Jazz's Draft Lottery Odds Take Big Hit After Win vs. Wizards

The Utah Jazz got a win on Wednesday night, but at what cost?

Mar 19, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz guard Keyonte George (3) makes move around Washington Wizards guard Colby Jones (1) during the second half at the Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Peter Creveling-Imagn Images / Peter Creveling-Imagn Images

The Utah Jazz overcame an their extensive ten-game losing streak on Wednesday night in a strong 128-112 effort over the Washington Wizards to lift to their 16th victory in the regular season.

Though, while a late-March victory against one of the worst teams in the NBA may not mean much on paper, the Jazz's win over Washington could turn into a major development for what's to come in this offseason's lottery for Utah.

Entering the night, the Jazz held the worst record in the NBA at just 15-54, and effectively the top odds in this year's draft lottery, narrowly edging out the Wizards for that spot after a long season of the tank.

However, now with a win in the books to even the season series 1-1 against Washington, the road to landing the number-one spot in the draft lottery gets a bit more difficult to traverse. The Wizards have 15 wins on the year as opposed to the Jazz's 16, so in theory, Washington can control their destiny for their lottery odds heading into the final weeks of the season.

For Utah, the major goal to end the season will be to fall within those top-three odds, consequently being one of the worst teams in the NBA and having an equal 14.0% chance to get that top selection on the board.

Yet, while a bottom-three finish is an acceptable result securing that aspired number-one spot and the worst record in the league means the furthest the Jazz can fall in a worst-case scenario is 4th overall. In a draft headlined by its top four prospects on the board, having that premium spot at one is critical.

There's still extensive time for the Jazz to make up ground in their tank race. Not only do they have the league's second-toughest strength of schedule for the final stretch of the year, most notably tasked to take on the Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Memphis Grizzlies in their next three, but Washington will only have the 23rd-toughest schedule ahead.

It may take a bit of luck to fall their way, but the hopes of securing those number-one odds, and eventually number-one pick, is far from off the table.

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