The Utah Jazz Got Lucky With the Timing of Their Rebuild

May 28, 2026, will be remembered as the day the era of tanking in the NBA officially ended. 

The league's Board of Governors voted 29-1 in favor of an update to the draft lottery process, which now essentially punishes the three worst-performing teams in the league for being so bad. 

Under the new format, the three teams with the worst record each own a 5.4% chance of securing the top pick. The following seven teams will own an 8.1% chance of winning the lottery, while the next four possess the same odds as the three worst teams. 

Had this rule been put into effect last season, the Utah Jazz would've fallen into the range of teams with the 8.1% chance. That certainly would've been a better spot to be in than the Wizards, Pacers or Nets, but it is still a far cry from the 11.5% chance Utah had at earning the first pick this past cycle. 

While last season's addition of Jaren Jackson Jr. signaled that the franchise would at least try to win, this change to the lottery rules confirms that tanking is no longer the Jazz's prerogative. 

I'm sure Danny Ainge — who is a mastermind when it comes to these things — was fully aware that the lottery was due for a change, and I certainly give him credit for things "all going according to plan." 

But there is also a high level of luck that's involved here. 

Utah is now poised to compete with a roster full of young and experienced talent before even accounting for whoever the second-overall pick will be in next month's draft. 

The timing of all of this, while potentially part of Ainge's long-term vision when the organization handed him the keys in 2021, is still extremely convenient. 

And that's not meant to be a knock on the Jazz whatsoever. There's an old cliché: to win at the highest level, you've got to be lucky and you've got to be good. 

Well, Utah has now checked off the lucky box. It won the right to draft a generational prospect in the same offseason the rules that granted them that right changed forever. 

To consider the rebuild a true success, it's now up to Ainge, GM Justin Zanik, head coach Will Hardy and the young, hungry roster to fulfill the "good" part of the cliché.