I know that sports fans have said, “This is our year,” at the beginning of every season for every sport since the dawn of man. Archaeologists only recently discovered cave drawings of ancient man calling his shot by prematurely tattooing the Larry O’Brien Trophy on his shoulder with the description: “Tigris River Valley Hunter-Gatherers 5,000 B.C. World Champions” (no need to fact-check me on this, just trust me).
But for the Utah Jazz, the 2026-27 season was actually supposed to be “their year”.
No blind optimism, no baseless fantasies. Just grounded, reasonable, and logical projections for a team on the rise.
Through four painful seasons, the Jazz lost a grand total of 211 games in search of an elusive young superstar to lift their tragic franchise from an endless tank. As those four seasons came to a close, Utah finally claimed their prize: a star guard out of Kansas named Darryn Peterson. And he couldn’t have come at a better time, either.
Tired of witnessing one-third of the league actively trying to lose basketball games, the NBA enacted anti-tanking protocols and installed lottery reform intent on de-incentivizing the act of “tanking”.
Teams have far less incentive to tank this season, especially this early on, as the owners of the four worst records will have a statistically lower chance of getting the number-one overall pick than those who finish 5th-8th from the bottom.
That adjustment is one of two reasons why Utah is off to such a slow start. The other, in my view, is having a very injured roster at a time when most teams are still playing at or near full strength. Teams are fighting to win every game, and the Jazz are ill-equipped to fight back.
As a result, the Jazz are off to an even worse start this year through 11 games than any of their rebuilding seasons. They hold hands at the bottom of the Western Conference standings with an abysmal Sacramento team.
Utah Jazz record through 11 games (last five seasons):
2022-23: 8-3
2023-24: 4-7
2024-25: 3-8
2025-26: 4-7
2026-27: 1-11
The Jazz are not tanking. Not intentionally, anyway.
Utah has even less reason to minimize their competitive edge, being barred from a top-four pick after drafting second overall this summer, and owing their pick to Memphis even if it were to finish in a favorable position.
With three of their five starters out with prolonged injuries, things may get even worse before they get any better. But they can — and I believe Utah will — improve before a play-in spot is out of reach.
Assuming Lauri Markkanen, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Jusuf Nurkic all return according to current timetables, the Jazz are only a month or two away from full strength, barring further injury. This is a team still learning to play with each other. With several key pieces having arrived within the last year, chemistry will take time to develop.
A Play-In appearance is a reasonable goal this season, despite my own preseason projections anticipating a top-six finish. Should the Jazz rally and finish with a top-10 record in the Western Conference, Utah has hope of building on that success in the following season. This was never going to be “the year” for Utah. It was always destined to be a stepping stone. But so long as that stride carries the Jazz closer to a better place, there’s still reason for optimism.
This is a talented team. Time will tell if talent can translate to results.
Calvin Barrett is the Associate Editor for SLC Dunk and a Utah Jazz columnist for the Standard-Examiner. Originally from Springville, Utah, he currently writes from his desk in Japan.
