Jazz Draft: The Recent History of the 9th Overall Pick

While the Utah Jazz have yet to officially secure the 9th overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, it does happen to be the most likely outcome for the franchise. They'll enter the lottery with over a 50% chance to stay put at nine, with the chance of a top-four appearance sitting just above 20%.

An unusual situation for the Jazz, who we would usually see competing in the playoffs at this point in the year. Instead, the team is one year into a retool and will have likely have a top-10 pick for the first time since 2014.

As we continue to approach the draft, we can look back at the drafts of past years to see how recent history as fared. Of course, this truly has no influence on how a player will end up in the league, but maybe it could help raise (or lower) some of our current expectations.

With all of that out of the way, let's take a look back at the last three years of NBA Drafts to see how the most recent 9th overall picks' careers has gone up to this point.

2022 NBA Draft: Jeremy Sochan, PF, San Antonio Spurs

The Spurs, like the Jazz, are another team that isn't to accustomed to selecting players within the lottery. In what would be their third-straight season with a lottery pick, San Antonio opted to select Jeremy Sochan, a forward right down the road coming out of Baylor.

Sochan is mainly known for his unorthodox free throws, but he was actually one of the better rookies within this year's class. He averaged 11 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game, while starting in 94% of his games as a rookie.

Admittidly, he was a part of one of the worst teams in the league in the Spurs, so it would make sense for him to start as much as he did. Still, it looks as if Sochan will be apart of the Spurs' core for the forseeable future.

2021 NBA Draft: Davion Mitchell, PG, Sacramento Kings

In what was a surprising pick at the time, Davion Mitchell has since become one of the more valuable rotational pieces for the Kings. He was drafted 9th overall in 2022 to Sacramento, being a productive bench guard behind De'Aaron Fox in his two years in the league.

Mitchell did enter his rookie season averaging over 11 points per game, but that has since taken a significant dip. The second year guard ended up averaging a little less than 6 points in his sophomore campaign. However, Mitchell's specialties lie on the defensive end of the floor rather than being a top tier scorer.

Being a part of one of the league's better teams in the Kings this past season, Mitchell has established himself as a solid piece within the Sacramento core. Despite a disappointing round one loss this season against the Golden State Warriors, the team will look to rebound next season with Mitchell being a key part of the equation.

2020 NBA Draft: Deni Avdija, PF, Washington Wizards

A player that entered this year's draft with what some saw as high potential, Deni Avdija has yet to really match the hype he had generated when he got selected. He had projected as a lengthy, 6'9 point forward that could develop into a elite playmaker at the next level.

Instead, Avdija has yet to eclipse a scoring average over 10 points or 3 rebounds per game in his career. Sadly, Deni has fallen into the Wizards' recent graveyard of first rounders. Seriously, this team has failed to draft anyone close to an All-Star caliber in the past decade besides Bradley Beal.

Avdija will likely enter the 2023-24 season in a contract season, so there's never been a more crucial time for him to put all the pieces together and reach some of his initially hyped-up potential. If not, we could see him move on from Washington after a short four-season stint.

Follow Inside The Jazz on Facebook and Twitter.

Subscribe on YouTube for breaking Jazz news videos and live-stream podcasts!