Utah Jazz fans endured four long years of rebuilding: four losing seasons, only 39 wins in two years, the worst record in the NBA and two consecutive last-place finishes in the Western Conference.
But is the wait finally over?
The Jazz front office has constructed a roster full of potential that’s caught the attention of NBA experts and even one of the league’s greatest players.
LeBron James called the Jazz starting lineup “very intriguing” while previewing the upcoming NBA season with Steve Nash on their “Mind the Game” podcast last week.
“It’s a lot of high hopes for what their team can become, but it’s also the Wild, Wild West too. So, how does that fit into the Western Conference?” James said. “... There’s no reason why these guys shouldn’t be competing and going out and trying to win ball games.”
James isn’t alone in his expectations.
The Deseret News spoke to Yahoo Sports’ Kevin O’Connor, The Stein Line’s Marc Stein and ESPN analysts Richard Jefferson and Tim Legler to hear their thoughts on this revamped Jazz team.
Consider all of them intrigued by the Jazz’s potential.
“I think this might be one of the best stories in the league coming out of Utah this year and what this young talent base could do and putting some of these unique really big lineups on the floor,” Legler said. “I can’t wait to watch them.”
Can the Jazz make the playoffs?
Like James and Nash, Jefferson considers the Jazz “one of the more intriguing teams” in the NBA this season, and he thinks they’re the team with “the widest range,” he told the Deseret News on Monday. “If you told me that they would be in the play-in and be the eighth seed, I could believe you.
“If you told me that they were healthy and that they were in the top six, I could believe that. They probably have, in my opinion, the widest range. They could finish outside the postseason. I think they could finish sixth. That’s how wide the range is.”
“All the ingredients are there for the Utah Jazz to be one of the funner watches in the league but also a really competitive watch.”
Yahoo Sports’ Kevin O’Connor
But Jefferson said it comes down to the players accepting their defined roles, which he added is “hard to do with young teams.” He pointed to the New York Knicks, Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs as examples.
“I think right now for them to make a jump, this collective group, (Darryn) Peterson, all these guys have to say, ‘Hey, I know I’m this pick, but can I defend like an all-defensive player? I know I’m this pick, but is it OK if I come off the bench and add support in scoring?’” Jefferson said. “Those are the things that define a team’s greatness.”
Stein and O’Connor are a little more measured in their expectations of the Jazz’s playoff chances, but both expect a much improved team — with Stein even calling Utah “sneaky dangerous” in an August season preview.
“The Jazz have quietly amassed a good amount of talent and I think we all know that they’re desperate to win again,” Stein said via email. “That combination alone doesn’t mean they’ll actually crack the top eight in the West, but it’s a stark contrast to last season’s tanking efforts. I think they’re going to be a tough out and maybe even more than that if things go right. I’m intrigued.”
O’Connor sees the Jazz pushing for and even possibly exceeding .500 for the first time since the 2021-2022 season, he told the Deseret News in late September.
“I just think the names on the page and the way their skill sets complement each other, I think all the ingredients are there for the Utah Jazz to be one of the funner watches in the league but also a really competitive watch,” he said.
He added that he’d “be kind of shocked” if the Jazz don’t have significantly more wins this season.
“I just don’t see how this team is bad again,” he said. “I just think they have too many good players, both young and proven.”
“Utah and Memphis by far, I think, have the brightest futures of the young teams.”
Yahoo Sports’ Kevin O'Connor
But the Jazz aren’t contenders yet, according to O’Connor.
“I think Utah is a few years away from even sniffing that conversation to compete with (the Thunder and Spurs), never mind the teams below them,” he said before listing off the Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves.
If Utah does make the playoffs it would be through the play-in, or possibly the sixth seed, according to O’Connor.
“I don’t think they do compare to the best teams in the Western Conference, but they’re certainly a lot better than the teams at the bottom of the West,” he said.
While O’Connor might not be sold on the Jazz’s playoff chances this season, he’s high on their future.
“If you’re ranking best futures in the West of the noncontending teams, Utah and Memphis by far, I think, have the brightest futures of the young teams,” he said. “They’re not contenders, but they definitely are on a trajectory toward contention in the next handful of years.”
Will Hardy’s new ‘mandate’
Both O’Connor and Legler mentioned head coach Will Hardy first when discussing their 2026-2027 expectations for the Jazz. For the first time in Hardy’s tenure, the focus isn’t on the next draft’s positioning.
“I’m excited by the fact that Will Hardy has a mandate that’s different this year, and that’s, ‘Go win,’” Legler said. “... I think he’s one of the bright young minds in the game, and now you’ve given him enough pieces and versatility and they could actually throw some lineups out there that are going to look different than a lot of people.”
Legler noted the size advantage of using a lineup featuring Lauri Markkanen, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Jaxson Hayes.
“You could throw three 7-footers in your frontcourt and then put Ace Bailey out there at the two, who’s probably still growing, and you could have one of the biggest lineups in the NBA on the floor at any time,” he said.
