Ranking Every Top 5 Draft Pick in Utah Jazz History

Thanks to a little bit of luck in the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery, the Utah Jazz will have their first top-three pick in 15 years, but also their second top-five pick of the last two summers by landing the number-two overall pick for later this June.

It's quite rare for the Jazz to have a selection this high in the NBA Draft.

Across their 52-year history as a franchise, Utah has only selected in the top five on six occasions, and only five of those players would even play a game with the franchise. Just one player of those six would even land an All-Star appearance in their time with the Jazz.

It's been an interesting history for the Jazz at the top of the draft board, to say the least. Let's break down that track record by ranking the six top-five picks Utah has had throughout franchise history, and determine who might be the best of the bunch:

6. Dominique Wilkins | No. 3 Pick, 1982

Dec 1981; Athens, GA, USA; FILE PHOTO; Georgia Bulldogs forward (21) Dominique Wilkins during the 1981-82 season. Mandatory Credit: Malcolm Emmons-Imagn Images | Malcolm Emmons-Imagn Images

It's pretty ironic that Dominique Wilkins can be the only Hall of Famer on this list that also happens to fall at the bottom of the Jazz's top-five picks in franchise history.

Why? Because he never even got a chance to play a game in Utah before being dealt to the Atlanta Hawks just three months following his selection at the third-overall pick. And that deal just so happened to be one of the worst trades in NBA history.

According to Wilkins himself, the Jazz wanted him to play power forward next to Adrian Dantley in their frontcourt, which in the 1980s, was a whole different ask than what it would be in the modern NBA.

He refused to play, and in due time, would be traded to Atlanta for Larry Drew, Freeman Williams, and $1 million in cash.

At the time, that package was seen as a haul. But it wouldn't take long for those feelings to shift.

Drew would play three years with the Jazz before being suspended for the league's anti-drug policy in 1985, Williams suited up for just 18 games with Utah before virtually getting phased out of the league, and Wilkins would go on to be one of the best small forwards the NBA has ever seen.

Talent-wise, Wilkins is unquestionably the best on this list. But from the Jazz's perspective, this is most definitely one of the bigger lowlights the franchise has ever been a part of.

5. Dante Exum | No. 5 Pick, 2014

Apr 15, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Utah Jazz guard Dante Exum (11) brings the ball up the court during the first quarter against the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

A pick that modern-day Jazz fans will be more familiar with, Dante Exum had high hopes of being the Jazz's answer to be their point guard of the future; a lengthy 6-foot-5 Australian with appealing physical traits and eye-catching ceiling, and would be the first guard off the board in 2014.

However, that aspired ceiling would never truly be met in Utah––a lot of which could be attributed to persistent injury troubles.

Exum played a total of 215 games in Utah over five and a half seasons, would miss his entire sophomore campaign with a torn ACL, never truly unlocked his offensive game, and would be traded in 2020 with the Cleveland Cavaliers for Jordan Clarkson.

In the years following his split with Utah, Exum has since become a nice role player for the Dallas Mavericks since 2023, but has still dealt with frequent injury issues, playing just 20 regular season games during the most recent 2025-26 campaign.

4. Enes Kanter | No. 3 Pick, 2011

October 25, 2012; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz center Enes Kanter (0) and Utah Jazz point guard Alec Burks (10) celebrate their pending victory with just seconds remaining in the second half against the Portland Trail Blazers at EnergySolutions Arena. The Jazz defeated the Trail Blazers 97-91. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-Imagn Images | Russ Isabella-Imagn Images

A marginally better selection than Exum, Kanter would be one of the primary incoming pieces involved in the Jazz's blockbuster trade involving Deron Williams back in 2011, considering the third-overall pick to select Kanter would actually stem from the New Jersey Nets.

Kanter played three and a half seasons in Utah and 265 regular-season games, who wound up developing into a solid bench piece of their frontcourt, averaging 9.3 points and 5.9 rebounds throughout his brief career with the Jazz.

In 2015, Kanter would be part of a three-team deal to be shipped to the OKC Thunder that essentially brought Utah a future first and second-round pick in return, and would continue for an 11-year career that also came with stops joining the New York Knicks, Portland Trail Blazers, and Boston Celtics.

In all, a pretty solid career role player who would even be top-three in Sixth Man of the Year voting with the Thunder in 2016. But for a third-overall pick, he didn't quite meet the steep expectations in place.

3. Ace Bailey | No. 5 Pick, 2025

Jun 25, 2025; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Ace Bailey looks on after being selected as the fifth pick by the Utah in the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

It's only been one season of the Ace Bailey experience in Utah, but it's not much of a stretch to say he's one of their better top-five picks in franchise history already when comparing him to some of their past entries.

Bailey finished his first season with the Jazz averaging some strong numbers: 13.8 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists while shooting 44.3% from the field and making his way to All-Rookie Second Team in the process.

Bailey got better, more refined, and gradually comfortable within this Jazz roster on both sides of the floor, and now sets up as one of the team's key cornerstones to build around for as long as he's in the building and playing at this level.

And if he keeps trending in this direction, it's hard to imagine him not creeping even higher up the leaderboard of the Jazz's all-time top-five picks.

2. Darrell Griffith | No. 2 Pick, 1980

Mar 24, 1980; Indianapolis, IN, USA; FILE PHOTO; Louisville Cardinals shooting guard Darrell Griffith (35) in action against the UCLA Bruins during the 1980 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship game at Market Square Arena. The Cardinals defeated the Bruins 59-54 and Griffith was named the tournament's most outstanding player. Mandatory Credit: Malcolm Emmons-Imagn Images | Malcolm Emmons-Imagn Images

One of the best dunkers of his generation and one of the more memorable players in Jazz franchise history; Darrell Griffith was a trailblazer when it came to high-flying slams and getting to the basket in style.

Griffith is the highest draft selection the Jazz have had throughout their 50-plus-year history. The Louisville star would burst onto the scene in 1981 to win the league's Rookie of the Year award, averaging over 20 points per game in year one, and played nearly 800 combined games for the franchise.

His peak was a bit short-lived though. In 1985, Griffith would suffer a stress fracture during a pickup game in Kentucky that led to him having surgery and missing the entire 1985-86 season, and never quite rising back to the same "Dunkenstein" levels of highlight plays at the rim that he'd been used to since coming out of college.

Nonetheless, his history as one of the best, most fun players in Jazz franchise history is clearly cemented. He's top-five in Utah's record books for games played (765), minutes (21,403), and total points (12,391).

1. Deron Williams | No. 3 Pick, 2005

February 19, 2010; Sacramento, CA, USA; Utah Jazz guard Deron Williams (8) passes the ball against the Golden State Warriors in the fourth quarter at ORACLE Arena. The Jazz defeated the Warriors 100-89. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images | Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

Williams only spent six seasons in Utah before being dealt to the Nets in 2011. But that time wouldn't be without having one of the most impressive peaks that the franchise has ever seen.

Through that 2005 to 2011 stretch, Williams had two All-NBA selections, two All-Star nods, was a core piece of the Jazz's 2007 Western Conference Finals run, and had four-straight seasons averaging over 10 assists a night.

At the time, Williams was even in the discussion of being one of, if not the best point guard in the NBA along with the likes of Chris Paul. It seems hard to believe considering the second half of his career with the Nets would never quite reach the same heights from what he saw in Utah. But that was real.

The ending of Williams' partnership with Utah wasn't exactly the brightest moment in the team's recent history. Still, there's no doubt he's one of the greatest players to ever lace up in Utah's backcourt.

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