The 2017-18 Utah Jazz: An Unexpected Season

The Utah Jazz exceeded expectations during their 2017-18 campaign. Let’s take a look back at some of the most memorable moments from this season.

As a Utah Jazz fan, the end of a season always comes with an inevitable bitter taste. However, a quick look back at the highlights of Utah’s season brings dozens of fond memories. This particular season was special; an unexpected journey from the brink of obscurity to the ranks of the league’s elite.

Excuse my Lord of the Rings/Hobbit nerdiness, but this was too hard to pass up. Bear with me, it will all come together. At least I hope it does.

For those of you not familiar with J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit,” (or the first chapter of its film adaptation, “An Unexpected Journey”) it’s the story of a sheltered hobbit’s adventure with a rag-tag bunch of dwarves. Led by a tall, wise wizard, the group set out on a quest to save their once-lost home.

Still having trouble connecting the dots?

In “The Utah Jazz: An Unexpected Season,” the tale featured a young, overlooked 13th overall pick in Donovan Mitchell. The rookie teamed up with a ragtag bunch of non-shooters and defensive specialists. Led by

a wizard

Rudy Gobert, the seemingly non-threatening group proved worthy to be considered among the league’s best, all while energizing their homeland in

Middle Earth

Salt Lake City.

See. Not so far off, right?

Anyway, as with all journeys, the struggles and low points along the way are what makes the end result so sweet. This Utah Jazz season, maybe even more so than any other, was no exception to that fact.

Let’s take a look back at some of the most “precious” — okay I’ll stop — memorable moments from this year’s Jazz campaign.

The Jerseys

Full disclosure, I HATED the City Edition jerseys when the first leaks came out. Like many other fans, the design reminded me of a urine test.  If I recall correctly, Nike claimed the jerseys were one of the most innovative designs they had ever worked on.

Innovative? Sure. Cool? I don’t think so.

That was until I actually saw them on the team. The Southern Utah inspired jerseys and complementary court design (complete with a silhouette of Delicate Arch) looked fantastic. Jazz fans seemed to agree as stores couldn’t restock the new-look uniforms fast enough.

Another addition to the jerseys this year was the jersey patch. Huge shout-out to Qualtrics for sponsoring the 5 For the Fight patch on Utah’s uniforms this season. For a team that did so much good on the court, it was only fitting that its jersey patch symbolized doing good off of it as well.

Throw in Utah’s above-average gold Statement jerseys, and it was a good year to rock Jazz gear.

Donovan drops 40

Donovan Mitchell’s athleticism, charisma and love for the game quickly made him a fan favorite and the #SpidaMania quickly ensued. Speaking of #SpidaMania, shout-out to my J-Notes colleague and aspiring jersey model, Tyler Crandall, for this sweet custom Mitchell Jersey…

While the excitement for the rookie had been building since Mitchell’s impressive Summer League performance, his 41-point effort against the New Orleans Pelicans on December 1 might be what jump-started it all.

Prior to that offensive explosion, he had yet to even reach the 30-point mark.

Mitchell had a breakout month in November, nearly doubling his scoring output from the season’s opening month. This game, however, put Spida on the map. Mitchell, tasked with leading Utah’s scoring efforts, went on to average over 23 points per game in December.

The rookie again dropped 40 points against the Phoenix Suns in February, shooting an impressive 14-of-19 from the field and 7-of-9 from three.

Mitchell continued to gain praise from fans and players alike as the season went on, eventually gaining comparisons to the likes of Dwyane Wade and Allen Iverson.

Not too shabby for a player drafted 13th overall, no?

Dunk Contest

If Mitchell hadn’t already put himself on the NBA map, the Slam Dunk Contest did the job.

After not initially getting an invite to compete in All-Star weekend’s most popular event, Mitchell put the dunking world on notice.

Here are a few memories from Donovan’s dunk contest victory…

Which dunk was your favorite?

That night had to be as fun for Mitchell as it was for Jazz fans. But his high-flying antics didn’t stop after All-Star weekend; Mitchell just kept dunking… and dunking… and dunking. Including this impossible-to-forget moment…

https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/991874113831452672

Seriously, how fun is this kid? #ThePutback

Take a stroll with me (and the rest of Jazz Nation) down memory lane and let me know your favorite in-game dunk from Mitchell’s rookie season in the comments or tweet me a video!

The Fall

As I mentioned before, a journey without tribulation isn’t really a journey.

Just as Thorin and Bilbo had to endure the likes of Smaug and countless other foes in The Hobbit, the  ’17-18 Jazz campaign was not without its low points.

Utah’s December stretch proved to be the hardest month any team in the league faced throughout the entire season. The Jazz found themselves near the bottom of the Western Conference standings as the new year rolled around.

