Although the NBA Draft is essentially a crapshoot, the Utah Jazz have struck gold on multiple occasions over the years with inspired selections.
In spite of their humble beginnings in New Orleans, the Utah Jazz eventually evolved into one of the most successful franchises in all of pro basketball. Since arriving in Salt Lake City in 1979, the Jazz have logged 28 trips to the playoffs. In doing so, they went to the Western Conference Finals six times and twice advanced to the NBA Finals.
I wouldn’t call it a hot take to say that they’d probably have a championship banner or two up in the rafters at Vivint Smart Home Arena if not for Michael Jordan and some all-time great Chicago Bulls teams.
The craziest thing about all that success: it’s largely self-made. Utah has rarely been a major player in free agency and hasn’t pulled off a bunch of blockbuster trades, either. Instead, the Jazz have built their foundation the old-fashioned way — through the draft and player development.
Sure, the Jazz have misfired on more than a handful of picks, just as every other team has. However, from Frank and Scott Layden in the ’80s to Kevin O’Connor in the 2000s to the current brain trust with Dennis Lindsey, Jazz GMs have crushed the NBA Draft process and secured diamonds in the rough time and time again.
Whether it’s the Laydens scoring future Hall of Famers in the middle of the first round or Jazz brass catching something every other team missed in the second round (and beyond), the team’s decision-makers have made some incredible picks.
Frankly, it gives one hope that maybe something will be accomplished if the Jazz hold onto their pick in this year’s draft at No. 23.
In any case, in honor of the team’s draft-night steals, I’m here to break down the franchise’s best-ever picks in the NBA Draft. As you’ll see, the list may not sizzle from the start but, in short order, we’ll get into some true draft wizardry.
Two notes — I’ve included some players that were acquired via trade immediately after getting drafted by other teams. While some like to say the Jazz swindled the Denver Nuggets for Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, for example, those picks were made for Utah when deals were already in place.
Also: I’m only looking at the Utah years in Jazz history. Sorry, Rich Kelley fans.
Now, without further ado, here are the top 15 draft picks in Jazz history, as ranked by yours truly.
Next: No. 15
If one were to hop in the DeLorean and cruise back to December 30, 2002, they might find Jazz GM Kevin O’Connor watching the University of Utah Runnin’ Utes upset the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide at the Huntsman Center.
The significance here is that even though ‘Bama lost the game, sophomore guard Mo Williams made a big impression on O’Connor with his effort (true story). So, with the 47th pick in the 2003 NBA Draft, O’Connor took a flier Williams, who achieved draft-night steal status very quickly.
He went on to become a big part of the Jazz’s magical ’03-04 NBA season; the team’s first year after legends Karl Malone and John Stockton had left and a season in which the Jazz went 42-40 despite being pegged as the NBA’s worst team by some.
Williams played so well, in fact, that he earned a mid-level exception deal with the Milwaukee Bucks that was too rich for the Jazz to match. Later, O’Connor would call allowing Williams to walk the biggest mistake of his tenure running the franchise.
All told, Williams spent just two seasons in a Jazz uniform (’03-04 and ’12-13). But, he played in the league for more than 10 years, averaging 13 points and five assists per game. He also played in the 2009 NBA All-Star Game and won a title with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016.
Not bad for a guy picked near the end of the draft.
Next: No. 14
What the heck?! Greg Ostertag? Really?!
Yes, really.
A little background — I’ve been updating this list for a couple of years now, incorporating new data and reevaluating as the Jazz make more draft picks. In turn, with each new version of the countdown, people are continually mystified by my inclusion of Ostertag as one of Utah’s best draft picks.
However, if you actually think about it, dismissing the fact that he was the prototypical big, goofy white guy (packed complete with a Fred Flintstone tattoo) who logged a record number of days in Jerry Sloan‘s doghouse, the reality is that getting a player like Ostertag this late in the draft is defying the odds in a major way.
‘Tag wasn’t just the starting center on the best teams in Jazz history; squads that pushed MJ and the Bulls to the brink in two NBA Finals. He was also one of the Association’s better inside defenders for a long time.
