Options for Utah Jazz with No. 5 Pick at 2025 NBA Draft

At Monday’s draft lottery, Utah’s worst fears were realized as the team fell to the No. 5 spot in the 2025 NBA Draft.

The team had a 48% chance of doing so, but the pain of losing out on talents like Cooper Flagg and Dylan Harper certainly isn’t lessened by that fact.

The team will still be tasked with adding a top talent, now doing so with less rigidity. The Jazz has a patch-worked roster of win-now veterans and young up-and-comers, but that shouldn’t stop the organization from swinging on high-upside.

Here are three options for the Jazz with the No. 5 pick in the upcoming draft:

Tre Johnson, Texas

A fluid two-guard, Johnson spent his season with Texas getting buckets, scoring just under 20 points per game on 43% shooting.

Johnson projects to be a three-level scorer, needing to some inside, but generally one of the best scorer’s in the class. From three, he shot 40% on nearly seven attempts per game.

Johnson is of a similar mold to current Jazz guard Keyonte George: a score-first combo guard with some general passing chops, too. But there’s no doubt the Longhorn would be the team’s most talented prospect in some time.

Kasparas Jakucionis, Illinois

Illinois hybrid Jakucionis is a different type of swing, offering play-making and shot-making in a 6-foot-5 frame.

Across 33 games with Illinois, the five star averaged 15 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists, filling up the stat-sheet consistently. With the right development, he could be a potent lead guard capable of running offense, but could also moonlight as an off-ball wing with projectable shooting.

If the team is looking for a moldable upside swing, Jakucionis could certainly be it.

Kon Knueppel, Duke

At 6-foot-7, Duke wing Kon Knueppel might not have the pure ceiling of the two others listed, but he’s undoubtedly one of the highest floor players in this draft.

Alongside Cooper Flagg, Knueppel helped the Blue Devils with 14.4 points, four rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. He has claim to being one of the best shooters in the class at 41% from three, but has some juice on the ball too with pick-and-roll prowess.

Knueppel’s ceiling isn’t superstar-level, but he’s guaranteed to be a mistake-free pick, and could have better upside than many think.