While nobody considered the Jazz a serious postseason threat, they weren’t on the same level as teams like Dallas and Phoenix, right?

At the least, Utah’s fearless leader, Rudy Gobert, didn’t think so.

While Utah’s eventual success will be what is remembered, this season wouldn’t have the same feeling if it wasn’t for the early season struggles this Jazz squad endured. The Jazz grew as a team and were eventually made stronger. The mental toughness they gained during this brutal stretch served them quite nicely in the postseason.

Just ask Russell Westbrook.

11-game win streak

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

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.

“The strength of our team is our team”

From the hilarious social media interactions between teammates to the post-game water bottle showers, this Jazz team was just that — a team!

Coach Quin Snyder, when asked about his team’s greatest strength, responded, “the strength of our team is our team.”

While his comments may seem oversimplified, they had a profound impact. Coach Snyder was able to get a complete buy-in from his roster. No single piece was greater than the whole. This Jazz team perfectly defined what it truly means to compete as a team.

Check out my piece here for a deeper look at how Utah’s selfless, team-first style of basketball led them to more success than many thought possible.

The friendships that these players built over the course of the season helped translate to trust on the court. Egos didn’t get in the way of team success.

Alec Burks was a perfect example of this mentality. After largely falling out of the rotation near the season’s end, Burks remained ready and performed admirably in Utah’s second-round matchup with the Rockets.

Not once do I recall a complaint or gripe from Burks. Nor did he refuse to take garbage minutes like another certain former Jazzman. He simply stayed prepared for when his number would be called.

That is what this team was all about. Win or lose, Jazz fans should be proud of the TEAM and the culture that has been built in Utah.

ROY?

Back to Mitchell. Dang was this kid special.

One of the most fun memories I will take away from this season is the Mitchell vs. Ben Simmons debate for Rookie of the Year. Both players were incredible in their own rights. That is what made the debate so much fun.

So much fun that not even Mitchell or Simmons could stay out of the conversation.

Even Celtics fans joined in on the action. #NotARookie

https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/991145827476402176

While the back-and-forth was fun, there is no questioning that both players are equally deserving of the award. While Simmons’ numbers speak for themselves, Mitchell’s ability to lead a playoff team in scoring is absolutely unreal.

Simmons will likely walk away with the award, but that doesn’t take anything away from the historic year that Mitchell had. Knowing his personality, Donovan will use it as extra motivation for next year.

Either way, it was one of the most fun off-court moments of the entire NBA season. The league is definitely in good hands.

The OKC series

Out of all the memories that this season provided, this one was my personal favorite.

Utah lost its top two scorers from last year and was still able to win a first-round series. If that doesn’t prove that (A) Quin Snyder is coach of the year and (B) the Jazz belong among the league’s top teams, I don’t know what will.

The series began with Paul “Playoff P” George living up to his odd, self-given nickname. The rest of the series (besides one historic collapse), belonged to the Jazz.

Utah went on to win three straight games, taking a commanding 3-1 lead over the Thunder.

Russell Westbrook, after giving up a triple-double to Ricky Rubio in Game 3, guaranteed that he was going to “shut that ____ down” in the next game. Despite some heroic scoring efforts, the former MVP was eventually sent packing by Rubio and the Jazz in six games.

I will never forget All-NBA level players, Westbrook and George, getting frustrated and ultimately outplayed by Rubio, Joe Ingles, Royce O’Neale and Co.

Again, outside of a historic 25-point meltdown in Game 5, the Jazz outclassed the Thunder and proved that a well-coached, selfless team can outplay a few stars.

Spida outscores Houston in third

The Jazz fought valiantly in Game 5 of their second-round series with the Houston Rockets. However, their season was ultimately ended in the worst way conceivable — at the hands of a Chris Paul banked three.

Still, with the season on the line, Mitchell again provided us with a gem to take into the offseason. Utah played Houston tight for the first two quarters, but the Rockets appeared to be pulling away in the second half. That was until the Spida made his presence felt in a BIG way.

Mitchell, who later left the game injured, rattled off 22 points in the third quarter alone. In contrast, Houston’s entire team put up 21 over the same period.

It begs the question, would Utah have won Game 5 if Mitchell finished the game?

No matter what the answer to that question might have been, Mitchell provided a nice bow to wrap up a fantastic season.

Less than 24 hours after Utah’s finale, I have never felt quite so optimistic about the future and direction of the Jazz. Sure, being eliminated at the hands of a foul-drawing, basketball-ruining man is lame, but Jazz fans have a lot to be happy about.

Keep your chins up, Jazz fans. This was a season and a team to celebrate.

Next: Has Derrick Favors played his last game as a member of the Utah Jazz?

What are your favorite memories from the ’17-’18 season? Let me know in the comments below or find me on Twitter @TylerDThorpe.