, his time with the Jazz would never be the same. He'd recover, but never quite got back on track for his anticipated development and got dealt for Jaren Jackson at last season's trade deadline.

Keyonte George, Pick 16: HIT - George's first two years with the Jazz were questionable, but after a breakout third season in 2025-26, he's risen to now be one of Utah's cornerstone pieces and will be due for a nice payday to remain in Salt Lake City at the end of this season, or maybe even before the 2026-27 campaign.

Brice Sensabaugh, Pick 28: HIT - Sensabaugh was in a similar situation to Collier: a talented draft prospect that fell deep into the first round of the draft but was someone the Jazz were eager to capitalize on. After a career season in 2025-26 averaging 15 points per game, he's become one of Utah's more appealing young scorers on the roster.

2022

Ochai Agbaji, Pick 14: MISS - This pick was technically the Cleveland Cavaliers', but became the Jazz's following their blockbuster Donovan Mitchell trade. Some returning assets in that deal, like Lauri Markkanen, developed quite well. Agbaji, though, who played just 110 games in Utah before being traded to the Toronto Raptors in 2024, wasn't one of those.

Walker Kessler, Pick 22: HIT - Another player who was technically selected by another team before the Jazz's 2022 summer moves; Kessler converted much better on his draft stock than Agbaji did. He was a Rookie of the Year finalist, has developed into a quality defensive anchor, and while not on the roster anymore, was certainly able to get Utah some real future assets to work with via trade.

2020

Udoka Azubuike, P27: MISS - Azubuike had some high hopes from Jazz fans when he was drafted at the back-end of the first round in 2020. He didn't quite convert on those expectations. He lasted just three season in Utah to play less than 100 career games with them, and hasn't played in the NBA since 2024. with the Phoenix Suns

2018

Grayson Allen, Pick 22: HIT - Allen's time with the Jazz was short-lived. He only played 38 games with Utah before he was traded the following offseason in 2019. Career-wise, though, Allen has developed into a quality three-and-D wing. His career scoring average is 11.2 points per game on 40% shooting frm three, and he's coming off a career-best season with the Suns.

2017

Donovan Mitchell, Pick 13: HIT - The draft hit everyone remembers: Utah snagged multiple-time All-Star Donovan Mitchell at the back-end of the lottery via trade with the Denver Nuggets in exchange for Trey Lyles. He didn't miss the playoffs once throughout his five-year stretch on the roster, got traded for a haul in 2022, and is one of the best guards in this franchise's recent history.

Tony Bradley, Pick 28: MISS - The results from Mitchell's selection panned out much better than Tony Bradley’s. He played three years and less than 80 games in Utah before he would be traded in 2020 to the Philadelphia 76ers. Bradley has become a bit of a tenured role player in the league, though, having played 41 games throughout the 2025-26 regular season.

2015

Trey Lyles, Pick 12: MISS - Lyles has become a decade-long role player in the NBA since his lottery selection by the Jazz, and he was a huge reason for their later acquisition of Donovan Mitchell. However, for the 12th-overall pick, having only averaged more than 10 points per game on less than 45% career field goal shooting is hard to consider a true hit.

2014

Dante Exum, Pick 5: MISS - Injuries plaguing Exum's time with the Jazz led to his time in Utah not going quite as successfully as it was once hoped. He played 215 career games with the Jazz to average less than six points and three assists per game, and was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the middle of the 2019-20 season.

Rodney Hood, Pick 23: HIT - Hood became a pretty well-known role player in Utah upon his arrival in 2014. He played four years with the Jazz with over 200 career games and 167 starts, and he had the best seasons of his career here too as a nightly 13-point scorer. As a late first-round pick, this pickup is one of the more underrated gems of this team's 2010s draft history.

2013

Trey Burke, Pick 9: MISS - The Michigan star guard never quite found his footing with the Jazz to be the offensive force he was drafted to be. He was top three in Rookie of the Year voting for 2014, yet never quite saw the highs of that rookie season with 12-3-5 splits again throughout his career. After nine years pro, he hasn't played in the league since 2022.

Rudy Gobert, Pick 27: HIT -For a near-second-round pick, netting a four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, a multipe-time All-Star, and one of the best rim protectors in recent league history is a pretty solid return to be had. There's a real argument that, of Utah's draft history since 2000, this is their best draft selection of all.

2011

Enes Kanter, Pick 3: MISS - With high hopes as a top-three pick in the draft, Kanter wasn't able to become much more than a solid bench big throughout his time in the league. He played four seasons in Utah before he was traded to the OKC Thunder in 2015, going on to have some of the best years of his career, yet never quite returning on that top pick investment.

Alec Burks, Pick 12: HIT - Burks has developed into one of the NBA's most tenured role players now hitting 14 years in the NBA. He never became a true star like some other picks in this draft, but he spent eight years in Utah as a staple bench player, and is one of 11 players in this class to play 14-plus seasons in the league.

2010

Gordon Hayward, P9: HIT - While the ending to his time in Utah was probably one of the ugliest of any player’s exit from this franchise's history, there's little doubt he panned out on his expectations as a top 10 pick. He developed into an All-Star talent and focal point of the Jazz's offense, and could've gotten a few more All-Star nods with the Boston Celtics if not for his 2018 ankle injury.

2008

Oct 22, 2010; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves forward-center Kosta Koufos (41) drives to the basket as Drew Gooden (0) defends during the game at the Bradley Center. The Timberwolves defeated the Bucks 119-118 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Kosta Koufos, P23: MISS - He was a decade-long veteran in the NBA, but never quite had the production that jumped off the page––especially in his two years with the Jazz. His best career season came in 2013 with the Denver Nuggets, where he averaged 8.0 points and 6.9 rebounds a night.

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