Utah Jazz Rumored to Have Clear Regular Season Goal

For much of the Utah Jazz's 2025-26 NBA regular season, a ton of chatter has revolved around what's to come with their top-eight protected first-round pick at the end of the year, currently in possession of the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder.

If the Jazz fall within the top eight spots of the upcoming lottery, they'll be able to retain their coveted selection, but anywhere outside of that top eight leaves that pick with the Thunder. For where Utah sits in their rebuild, keeping that pick for the coming summer is crucial, and that appears to be a sentiment the front office shares as well.

According to NBA insider Grant Afseth of DallasHoopsJournal, the Jazz's "primary focus" for this season is retaining their first round pick.

"Since the introduction of the play-in tournament, the balance between competing and maximizing draft position has become central to the approach of teams like the Utah Jazz, whose 10-17 record sits in the bottom tier of the Western Conference. Utah’s primary focus is retaining its top-eight protected 2026 first-round pick, which would otherwise convey to the Oklahoma City Thunder, sources tell DallasHoopsJournal."

Utah Jazz Zeroed In on Keeping First Round Pick

It's a refreshing layer to add into the Jazz's key storyline encircling around this season, as for many, riding along with the tank in Utah for one more season, especially with a strong draft class on the horizon this summer, is the best direction to go in order to maximize their rebuild.

Through the first two months of the season, Utah's turned out to be overachieving a bit more than what many had expected. They've got 10 wins before the holidays and sit eighth in current lottery odds, which puts them right on the border of keeping or relinquishing that pick.

Recent history shows that the lottery isn't always favorable for the Jazz, though. Last year, the Jazz went from the projected first pick in the lottery all the way down to their worst-case scenario to number five. The year before, Utah was bumped down from the ninth-best odds to picking at 10.

Jun 26, 2024; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Cody Williams poses for photos with NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected in the first round by the Utah Jazz in the 2024 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

That means for Utah, ensuring the Jazz have the best chances of keeping that pick may rely on sinking even further than the eighth-worst team in league standings. One simple jump from a team behind them in the lottery would make for a brutal hit, so with such a goal in mind, the lower, the better.

Accomplishing it might be a bit easier said than done, though. Lauri Markkanen and Keyonte George are both playing at All-Star-caliber levels a quarter into the year, and young names around the roster are continuing to progress further, which could very well keep tacking on wins to make that end goal for the season just a bit tougher.

That makes the next couple of months to come in the season especially interesting to watch unfold, and as trade chatter begins to get louder before the deadline, perhaps the Jazz could opt to sell a few players on the roster in order to keep that pick out of the hands of Oklahoma City. If they do, the road to their aspired finish in the standings so might become just a tad bit easier.

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