The 2017-18 Utah Jazz: An Unexpected Season

SALT LAKE CITY, UT - APRIL 23: The Utah Jazz huddle up during the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game Four of Round One of the 2018 NBA Playoffs on April 23, 2018 at vivint.SmartHome Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images) /

6 of 10

OAKLAND, CA – MARCH 25: Rudy Gobert #27 of the Utah Jazz goes up for a slam dunk against the Golden State Warriors during an NBA basketball game at ORACLE Arena on March 25, 2018 in Oakland, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

11-game win streak

Let us quickly return to Rudy’s season-defining tweet…

We will be fine
— Rudy Gobert (@rudygobert27) January 6, 2018

The Stifle Tower’s confidence amid panic (at least outside the organization), proved prophetic. The Jazz, who were commonly being considered a lottery club, did a complete 180 over the season’s final few months.

Jump-started by a Ricky Rubio late-game three to beat the Toronto Raptors, Utah rattled off an impressive 11-game win streak. Just as impressive as the number of wins Utah accrued, was the way they were beating teams. The Jazz defense was suffocating and their offense was running at a historic clip.

In the end, they finished the season with 48 wins, claiming the West’s fifth seed. Gobert was right — everything was fine.

There is no questioning the impact that Gobert has on the floor. However, his contagious confidence and belief that this team would figure things out proved just as crucial to Utah’s turnaround.

Home/Jazz News