Utah Jazz popularity rising as nationally televised games skyrocket

The Utah Jazz are becoming one of the more entertaining and popular teams in the league as evidenced by their spike in coverage on national TV.

Obviously I’m biased, but it’s hard not to like this Utah Jazz team. With a rising star in Donovan Mitchell, whose sensational play on the court is only outmatched by his greatness off the court evidenced by all the incredible deeds he does, a defensive monster in Rudy Gobert, a genius head coach and a cohesive team that simply plays the game the right way, how could a true basketball fan not get excited about the squad?

Not only that, but the Jazz have now earned two straight second-round playoff appearances and turned several heads in the process. Nearly every credible projection out there has the Jazz as a playoff team and several have them finishing as high as second or third in the West. In other words, not only are the Jazz fun to watch, but they have the makings of being a fantastic team in 2018-19.

Add all that together, and it’s not surprising that the Jazz would slowly but surely be rising in popularity, not just among homer Utah fans, but among basketball fans across the world. Between wanting to see good and winning basketball, as well as keep tabs on the continued ascent of Mitchell, Gobert and the rest of Utah’s exciting and cohesive squad, there’s a lot of reasons why the masses would want to tune in when the Jazz take the court.

Such a fact is clearly backed up by the massive leap the Utah Jazz will take in nationally televised games during the upcoming 2018-19 season. After playing in just five games on major networks – ESPN, TNT, ABC – last season, the Jazz now find themselves slated for a whopping 11 such games. Figure in their six NBA TV bouts, and that puts the Jazz on the national stage 17 times.

The Salt Lake Tribune’s Andy Larsen details the dates and opponents of each of those 17 contests below:

That leap of six additional games on the major networks is good for the sixth highest jump in the league, trailing only the Los Angeles Lakers (no surprise with the LeBron James addition), Indiana Pacers (thanks to the rise of Victor Oladipo), Milwaukee Bucks (the league is betting on Giannis Antetokounmpo and new head coach Mike Budenholzer), Philadelphia 76ers (overhyped, I mean…um…say what?), and the Toronto Raptors (welcome Kawhi Leonard!).

That’s quite the feat for a Jazz team that has been historically overlooked and spurned by casual fans and the national media. Even though the Jazz have proven themselves as a daunting force in the West and find themselves playing in marquee contests such as the Christmas Day game and the rest of these impressive national contests, there are still plenty of doubters out there who count the Jazz out or show dismay at their rise in coverage and popularity.

Fortunately, this Jazz squad seems to thrive on that kind of doubt and negative feedback. This is a team full of guys with chips on their shoulders. They’ve had something to prove each and every season they’ve hit the floor, and will have even more so in 2018-19.

As the Jazz get more popular and their coverage on national TV grows, the pressure and expectations to perform will only rise. That will present some challenges for a largely young squad, but I fully believe that they are up to the task.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – Is it October yet?