“ Hate” is a strong word and doesn’t quite fit here, but “teams that you root against the most” doesn’t have a great ring to it. This isn’t real hate, just sports hate. That said, the season is long, and if you’re an NBA head with a League Pass subscription, you sometimes need something to watch on nights the Jazz aren’t on. Here are the top five teams to hate-watch, or root against, this season. Some are for standings/playoff-race reasons, and some are for petty reasons, but both are valid.
5. Minnesota Timberwolves
I know,
I know. This isn’t a team Jazz fans find easy to hate. Most Jazz fans root for Rudy Gobert, and now they can root for Cody Williams too. While those players are fun to root for, there are real reasons to hope this team loses. In the upcoming draft, Utah gets the second-best pick of Utah, Cleveland, and Minnesota. This means that Jazz fans should root against all these teams because the worse they do, the better it is for Utah come draft night in 2027. So, even though it’s fun to root for Rudy Gobert, who still has strong roots in Utah, it helps the Jazz in a small way each time they lose. This includes next year, when Utah will still be receiving picks from the Rudy Gobert trade.
4. Oklahoma City Thunder
This is for purely petty reasons. I have no problem admitting that I am a hater. I remember last season when the Oklahoma City Thunder tried to ruin the Jazz’s tank to keep their pick. Instead of letting other teams do the same, Sam Presti and the Oklahoma City Thunder tried to meddle, nay, snitch, on the Jazz for what they were doing. You can absolutely attribute the fine the Jazz received to the Thunder and the outside pressure not to continue the tank. That pressure might have folded lesser, weaker-minded front offices like the Kings or Pelicans, but the Jazz held strong, and it worked. Now, Sam Presti has to watch as the Jazz turned the pick that could have been his into Darryn Peterson, who will start competing for the playoffs and beyond for years to come. For that disrespect and act of war, I will enjoy every Thunder loss. Every time the cheap-o Thunder ownership forces the front office to trade off players to save a little cap, I’ll enjoy it. Every time the Thunder fall short, I’ll be there, absorbing the Presti tears like a hate-plant needing water.
3. Cleveland Cavaliers
Yes, Donovan Mitchell quit on the Jazz in the Dallas Mavericks series to force a trade he was pushing for behind closed doors. Yes, every time he loses a playoff series, it validates the trades made four years ago. Those are reasons alone to hate-watch the Cavaliers. But on top of that, the Jazz still have 1st-round picks and swaps from the Cavs for the Donovan Mitchell trade. Every loss helps the Utah Jazz in a real way. This upcoming season, Utah has the second-most favorable of the three picks in the UTA/MIN/CLE group. They have a first-round swap in 2028, plus the two most favorable picks in the UTA/MIN/CLE group in 2029. So, hate-away Jazz fans, because the Cavs losing helps Utah a lot.
2. Washington Wizards
This is for the most unhinged haters. We have nothing against the Wizards, really. The Jazz and Wizards are in two different conferences. Both have been seeking a cornerstone star, and both likely have one now. But because of the rumors this summer that the Wizards front office tried to stir up (the ones pushing Ace Bailey and the Jazz’s pick for the #1 pick), and because they drafted AJ Dybantsa regardless, it’s enough to create a real hate watch. Also, for some reason, as fans, you just want to see your pick play better than theirs. I don’t know why, I don’t understand it, but there’s been a lot of animosity between the Wizards and Jazz fanbases. Both want to say their player is better. On top of that, the BYU connection has created some fans internally who have rooted for AJ to somehow prove the Jazz should have traded up for him. All this adds up to me watching a lot of Wizards games and enjoying it when things don’t go well.
1. Los Angeles Lakers
The easiest choice of these. First off, it’s the Lakers. That is immediately a valid reason to have him the Lakers near the top. It’s in the Jazz fan charter or something. On top of that, they traded for a player who didn’t want to be here. Walker Kessler didn’t accept any offers from the Jazz that would have kept him here and made him a core part of this exciting Jazz core. The offers were more than fair and would have made him one of the highest-paid non-all-stars in the league, and at a position that typically doesn’t get overpaid. This is probably my own theory, but I’m guessing Kessler kept turning down Jazz offers until he knew the Jazz’s limit, then leveraged a move to the Lakers because Luka Doncic wanted him on the team. Once again, good on the Jazz for fleeceing the Lakers in the deal. Sure, you can be happy for Kessler getting paid, but I’m a real Utah Jazz fan and will happily root against the Lakers and any player who chose to move to that team. Aside from the Jazz winning, nothing would give me more satisfaction than a dissapointing Lakers and Walker Kessler season.
