It’s been a banner year for the highly unsung Utah Jazz and they don’t just lead the Western Conference. They are the NBA’s first guaranteed playoff team of the 2020-21 season.
Granted, it was a formality since about January, but there’s something rewarding about having been the West’s best team heading into the time when it matters most. All this despite a terrible loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday, no less.
Anyway, with a record of 44-16, the Jazz have 12 games left. And without a super-duper star, the Jazz have been getting it done as a team in the truest sense. No doubt, Quin Snyder is the frontrunner for Coach of the Year honors.
Obviously, the Jazz’s success goes beyond just Snyder. Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert are having their best seasons, and just one year removed from the whole COVID-19 drama. Jordan Clarkson has been a massive boost off the bench. Mike Conley Jr. has been the perfect leader at the point, and Bojan Bogdanovic, Royce O’Neale and Joe Ingles are among the best complements.
Add it all up, and you get where the Jazz are today. And that would be the owners of a whole lot of firsts.