Then there’s Utah’s young stars Keyonte George, who is coming off a breakout season; Bailey, who could make a similar jump, and Peterson, the No. 2 overall pick in the draft.
“This is a really fun team, and like I said, a coach that has been champing at the bit to just go out and coach to win,” Legler said. “We’re going to see some really good things out of Will Hardy and some good things out of this team.”
O’Connor said he really likes the adaptability the Jazz roster provides Hardy with “to shape-shift and play different styles.”
“You can play through Keyonte George, high pick-and-roll with Jaren Jackson Jr. popping or Jusuf Nurkić rolling,” he said. “You can play through dribble hand-off actions with Lauri Markkanen, running him through hand-offs and cutting to the basket. You can have Darryn Peterson or Ace Bailey running in isolation, or Keyonte George playing one-on-one. There’s just so many different ways to play, and all of these guys are pretty selfless.”
Welcome to ‘The Darryn Peterson experience’
The Jazz player O’Connor is most intrigued with this season is “without a doubt” Peterson, he said. He described the version of Peterson coming out of Prolific Prep as the “second coming of Kobe Bryant.”
“Just the bursts in the lane, the fluidity, the explosiveness with his quick, sudden movements, and the jumper off the dribble, and the ability to create for others, the defensive ability. He looked like a megastar,” he said.
“Peterson might just be a better prospect, straight up.”
Yahoo Sports’ Kevin O'Connor
At Kansas, Peterson’s hamstring issues hampered that reputation and it appeared that he was “tapping into his inner Ray Allen,” according to O’Connor.
“What version of Darryn Peterson are we going to get?” he said. “I think we’re going to get all of the versions because of the nature of this Utah Jazz roster. With other existing players who can create, you’re going to see Darryn Peterson be able to play off-ball; you’re going to see Darryn Peterson be able to play on the ball and get those reps, get those chances.
“As long as he stays healthy, as long as the cramping stuff doesn’t return, I think the Darryn Peterson experience is going to be a very positive one for Jazz fans to witness during his rookie season.”
O’Connor wants to see George and Peterson on the floor together as much as possible.
“Get those guys as many opportunities together to grow together,” he said. “Now, you can make the argument for Ace Bailey, year two, put him in that starting lineup, but I want Darryn Peterson there.”
Leading into the 2026 NBA draft, many fans had hoped the Jazz would land former BYU Cougar AJ Dybantsa, who went No. 1 to the Washington Wizards. How long will it take for those fans to be happy the Jazz took Peterson instead of trading up for Dybantsa?
“It’s a good question,” O’Connor said. “I’ll tell you what. I think this year for AJ Dybantsa in Washington has the chance to go sour because as much as I like the way things make sense in Utah, I also worry about how things make sense in Washington with Trae Young and Anthony Davis there, these veterans that are trying to reprove themselves and they have other motives.”
O’Connor thinks that could lead to fewer opportunities and lower stats for Dybantsa and even “some friction.”
“Whereas in Peterson, things might just feel right,” he said. “They might feel good right away, and so, maybe it happens pretty early on for Jazz fans that they are happy with the Peterson selection, rather than the dream of landing AJ Dybantsa out of BYU. And plus, not only that, Peterson might just be a better prospect, straight up.”
Can the Jazz’s plan go sour?
As a Boston Celtics fan, O’Connor has full trust in Danny and Austin Ainge. He remembers when he was 12 years-old and Danny Ainge, then the Celtics’ general manager, traded away Boston fan-favorite Antoine Walker.
The move may have seemed ludicrous to Celtics fans at the time, but “it turned out to be the right decision,” O’Connor said. And that was just one of many risks Ainge took in Boston that paid off.
“I think the Ainges you can trust to figure things out.”
Kevin O'Connor
“Over the years, all the tough decisions he made: trading down from No. 1 to No. 3 in the Markelle Fultz draft; taking Jaylen Brown in a year where a lot of fans wanted Kris Dunn or to trade for Jimmy Butler; and trading Kendrick Perkins, a fan-favorite center, for Jeff Green — it didn’t work out the way you expected, but it was a calculated gamble,” he said.
O’Connor doesn’t see how Ainge’s risks won’t pay off in Utah, too.
“With all the pieces Utah has now on the roster, all the assets they have from a draft pick standpoint and from tradeable players standpoint as well, I just think they have so many pieces to play with that it would go against three decades of history that this won’t work out,” O’Connor said. “I think the Ainges you can trust to figure things out. Now, does it turn into a championship? I don’t know. It’s really tough to win a championship.”
He noted that the Celtics only won one championship under Ainge in 2008 but won it again 16 years later in 2024 after Ainge had left but with the key pieces he drafted.
“I think it’ll work out in terms of turning the Jazz into contenders at a minimum, and then who knows how that plays out when it comes to trying to hoist the trophy,” O’Connor said.
The Utah Jazz open the 2026-2027 NBA season on the road against the Memphis Grizzlies Wednesday at 6 p.m. MDT.
