50. Jazz Defending The Best Record In The NBA

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The Utah Jazz open their season on October 20, exactly 50 days from today. With the countdown starting, we begin our series of 50 things for Jazz fans to look forward to leading up to the 2021-22 NBA season.

Defending The Best Record In The NBA

The Jazz finished last season with a record of 52-20, the best in the league, earning the top seed in the West by one game over the Phoenix Suns.

It was a remarkable close to the season for the Jazz who slipped to the second seed in the West behind Phoenix on May 2 but battled back to earn home-court advantage throughout the playoffs over the final two weeks of the season without the services of Mike Conley or Donovan Mitchell.

“It’s a great accomplishment coming from seven years ago from not making the playoffs,” Rudy Gobert said after clinching the best record with a win over the Sacramento Kings on the final night of the season. “Building from scratch, and building stone after stone, and being able to build a culture.”

The @utahjazz have won the West, and own the best record in the NBA entering the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. #TakeNote pic.twitter.com/k5ZIfTDYN0

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) May 17, 2021

However, home-court advantage didn’t prove to be the edge they needed to advance out of the second round of the playoffs as the Los Angeles Clippers ousted the Jazz in six games.

Last season marked the first time the Jazz had finished the year with the best record in the NBA outright, after sharing the best record twice in 1998 and 1999. So how likely are they to do it again?

Since the 2000-01 season, the Cleveland Cavaliers, Chicago Bulls, Golden State Warriors (2x), and Milwaukee Bucks have each finished with the best record in the NBA in consecutive seasons.

Of that list of repeaters, only the Warriors won the title the same year they finished with the best record. The good news, however, is that finishing with the best record in the NBA has proven to be a strong precursor to future playoff success, regardless of their playoff finish that season.

Four of the 11 teams that failed to repeat as the best team in the regular season went on to win an NBA title within the next five seasons.

The @UtahJazz have five holiday games and 26 nationally televised games this upcoming season. #TakeNote https://t.co/qxSFKEsG6l

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) August 21, 2021

According to the website positive residuals, the Jazz will have the easiest schedule this season. The site balances how a team traditionally performs at home, on the road, and how much rest they have before each game.

With an improved roster and better health entering the season, can the Jazz earn the best record in the NBA once again? That’s one of the 50 things Jazz fans can look forward to entering the season.