Ed Davis calls joining Utah Jazz his best opportunity to win a championship

Ed Davis has high confidence in the Utah Jazz’s ability to help him achieve a life-long dream of winning an NBA championship.

If you’ve been following The J-Notes, or truly any Utah Jazz media coverage in general this summer, then you’ll probably have picked up on one very consistent and repetitive theme. The Jazz are all-in on pursuing a championship this season. And that buy-in starts at the top with management and the star players, then trickles down throughout the roster to even the second unit and depth guys.

Seemingly everybody in the Jazz front office and on the roster is focused in on the single target of winning an NBA Championship. Sure, that’s the goal every season and it’s extremely common to hear players speak of their hope and desire to do as much. But this year, it’s more than just a fleeting wish. Their desire to win a championship actually has teeth to it and is a real possibility.

The addition of Mike Conley then later Bojan Bogdanovic unarguably propelled the Jazz to that level. Their presence on the Jazz roster is what first began to turn heads that they, paired with Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, could truly form a championship-caliber team. And from there, the Jazz were able to attract meaningful players that wanted to win to round out their already staunch roster.

Ed Davis was perhaps the most key addition outside of Conley and Bogdanovic. And his reasoning for joining the Jazz certainly came as a result of recognizing just what a special group was being put together. In a recent sit-down with UtahJazz.com’s Aaron Falk, nearly the first words out of Davis’ mouth were to discuss winning a championship.

When asked what drew him to Utah, Davis boldly stated, “Being on a contending team.” He then followed up that declaration with the following:

"“It’s my dream to win a championship and I felt like this was the best opportunity to do that with this franchise.”"

From there, Davis went on to explain that Utah’s experience, star players and good core group surrounding those stars all made the Jazz an appealing destination for him. And one he truly believes can compete for the NBA’s ultimate prize.

Although we don’t have a sure knowledge of which teams were all interested in Davis this summer, considering his reputation and basketball acumen, it’s safe to say that he had several suitors. The fact that he chose the Jazz over any of them speaks volumes about how the team was perceived among free agents this summer, how Dennis Lindsey, Justin Zanik, Quin Snyder and Co. have altered the organization’s culture for the better and how prolific the group of Conley, Bogdanovic, Mitchell, Gobert and the rest of the solid role guys are.

His calling the Jazz his best opportunity to win a championship was enormous praise. And it isn’t a statement that Utah fans should take lightly. Sure, perhaps he didn’t receive interest from other top teams in the league and so the statement was merely an expression that the Jazz were the most promising team actually interested in him, albeit against lackluster competition.

But considering how friendly Davis’ contract is with the Jazz and knowing all he brings to the table, I’d wager he turned down some pretty attractive opportunities from teams that will be jockeying with the Jazz for playoff positioning. Davis has always been about as real and genuine as you can get, and his declaration that he liked the path to a championship that the Jazz offered is very much a testament to what they’ve built.

I’ve spent weeks on The J-Notes aiming to convince or reassure the general masses that the Utah Jazz are indeed a championship-caliber squad. But if you don’t believe me, then definitely believe the confidence of the players. Ed Davis may be the latest to speak of Utah’s championship desires, but he’s far from the first or only. Yes, they’ll have to do more than just speak on it, they’ll have to execute on the floor to their highest potential. But the talent and belief is certainly there, immediately forming a rock-solid foundation.

And if the Jazz are able to compete for a championship, Davis most certainly will be a key piece to that. As Rudy Gobert’s backup at the center position, he’ll have an enormously crucial task of holding down the fort and anchoring the defense while the Stifle Tower rests. As a high-motor guy with impeccable rebounding ability, he figures to be a heaven-sent for the second unit.

His ability to impact the game combined with the well-rounded and deep nature of the rest of the Jazz roster has most certainly set the team up to be a contender to reach Davis’ long-held dream of winning an NBA championship.