The Utah Jazz have never won an NBA championship, but they’ve historically been one of the winningest franchises in the league. Their 53.4% win rate is sixth-best in NBA history, but the team hasn’t been doing a lot of winning this season.
A 110-106 loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Monday dropped the Jazz to 16-60 in 2024-25, and they made history in the process. It’s the first time that the franchise has lost 60 games in a season (previous record was 59 in 1974-75), and while that’s embarrassing, it might well prove to be worth it.
The Jazz have been tanking this season with just one goal in mind: landing Cooper Flagg. The Duke Blue Devils forward has long been regarded as the consensus number one pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, and every team in the league would love to get him.
Flagg is a terrific two-way prospect and is currently averaging 19.5 points, 7.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 0.3 steals, and 1.8 blocks per game for Duke in the NCAA Tournament. According to CBS, he is just the second player in history to average at least 15 points, seven rebounds, and five assists in the tournament entering the Final 4 after Grant Hill (1994).
Flagg has been fairly efficient too, as he is shooting 44.8% from the field, 42.9% from three, and 87.0% from the line. There isn’t much not to like about this 18-year-old, and the Jazz are hoping he’ll be wearing their uniform later this year.
The teams with the three worst records in the league each have a 14% chance of winning the NBA Draft Lottery and getting that first pick. The Jazz have the worst record at this point, and it’s highly unlikely they’ll get out of the bottom three, so they’ll have as good as odds as anyone to get Flagg.
As for what kind of player the team that drafts Flagg will get, an anonymous NBA GM revealed their scouts have compared him to Kawhi Leonard.
“The best comp I’ve heard from our scouts is prime Kawhi Leonard. Now, that’s not perfect because they are very different players at the same age, but it’s the one I like in terms of their style of play, two-way versatility, passing, and the fact that they can both guard point guards, wings, and big men.”
“Kawhi’s defense was way ahead of his offense, and he has a lot of the same manufactured qualities [as Flagg] to his handle and shooting… But I think about his unwavering confidence and relentless work ethic combined with his physicality, IQ, and physical tools. That’s what helped him become an MVP candidate and the best player on a championship team.”
You certainly would be happy if the player you selected ends up being anywhere near as good as Leonard in his prime. He was being talked about as the best player in the league at one stage after leading the Toronto Raptors to the NBA title in 2019. If Flagg ever leads the Jazz to a title, all this losing certainly would have been worth it.
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