Mar 27, 2023; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler (24) warms up before a game against the Phoenix Suns at Vivint Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images Rob Gray-Imagn Images

Walker Kessler's One-Word Reaction to Utah Jazz Draft Lottery Results

Originally posted on Utah Jazz on SI | By Jared Koch | Last updated May 14, 2025 4:10 PM ET

Things simply did not go the Utah Jazz's way during Monday's 2025 NBA Draft Lottery.

As they entered the night with some of the best odds to land the top spot on the board, and with it, the rights to select projected top pick Cooper Flagg, Utah ended up dropping down to their worst-possible scenario on the table at pick five, and with it comes some major questions for what's to come in their rebuild process.

Nothing short of a tough break for Utah, effectively throwing a bit of cold water on the outlook for this offseason and the season to come.

For Jazz center Walker Kessler, he had a blunt way of putting the results of Monday's lottery in just one word.

"It's unfortunate," Kessler said during a recent interview on The Pat Bev Podcast. "I'll put it that way."

By definition, fortune was not in the Jazz's favor. Instead of the 14% odds at number one falling their way and securing the top slot, the landscape did a total 180. And as Kessler continues to note, the worst team in the league really hasn't had any crazy luck across the past three lotteries.

"It's crazy. The past three years, the team with the worst record has gotten the fifth pick. So, really unfortunate," Kessler continued. "But, for us as an organization, I saw my owner [Ryan Smith] tweeted how he was frustrated, but how you've got to wake up the next morning, you've got to figure it out. So, this next season, I've got to be better, the team's got to be better, and regardless of the circumstances, we've got to figure it out."

Dropping from having an opportunity to draft Flagg to now being in line for the 5th-overall pick is a massive blow for the rebuild, but as Kessler and Ryan Smith go on to note, you've just got to figure it out.

Hope is far from lost for this Jazz rebuild and their future to come. Whether it be centering the young players in the fold, the draft picks to come, or the leadership Utah has established on both the coaching and front office side of things, there's tons of optimism for the coming years.

But, it so happens that the right ping-pong balls weren't turning up for the Jazz, and sometimes, that's just how the NBA rolls. It's a tough business, but the show must go on.

If anything, the end result of this lottery makes for an extremely interesting next couple of months to unfold for not just the Jazz, but the rest of this unpredictable league as well.

Next Steps for Utah Jazz After Devastating Draft Lottery Result

This article first appeared on Utah Jazz on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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