Even now, a decade and a half after he last played in the league, he remains in the top 50 all-time in blocks per game (1.7 BPG, 39th) and total blocks (1293, 48th).
In total, he averaged five points, five boards over 756 career games. Getting a player who enjoys a decade-long career and registers that level of production with a pick at the end of the first round (28th overall in 1995) is an epic draft win.
Next: No. 13
Getting Rodney Hood in the 20s was huge, and should give Jazz fans at least some level of hope about making the most of their pick at No. 23 in this year’s draft.
Ahead of the 2014 NBA Draft, Jabari Parker of Duke was being touted as a potential franchise player. Meanwhile, Hood, his Blue Devils teammate, failed to inspire NBA GMs. He was simply too old and not athletic enough or long enough to warrant a high first-round selection.
So, he slipped on draft night, all the way down to the Jazz at No. 23. Now, even after he lost a little steam with the Jazz dealing him to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2018, I think you’d be hard-pressed to claim to Parker has had a better NBA career than Hood.
I’m sure the Memphis Grizzlies, who took Jordan Adams (who’s now out of the league) at No. 22, would love to have him.
Over parts of four seasons with the Jazz, Hood played in 227 games, averaging 13 points per contest and shooting 37 percent from 3-point range. Despite his status as a late first-round pick, there have been times when he’s looked like one of the better scoring two-guards in the Association.
After recovering some of his mojo with the Portland Trail Blazers this past season, Hood looks primed to continue to get buckets for many years to come.
Next: No. 12
Coming out of Long Beach State as a second-round guy, Bryon Russell was little more than a defensive prospect from a mid-major school. After a bumpy start, however, Russell developed into one of the Association’s OG 3-and-D specialists and a true weapon on both sides of the ball.
After a solid rookie season, he struggled to get minutes in years two and three. But his run during the 1996 NBA Playoffs helped Russell propel himself into a spot as an integral piece of a legit championship contender.
He went on to start 366 games for the Jazz over the course of nine seasons, averaging 9.4 points, nearly four rebounds, and 1.2 steals per contest. He also knocked down 37 percent of his triples.
All the while, he earned a reputation for playing lock-down defense on some of the game’s best scorers. Unfortunately, he’s better remembered for getting torched (shoved?) by His Airness than any of the good things he did for the Jazz:
Next: No. 11
Before Donovan Mitchell came to play, another Louisville Cardinals guard slam-dunked his way into the hearts of Utah Jazz fans. I’m talking about the Golden Griff, Dr. Dunkenstein in the flesh, Darrell Griffith.
While there are some similarities between the two, Griffith entered the league with a lot more juice than Utah’s current alpha. He led the Cards to the 1980 NCAA championship, was named the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player, and won the John R. Wooden Award, which honors college hoops’ best baller.
As a result, he went No. 2 overall in the draft.
For the next five years, he and Adrian Dantley combined to form one of the hottest scoring duos of the ’80s. Griffith averaged 21 points per contest over that span and, by year four, had added one of the league’s more dependable 3-point shots, knocking down 36 percent of his three attempts per game.
Unfortunately, a stress fracture in his foot cost him the entirety of the 1985-86 season. That injury, combined with knee problems and the emergence of Stockton-to-Malone, really took the wind out of his sails as a player.
Still, he remains an important player in the annals of Jazz lore.
Next: No. 10
Clearly, the Jazz have generally done pretty well for themselves in the second round of the draft. In addition to the players I’ve already mentioned, you could also point to Jeremy Evans, CJ Miles, Jarron Collins, and Shandon Anderson as second-rounders whose careers wildly exceeded their draft position over the last two decades.
That said, none of them have enjoyed the level of success that Paul Millsap has attained.
Although he led the NCAA in rebounds per game for three straight seasons at Louisiana Tech, Millsap’s measurables didn’t set the world on fire when he entered the draft in ’06. So he fell to the Jazz at No. 47. All he’s done since then is prove the doubters wrong.
Millsap was a fan favorite in Utah thanks to his blue-collar style, a knack for cleaning the glass, and some hard-nosed defense. In seven seasons with the Jazz, he averaged 12 points, seven boards, one block, and one steal per game. If Carlos Boozer hadn’t been on the team for a large chunk of his run, he may have been represented by his squad in the All-Star Game.
