Jazz Make Franchise History for Wrong Reasons Once Again

Even if this team wins out for their remaining three games on the year, they'll still fall short of that 20-win mark.

It doesn't come as much of a surprise considering the Jazz's major lapses in the wins and losses column following the All-Star break, a period of which Utah has now gone 3-22. It's a testament to how much this team has dived into their tanking process during the second half of the season, and when looking ahead to this summer's draft lottery, such a strategy has the chance to pay off in a big way.

The Jazz currently rank 24th in the NBA for offensive rating, while also being dead-last in the league for defensive rating at a brutal 120.4. As a result, Utah has seen the implications of that in their recent wins and losses, and are now primed to sit atop of this year's draft lottery with one of three teams with the best odds for number one.

Will such a bumpy season end up paying off for the Jazz in the end? That remains to be seen, but in their efforts to be in the best spot to land a young franchise-changing star like Cooper Flagg, Utah has done all they can to maximize those chances later this summer.

Perhaps with his services aboard, or even another top prospect in this year's class, the Jazz can see the arrow trending upward for next season. However, time will tell if that aspired luck to land on top of the board for this year's draft will come to form.

Just three games remain in George's second-year campaign, but he made sure to show out with at least one more standout performance before calling it a wrap.