Jazz's Blowout Loss to Pelicans Could Be Huge for Lottery Odds

While the Utah Jazz continue to tack on the late-season losses, their lottery odds just seem to keep on trending up–– especially so after the fallout from their latest blowout to the New Orleans Pelicans.

The Jazz's 137-156 blowout loss to New Orleans marks their 10th consecutive defeat on the season and 59th in total, thus placing them with the fourth-best odds to claim the number one pick atop the lottery.

To pair with that humbling loss to New Orleans, though, the Jazz also managed to find some outside help from the bottom of the lottery as well.

The Brooklyn Nets took home a 96-90 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks for their third win in five games, which now leaves them just a half game ahead of Utah for the third-best odds at number one.

Of course, the race is far from over, with a lot of games left to be played in the few days that remain between now and the end of the regular season. But it seems like there's a bigger possibility than initially expected that Utah could see their lottery odds climb even higher than the fourth spot.

How the Jazz Can Climb to Third-Best Lottery Odds

As the Jazz now have just two games left on their schedule before their year officially comes to a close, the clock is ticking for just how much tanking Utah has left in store before they can head into the offseason for a much-needed refresh.

In terms of what's ahead, the Jazz have a date against the Memphis Grizzlies for their home finale, then their 82nd game of the year on the road against the Los Angeles Lakers without Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.

Dropping both games to end up at a 21-61 record would put the Jazz in prime position to at least tie for the fourth-best odds with the Sacramento Kings, which, all things considered, would make for a pretty solid success of a season.

Apr 5, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Utah Jazz head coach Will Hardy talks to forward Cody Williams (5) during the second half at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

However, there's room for the Jazz to climb even further. Brooklyn has three games left on their schedule against the Indiana Pacers, another outing against the Bucks, and a season finale against the Toronto Raptors.

In the event Utah loses out and Brooklyn wins just one of those three, it means the Jazz and Nets tie for the third-best odds, with the final placement for both to be decided with a coin toss. If the Nets win two games while the Jazz lose out, they can have sole possession of that third spot in the lottery, so long as the Kings also don't catch them.

It'll take some real commitment from the Jazz in these next two games, combined with some outside help in a couple of other games, to truly cement their status with top-three odds in next month's lottery. And even still, there's no guarantee that Utah even ends up with a top-three pick at the end of it.

If they can cement that top-three spot, though, it allows the Jazz to enter this offseason in the best possible position, potentially primed to secure another top young player for this budding core, and enter next season with wildly different expectations from what Utah entered this year with.