Times are changing in Utah, and the Jazz may be on the road to securing their first-ever championship.
The Utah Jazz are well aware that they have no championship hardware in their trophy case. You don't need to remind them -- they get it.
Painfully, the best team in Utah's franchise history -- headlined by the NBA's all-time assists and steals leader, John Stockton, and two-time NBA MVP, Karl Malone -- ran into Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in consecutive seasons in the late 90s, and nobody met that buzzsaw and lived to tell the tale.
Since that fateful 1998 season, the Utah Jazz have never returned to the NBA Finals. They got close with Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer leading the charge in the late 2000s, reaching the Western Conference Finals before getting stifled by Kobe Bryant and the Lakers.
They also had a great chance to reach the championship round in 2020, when Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert led what was the best offense in the league and a potent defense anchored by the best rim protector in basketball. That team was taken down almost single-handedly by Terrance Mann's hot shooting from the corner in the second round.
It's been a tragic history for the Jazz, who currently own the NBA's sixth-highest all-time win percentage, but no Larry O'Brien Trophy to show for it.
But considering Utah's peers in the no-wins club, I'd say the Jazz should feel pretty confident they'll be the next to take themselves out of the losers' circle and back into the spotlight.
Utah is better-equipped to win right now and in the near future than Brooklyn, Charlotte, Memphis, and New Orleans, each of which are knee-deep in rebuilding efforts and will be chasing ping pong balls in the upcoming lottery as they hope and pray that a franchise savior will appear from the fog.
Phoenix, Indiana, and Orlando are all playoff sureties at the moment, but none of them appear to have the high-end talent that can push them over the hump -- especially in the case of the last two, who are forced to navigate an increasingly stout Eastern Conference.
The Los Angeles Clippers have taken their own legs out from beneath themselves thanks to the backdoor dealing and illegal compensation of Kawhi Leonard, and won't be chasing a championship for a very long time.
The only real contender of the bunch is Minnesota, who is a dangerous force in the West waiting for the right moment to pounce.
But if the T-Wolves aren't able to emerge out of the West (and they haven't shown any signs of breaking through as of late), the Jazz are on a steep incline, and could be knocking at the door in a matter of years.
