Analyst Describes Jazz's Season in One Word

The Utah Jazz have had no shortage of ups and downs throughout their 2024-25 campaign, but if you were to describe this year within just one word, what would it be?

It likely wouldn't be the most attractive descriptor in the books, and in the mind of Bleacher Report's Dan Favale, his choice wasn't too appealing when stacking up each NBA team's season with just two weeks left to go in the year.

Favale described the Jazz's season as "desparation," simply due to the means of which they've stooped in order to maximize their tanking efforts ahead of this summer's draft lottery.

"Flagrant tanking incites a lot of different opinions about the integrity of the game," Favale wrote. "The Utah Jazz have paid little attention to the fallout from their late-season, er, roster management. They have no choice. None of the league's other four worst teams are as desperate for a face of the future... A bottom-four record amid flattened lottery odds isn't necessarily enough. Finishing dead last ensures their pick can fall no lower than fifth, as opposed to No. 6, No. 7 or No. 8. It sounds somewhat trivial, but in Utah's case, every possible detail, however seemingly small, matters."

Throughout the 2024-25 season, and especially so for the second half of their action, the Jazz have ensured to take whatever steps they can to fulfil their tanking destiny. Whether it be taking six-figure fines for sitting Lauri Markkanen, letting Walker Kessler start shooting multiple threes a night, or emphasizing their young talent as much as possible, it's resulted in Utah stacking up their fair share of losses.

It's a massive change from what the Jazz have presented during their past two seasons, as those resulted in Utah exceeding expectations in the first half, just to tear down the operation at the trade deadline. This year, the mission was ironed out from the start, effectively putting this team in a prime position to land some of the top odds in this summer's draft.

There are still a few more games to go before the Jazz officially wrap things up, so Utah still needs to finish their tank job on a positive note to achieve their goals of a top-five pick. Teams like the Washington Wizards and the Charlotte Hornets are right in the thick of the mix to take the edge as their efforts are also going strong.

If they do, this Jazz team can find a much-needed young cornerstone to add to the equation for the forseeable future, and providing huge step in the right direction for this extensive rebuild process.