Apr 6, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Utah Jazz guard Keyonte George (3) in action against the Atlanta Hawks in the fourth quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images Brett Davis-Imagn Images

ESPN Predicts Utah Jazz to Finish in Basement of NBA Standings

Originally posted on Utah Jazz on SI | By Jared Koch | Last updated Aug 27, 2025 1:00 PM ET

The Utah Jazz enter the 2025 NBA regular season looking a bit different from last year's group, prioritizing young talent and development this summer while shipping out tenured veterans from the past few years in Collin Sexton, Jordan Clarkson, and John Collins.

But in the midst of that turnover could also come some growing pains for the Jazz this season. For a group that's fresh off a 17-win campaign with a roster that's gotten younger and less experienced, it's easy to see how things could turn out to be a bit bumpy throughout the NBA calendar, especially in an uber-competitive Western Conference to surround them.

And with that in mind, ESPN doesn't see the landscape being too hot for the Jazz in terms of wins and losses this season.

ESPN's NBA insiders recently put together an early summer prediction of how this year's standings can turn out across the league, where, for the Jazz, they were pegged as 15th place in the West, along with dropping to the worst record in either conference at a lowly 19-63.

"Rounding out the bottom five, Utah's forever rebuild continues with new addition Ace Bailey, but the Jazz seem destined to end up in the West basement once again," ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk wrote.

Could the Jazz shock the world and get closer to a Play-In appearance than we all think is possible? Of course, anything can happen in the NBA, but with the current lay of the land Utah has in place for this season, another bottom-tier finish seems to be the most likely outcome for this young, developing group.

The Jazz have made it clear they do intend to compete at a higher level than they did last season across their extensive tanking efforts. But with the implications of their top-eight protected pick in next year's draft, currently in the hands of the Oklahoma City Thunder, it's also within Utah's best interest to navigate to a top spot in the lottery as they did this past season; all in what is expected to be a better draft class next summer than we've had in some time.

That will put a second-straight 60-loss season in play for the first time in franchise history, but it also essentially provides for a blank canvas of a year for this young talent of first, second, and third-year players to show what they can really offer for the next steps of this rebuild process.

If the Jazz can draw those conclusions with their young talent, while also reaching a top draft pick, this year can ultimately be a big success for the Jazz– even if the wins and losses may not fall their way in the short-term.