Heading into his rookie season as head coach of the Utah Jazz, Will Hardy had few expectations placed on him. The Jazz had just traded their two franchise stars–Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert–and were headed towards rebuilding season.
Or so everyone thought.
Thanks to the young team’s hot start, they finished as a mid-tier team in the West with serious hopes of making the Play-In Tournament.
While they didn’t end up reaching that goal, it was still an unexpected yet successful season for a Jazz squad that looked to be headed for a top-three pick.
Hardy was a big part of that success, and by season’s end, he was rewarded. The 35-year-old coach earned one second-place vote and seven third-place votes for Coach of the Year, finishing ninth in the race.
Will Hardy almost got friend banned from Utah Jazz games
But while all of his on-court success should be applauded, his actions away from the floor are ready to be laughed at. In a story by Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune, Hardy revealed that he nearly got one of his close friends banned from Vivint Arena.
“I actually had a friend who was in town who was a Warriors fan,” Hardy said. “He was there with his boss from San Francisco and a couple of people from work — they were there for something — and they were sitting like six rows away from the bench.”
But when Hardy went to exchange some friendly trash talk with his friend, things went awry.
“So we won, the arena is going crazy, and on the walk out towards the tunnel, they’re sitting right there, and I yelled something at him in the stands,” said Hardy. “And he got rushed by security because they thought that he had said something to me.”
Will Hardy almost got friend banned from Utah Jazz games
As Hardy walked back to the locker room, his friend was taken on a journey he had no business being on. While Hardy was busy talking to the Utah Jazz post-game after a big win, his friend was in the midst of being detained.
Hardy continued his story:
“So I got in the back and went and talked to the team, and then our security guy came up to me and said, ‘Hey, don’t worry, we got the guy. He’s in the back. We’re going over the film. He’s gonna be banned from the arena. Don’t worry about it. We’re gonna figure out what he said to you.’”
Hardy was completely lost.
“And I was like, ‘Huh?’” Hardy said.
Security attempted to further explain the situation to Hardy:
“And they said, ‘Yeah, the guy that you yelled at in the crowd.’”
At that point, Hardy realized what had happened. He was in the midst of unintentionally getting his friend arrested.
“And I was like, ‘Oh, no, no, no, no, no! That’s a friend of mine. That was all me,’” said Hardy. “So you forget that when you’re the head coach, I guess your words have more weight than you’re used to.”
Needless to say, Hardy was frantic to get the situation resolved.
The build up to Will Hardy almost getting his friend banned from Jazz games
Obviously, everything worked out for the best. Hardy and his friend were simply jawing at one another in a friendly manner, but it nearly ended in disaster.
That game against the Golden State Warriors will be remembered for a long time by Utah Jazz fans.
Down by two points with 25 seconds remaining, Jordan Clarkson gets ejected, and the Warriors go up by three points and gain possession.
Kelly Olynyk steals the ball after the inbounds play, but the Jazz fail to score as Simone Fontecchio’s three is blocked, and the Warriors get the ball back.
With 13 seconds remaining, the Jazz are down by four but have the ball. Nickeil Alexander-Walker gets an easy drive to the rim but passes up the open layup and kicks it out to Malik Beasley.
BANG.
Golden State inbounds the ball again, but this time, Alexander-Walker gets a steal. They drive down the other end, and Fontecchio slams it home to put the Jazz up by one.
The Warriors attempt to throw a full-court pass, but the Jazz block it, sealing a wild victory.
For Utah fans, that’s why that night is memorable. But for Hardy, there was some added context.
“So yeah, I almost got a friend of mine banned from the arena forever and arrested,” Hardy said while laughing. “So I’ll remember that one forever, for sure.”
But, hey, at least we know that the security at Vivint Arena is top-notch.