The NBA released the results of its annual GM survey on Tuesday, and fans of the Utah Jazz should be pleased with the results. Their Jazz and several of their players fared well in many areas of the survey, adding credence to the notion that last season’s NBA leading 52-20 regular season was no fluke. Here’s a look at what the NBA’s general managers specifically liked about the Utah Jazz heading into the 2021-22 season.
NBA GM Survey: Utah Jazz team success
NBA general managers overwhelmingly felt that the Jazz stood as the second best team in the Western Conference, behind the Los Angeles Lakers. The Jazz received 53% of the second-place votes in that category of the survey, as well as 13% of the first-place votes.
Not surprisingly, the Utah Jazz did not receive votes for the team most likely to win the NBA championship. The Lakers were the only team in the Western Conference to receive consideration in that esteemed category (17%), with the Brooklyn Nets receiving the lion’s share of those votes at 72%, and the Milwaukee Bucks earning 10% of the General Managers’ trust to repeat.
Of course, fans of the Utah Jazz will enter the 2021-22 season with the Larry O’Brien trophy set firmly in their sights. Still, even their most ardent supporter would have to acknowledge that the Nets, Bucks and Lakers are widely held to have better championship odds than the Jazzmen.
Any time a team enters the season being perceived as the second-best team in a Conference by the league’s general managers, they’re in title contention. A bad break here, or an interpersonal conflict there, and the Utah Jazz could find themselves in position to claim the NBA’s throne.
The Jazz were also ranked as the second best defensive team in the NBA heading into the 2021-22 season, behind (again) the Milwaukee Bucks. Fans in Salt Lake City may find themselves puzzled by this ranking: the team finished third in Defensive Rating last season at 107.5, behind the Los Angeles Lakers (106.8) and the Philadelphia 76ers (107.0).
The Sixers are likely to suffer slippage in that measurement, as they’ll most likely be without Defensive Player of the Year candidate Ben Simmons. Likewise, the Lakers will be entering the 2021-22 season facing a considerable amount of roster turnover, and it’s logical to assume their defense will require time to adjust.
Meanwhile, the Bucks only ranked 10th in the same category last season with an 110.7 ranking. With all of those factors in mind, the Utah Jazz could easily claim to project as having the league’s best defense next season.
All of which, ultimately, is to pick nits. The NBA’s general managers collectively choosing the Jazz for the second-best defense in the NBA next season was probably not intended to be a slight.
NBA GM Survey: Utah Jazz players
It wasn’t just the Utah Jazz as a team that faired well in the league’s GM survey, as several of their key players earned high praise as well. On the subject of defense, Rudy Gobert was named the second-best defensive player in the NBA behind Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokoumpo, receiving 17% of the first-place votes to the Greek Freek’s 47%. Meanwhile, Gobert was named the league’s best interior defender (to the surprise of exactly no one), receiving a healthy 77% of first-place votes in that category.
While Gobert is the league’s reigning Defensive Player of the Year, it is fair to suggest that Giannis is a more well-rounded defender who may garner more consideration for that individual award if he weren’t such a prominent figure in the league’s MVP race. Utah Jazz fans may complain about these results in the GM survey, but shouldn’t be surprised if those complaints fall on deaf ears.
Meanwhile, Jared Butler earned some consideration for the most likely steal of the 2021 NBA draft. It’ll be several years before anyone can offer an educated opinion on the accuracy of that particular category.
As it stands, the Utah Jazz are generally one of the more revered teams in the National Basketball Association. The results of the league’s annual GM survey only speak to that reverence.