The versatile big man did just that when he finally joined the Atlanta Hawks, picking up four All-Star nods and making the All-Defensive second team in 2016.
He’ll always be remembered by Jazz fans for 2010’s “Miracle in Miami” when he led the team to an unlikely overtime win over LeBron James and the Miami Heat. ‘Sap scored 46 points in the contest, hitting timely shots to secure the 116-114 victory. It remains one of the more memorable performances in Jazz history.
Next: No. 9
Given the path his career took after he was dealt to the Nets, younger Jazz fans may not realize just how good Deron Williams was at the height of his powers. Make no mistake about it — he achieved sheer greatness on the hardwood.
For several years, one of the great debates in NBA circles was whether he or Chris Paul was the best point guard in the league. Chances are that few outside of the 801 area code gave D-Will the nod, but it was far from an open-and-shut case. He was that good.
Over 439 games with the franchise, Williams averaged better than 17 points, nine assists, and one steal per contest. In doing so, he led Utah to multiple playoff berths, including a run to the ’07 Western Conference Finals. Really, Williams’ Jazz squads were ahead of their time offensively with him directing the attack, an elite floor-spacer in Mehmet Okur, and a mobile four-man in Boozer.
Williams was the linchpin to that entire process. He’d rank higher on this list if not for the fact that he was drafted ahead of CP3.
Nevertheless, D-Will was a multi-time All-Star, an Olympic gold medalist as part of 2008’s Olympic ‘Redeem Team’ and the face of the franchise during his time in Utah. Next to the glory days of Stockton-to-Malone, the Williams-led Jazz were the most successful iteration of the team.
Although that may soon change.
Next: No. 8
Let’s get back to the radical ’80s, shall we? A time when Duran Duran ruled the radio waves, Dallas was all the rage on TV and the Jazz drafted one of Jimmy V’s key guys at NC State with the seventh pick in the ’83 NBA Draft.
‘Big T’ Thurl Bailey was low-key one of the better frontcourt players in the league and a crucial piece to the Jazz for a decade. He probably would have started for most of the league’s other teams throughout the ’80s, but ended up playing second fiddle to arguably the greatest power forward of all-time instead.
Still, the man in the goggles was a cornerstone piece to the Jazz as they transitioned from cellar-dwellers to title contenders.
At one point, Bailey registered back-to-back seasons of averaging nearly 20 points per game (19.5 and 19.6 ppg in ’87-88 and ’88-89, respectively). And he did so largely as a bench player. In 708 games in a Jazz uniform, he put up 14 points and nearly six rebounds per game.
Following a move to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the early 90s, Big T eventually returned to finish his career with Utah during the ’98-99 season.
It may be controversial, but I give him the nod over Williams and Hayward in this list for his longevity and continued role with the team. To this day, he’s a pillar of the Salt Lake community and an active part of the Jazz organization as a broadcaster and ambassador.
Next: No. 7
Given both the way his Jazz run ended and his inability to return to form this past season after incurring a devastating injury in his first year with the Boston Celtics, Gordon Hayward may not immediately jump out to casual fans for this kind of list. Make no mistake about it, though, Hayward was an incredible get.
Sure, he was a lottery pick at No. 9, and the goal is always to make a splash in the top 10, but clearly, the Jazz knew something that others did not. And I’ve got no issue with admitting that I was a member of the un-learned masses.
Back in the summer of ’10, the Jazz were shifting gears. It wasn’t so much a rebuild as it was a reboot; the team still had D-Will, but Boozer was on his way out of town, and Memo was set to join the AARP pool. With a glaring hole in the frontcourt, I was hoping Utah could trade up to pick Derrick Favors and play him behind Paul Millsap.
When that pipe dream didn’t come true, I hoped for Ed Davis. Instead, they drafted Hayward, the skinny white kid who had just come off a crazy run in the NCAA Tournament with Butler. The crowd at the team’s draft party booed the pick. I wasn’t there, but I wasn’t feeling it either.
