SALT LAKE CITY – As the halfway mark of the 2024-25 NBA season approaches, the Utah Jazz aren’t one of the three teams with the best odds at the top pick in the upcoming draft.
However, there is still plenty of basketball left on the schedule. Can Utah make its way to the top of the lottery odds before the season’s conclusion in April?
On the Jazz Notes podcast, Ben Anderson and Chandler Holt took a deep dive into the NBA schedule and Utah’s path to the top (or bottom).
Have the @utahjazz already won too many games for a top pick? 🤔@BensHoops and @CHoltSports talk about this and more in this week’s episode of the Jazz Notes podcast! pic.twitter.com/xIJScxdD3x
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) January 13, 2025
As it currently stands, Utah holds the 14th-worst record in the Western Conference and the 26th-worst in the entire association.
If the draft was held tomorrow, the Jazz would have the fifth-best chance at the No. 1 overall pick behind Washington, New Orleans, Toronto, and Charlotte. The first three teams have a 14 percent chance at the top pick. Charlotte has a 12.5 percent chance and Utah has a 10.5 percent chance.
Luckily for Utah, it appears the only way to go is up. Brooklyn has the sixth-best odds but they already have three more wins than the Jazz.
I took the time to sim the Draft Lottery based on todays standings. Through 25 simulations, the @utahjazz moved into the top three 10 times (three No. 1 picks) and fell out of the top five 11 times.
May the odds be ever in your favor…#TakeNote #NBADraft
— Chandler Holt (@CHoltSports) January 13, 2025
Jazz fans who are all in on lottery odds, there is almost nothing but good news for you.
With 44 games left on the NBA calendar, Utah has the 13th-toughest strength of schedule. Three of the four teams with worse records than the Jazz have some of the easiest remaining schedules in the association. Toronto has the easiest schedule, Washington has the second-easiest schedule, and Charlotte has the fourth-easiest schedule.
To sweeten the pot a bit more, as conference foes these teams play each other multiple times before the end of the season. Someone has to win those games.
“All of these teams that are right around the Jazz have to play each other,” Anderson said. “It’s not like they have all gotten those out of the way early in the year. They haven’t. Those games are coming up. That’s a really good sign for the Jazz.”
The one unfortunate part of the strength of the schedule is the fact that New Orleans has the sixth-toughest remaining schedule. However, Zion Williamson has returned to the floor for the Pelicans. They barely lost to the red-hot Celtics on Sunday by one point and have two home games against the Jazz later this week.
All in all, the Jazz are in a prime position to climb into the top three of the lottery odds and have the best shot at Cooper Flagg this summer.
The Jazz Notes podcast, hosted by Ben Anderson and Chandler Holt, keeps you up-to-date with Utah Jazz news from on and off the court every week. Check back on Monday afternoons for the latest episode!
