Utah Jazz Sitting Comfortable in NBA's Tank Race

Now just over halfway into the 2025-26 NBA regular season, more and more talk will be had about what the top of this coming draft lottery may look like once the offseason officially arrives, and exactly how the bottom of the league's "tank race" will shape up after the end of 82 games.

For the Utah Jazz, their positioning in this year's draft lottery matters a great deal. Their 2026 first-round pick, that's top-eight protected, is currently in the hands of the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder, meaning that if they select outside of the top-eight picks of the lottery, they won't retain their own top selection, but if their pick sits one through eight, Utah keeps it.

Especially in a draft class as highly valued as the one up ahead for this summer, it's critical that the Jazz keep that pick in their possession, which in turn makes this year's tank race more and more important to keep an eye on as the season progresses.

However, after the Jazz's recent stretch of games, their current standing amongst the tank race doesn't look all too bad.

Utah Jazz Looking Up in Tank Race

The most important factor to watch in the Jazz's efforts to land a high lottery pick this summer is for them to remain within the top eight selections. Creating some breathing room between that eighth pick and their final spot in the league standings could be important as well to prevent any teams from jumping ahead of them on lottery night, and jeopardizing their first-round pick.

Right now, the Jazz are sitting at the sixth-worst spot in league standings. They've lost their last three games—two of those to the Dallas Mavericks who sit at the eighth-worst spot—have won just two of their last ten, and now sit just two games away from landing within the top four of current lottery projections.

The Jazz, internally, are fully aware of what's at stake for their draft odds, and will continue to be throughout the rest of the season. But as of now, sitting with a top-six standing in the draft at the midway point of the year is a pretty positive turnout for Utah's front office, who's hoping to land one of the top names in this year's rookie class.

Jan 17, 2026; Dallas, Texas, USA; Utah Jazz guard Keyonte George (3) looks up from the floor during the second half against the Dallas Mavericks at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

At the top of the draft, guys like Kansas guard Darryn Peterson, BYU forward AJ Dybantsa, and Duke big man Cameron Boozer would all be cornerstone-level guys for the Jazz to land if they're fortunate enough to surge into the top three of the board, but more importantly, landing in the top eight will be the primary focus for Utah in the meantime, especially as they get deeper and deeper into the season.

While the Jazz have shown real promise this season, expect this front office to continue pushing for a few more losses to get racked up on the board to further enhance their lottery chances, and especially so once pushing past the trade deadline at the beginning of February, and once moving past the All-Star Break.

Looking ahead, the Jazz will have the 17th-toughest schedule in the NBA, as their remaining opponents have a combined .498 win percentage throughout the season so far. Only the Brooklyn Nets (.513, eighth toughest) and New Orleans Pelicans (.508, 10th toughest) sit ahead of them in current lottery odds with a harder remaining schedule.

In terms of those chances to retain their coveted first-round pick for the Jazz, it's so far, so good. Yet, it's only halfway through the regular season, so of course, there's much more work to be done.

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