That said, the Hayward pick is a prime example of why you almost always take the best player available on your draft board, regardless of position. Between Millsap, Al Jefferson, and, later, Favors, the Jazz were strong at the four-spot for years to come. In the meantime, Hayward’s game blossomed.
Eventually, he became the Jazz’s go-to scorer, a plus defender, an All-Star in ’17, and one of the league’s premier wing talents. In his final year with the team, Hayward put up 22 points, five boards, and four assists per game while shooting 40 percent from deep.
Then he bolted for Beantown. Sigh.
Next: No. 6
At this point in time, the NBA is a truly global league, flush with talent from every corner of the globe. That wasn’t the case back in the summer of ’99, however. Back then, you could really only point to a handful of guys — players like Dikembe Mutombo, Hakeem Olajuwon, Arvydas Sabonis, and Detlef Schrempf — as legit foreign-born stars.
So, the Jazz’s decision to draft a Russian teenager named Andrei Kirilenko with the 24th pick in the ’99 draft didn’t exactly set the hoops world ablaze. Nevertheless, when Kirilenko finally debuted for the Jazz in 2001, it quickly became apparent that AK-47 was as deadly as his moniker suggested on the court.
In short order, AK established himself as one of the NBA’s elite defenders and most versatile frontcourt playmakers. Over the course of a decade in a Jazz uniform, he averaged 12 points, six rebounds, nearly three assists, two blocks, and 1.4 steals per game.
How’s that for stuffing a stat sheet? When people called him the master of the 5×5, they weren’t kidding.
Kirilenko also played in an All-Star Game (and was voted in over Carmelo Anthony by West coaches, no less) and was a three-time All-Defensive team selection. As great as he was, though, AK was also ahead of his time.
In the modern NBA, he’d be like a prime-level Draymond Green…or better. Seriously.
Next: No. 5
After just two years in the league, Donovan Mitchell is already firmly entrenched in my top five. If he continues to progress like we think he will, the former No. 13 overall pick in 2017 may even challenge The Statues someday.
It’s crazy to think about in hindsight, but Mitchell almost elected to skip the draft in favor of another year at Louisville. Even when he ultimately decided to give the pro game a go, nobody could have predicted what was to come. Now, he’s a legitimate franchise player for one of the best teams in the league.
During his rookie season, Mitchell put up 20 points, four assists, and four rebounds per game. Along the way, he broke Damian Lillard‘s rookie record for 3-pointers made, was the first rookie to log 1500 total points and 100 steals since LeBron, and the first to lead a playoff squad in scoring since Carmelo.
Despite some early sophomore slumpage, Mitchell rebounded to log a 24-4-4 line and upped his 3-point shooting to over 36 percent in year two. In year three, I’m expecting an All-Star selection and more playoff wins for the Jazz. Mitchell is just that good.
In short, he single-handedly helped the Jazz maintain their trajectory toward the top of the Association in spite of Hayward’s exodus. I still shudder to think about what’s to come.
Next: No. 4
On the night of the 2013 NBA Draft, the Jazz more or less bought the No. 27 pick from the Nuggets to take Rudy Gobert. Six years later, he probably goes No. 2 overall in a re-draft; just behind Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo. Some may even select him with the first overall pick.
That’s about as big a draft steal as is even possible.
In any case, the Stifle Tower has gone from being relatively unknown to a cornerstone player and a star in the league. He’s been developing and diversifying his game around his elite size and length since his first game in the Association.
In doing so, the Frenchman has morphed from a 12th man to a defensive specialist to a game-changing rim protector and has rounded out his game offensively as an elite screen-setter, roll man, and rim finisher. Now, he’s undeniably a top two or three center in the NBA.
Gobert recently picked up his second All-NBA nod, could officially repeat as the Defensive Player of the Year later this month, and it would be a major shocker if he doesn’t play in his first All-Star Game next season. It’s a major shocker he was snubbed in 2019, quite frankly.
It’s downright unbelievable at this point that he once played behind guys like Enes Kanter and Jeremy Evans. I’m no Tyrone Corbin hater, but dude…really?
More than any player in recent years — even Mitchell and Hayward — Gobert defines the identity of the Utah Jazz.
