Jazz Predicted Over/Under Set at 25.5 By Oddsmakers

The Utah Jazz are signaling their intent to tank the 2022-23 season and the bookies have taken note.

The turbulent Utah Jazz offseason may not be over, but that won’t stop the online bookies from taking wagers on this year's over/under win totals.

DraftKings has Utah's over/under win total post-Donovan Mitchell trade set at 25.5 wins. The oddsmakers also have the Orlando Magic, Indiana Pacers, Houston Rockets, and San Antonio Spurs finishing with a worse record than the Jazz. 

If these numbers hold true, then Utah would have a 10.5% chance of landing the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft.

The popular online betting site has the Spurs pegged as the team to finish with the fewest wins with an over/under set at 22.5.

To deter teams from tanking, the NBA recently changed the rules which went into effect starting the 2019 season. If the Jazz finish the 2022-23 season dead last, it would only bump up their percentages of garnering the No. 1 pick by 3.5% from where DraftKings has them predicted today. Those rules might not matter in 2023 with the talent that will be there for the taking.

This will make for an interesting season as losing will be the new winning, with the 2023 draft class being the most hyped-up group since 2003 — a class that included LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, and Dwyane Wade.

Victor Wembanyama out of France will headline a star-studded class that will be replete with ‘face of the franchise’ talent. The 7-foot-3 Frenchman possesses an 8-foot wingspan, but also has the skill set of an NBA shooting guard.

The projected No. 2 pick is Scoot Henderson, who is currently playing for the NBA G League Ignite. The blue-chip prospect from Marietta, Georgia, has already drawn comparisons to a prime Derrick Rose.

The Jazz have enough talent on their roster to get to 30 wins, but will the temptation to increase the odds of landing a top-tier prospect motivate them to tank games? If there ever was a season to take the foot off the pedal, this would be the year.

This question is on the mind of Jazz Nation as we inch closer to the regular season. The season opener is October 19 when the Jazz host the Denver Nuggets at Vivint Arena. 

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Follow Patrick on Twitter @pbyrnesNBA.

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