Next: No. 3
If getting a player like Gobert at No. 27 was lucky, Utah’s drafting of Mark Eaton was a case of divine intervention. The dude was literally discovered under the hood of a car in an auto shop. That was followed by two years of JUCO ball, after which he transferred to UCLA.
The latter move may sound like a potential springboard to success, except Eaton played in just 30 games from 1980-82, averaging 1.8 points in less than seven minutes per contest. Nevertheless, former Jazz GM and coach Frank Layden liked his height and decided to take a chance on the mechanic-turned-hoopster in the fourth round of the 1982 NBA Draft.
Yep, the FOURTH round.
Big Mark would go on to become one of the most intimidating defensive forces in the history of the league. If he lands with a perennial title contender of the Lakers or Celtics mold, he’s probably a Hall of Famer right now.
Ultimately, he became a Jazzman, and along with Dantley, Griffith, Bailey, and Rickey Green, he made the team relevant for the first time.
The 7-foot-4 center led the league in blocked shots four times and averaged more than four per game in four different seasons. To this day, he holds the records for blocks in a season (456 during the ’84-85 campaign), not to mention blocks per game in a season (5.56 in that same year) and for his career (3.5).
Eaton twice received the Defensive Player of the Year trophy, was a five-time All-Defensive team selection, and represented the Jazz in the 1989 All-Star Game. Looking beyond the accolades, though, he was arguably the greatest shot-blocker the game has ever seen.
Next: No. 2
Given his status as perhaps the greatest pure point guard ever to grace the court, it’s hard to fathom that even John Stockton himself was surprised when the Jazz drafted him No. 16 overall out of Gonzaga back in ’84.
Equally insane is the fact that it was a pretty unpopular decision at the time, as evidenced by the video above. Clearly, when commissioner David Stern called Stockton’s name on draft night, fans in Jazzland were less than impressed. Now, it’s virtually unthinkable that he fell to the middle of the first round.
In what’s largely considered the greatest draft class in league history, he should’ve been up in the top four with the likes of Jordan, Hakeem the Dream, and Charles Barkley.
Despite the lukewarm reception, Stockton went from being an unknown to Green’s back-up to one of the best players of his or any other generation. Over 19 seasons, he averaged 13 points, over 10 assists, and 2.2 steals per game. He also made over 50 percent of his shots as a perimeter player and boasts a career 3-point percentage of 38.4.
To try to list all of his accomplishments here would be folly, but here are some of the fruits of Stockton’s two decades spent in a Jazz uniform —
- 10-time NBA All-Star and ’93 ASG MVP
- 11-time All-NBA selection
- Five-time All-Defensive team selection
- Nine-time league-leader in assists
- Two-time Olympic gold medalist
- All-time leader in assists (15,806) and steals (3,265)
That last line looms largest; it represents the two most unbreakable records in professional sports.
Next: No. 1
There’s no denying the fact that John Stockton was a transcendental talent. However, it was the arrival of ‘The Mailman’ Karl Malone that transformed the Jazz from a fun little team that was better than people thought it was to one of the elite franchises in the NBA and a perennial title contender.
Like Stockton, he was a steal in the middle of the first round. And while some of the players taken in the lottery ended up becoming stars in their own right, none of them had a career like the Mailman.
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But that comes as no surprise; Malone was a two-time NBA MVP and arguably the best power forward in league history.
For a frame of reference, the three players taken immediately before Malone were Ed Pinckney, Keith Lee, and Kenny Green.
That’s one career role-player and two guys who were quickly out of the league if you’re keeping score at home.
It goes to show how unlikely it is to win big in the NBA Draft and Malone ranks among the biggest wins of all time.
As with Basketball John, I won’t keep you here reading his entire list of basketball accomplishments, but here are some of the most notable —
- NBA Most Valuable Player in ’97 and ’99
- 14-time NBA All-Star and ASG MVP in ’89 and ’93
- 11-time All-NBA First Team selection
- Two-time All-NBA second-team selection
- All-NBA third team in ’01
- Three-time All-Defensive First Team selection
- Two-time Olympic gold medalist
- No. 2 scorer in NBA history
In just under 1,500 career games, Malone averaged 25 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, and 1.4 steals per contest. Wow.