Jazz Picked Second In GM Poll, Voted Best Home Court

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The Utah Jazz were picked to finish second in the West in the NBA’s annual GM poll.

Over the last 20 seasons, the NBA has polled its general managers on a variety of topics entering the season, including which team should be favored to win the championship, who should be named MVP, and who the best coach is in the league.

This season, the Jazz coaching staff received a significant amount of credit as the team prepares to defend its regular season Western Conference crown.

https://t.co/Pqxh2EPubW 2021-22 GM Survey

The NBA's decision-makers tap the deep and talented Nets to win the title and Kevin Durant to win his second career Kia MVP. (via @johnschuhmann)https://t.co/mTHFxmjTFH pic.twitter.com/Xph6wOFtZg

— NBA (@NBA) October 5, 2021

Jazz Picked To Finish Second In West

The Jazz were picked to finish second in the West behind the Los Angeles Lakers in the GM survey. Last season the Jazz finished the year with a record of 52-20, besting the Phoenix Suns by one game.

The Lakers finished with just 42 wins but will have a healthier LeBron James and Anthony Davis this season, plus a significant roster overhaul including the addition of All-Star Russell Westbrook.

Of the GMs that responded to the poll, 80 percent chose the Lakers as the best team in the West to the Jazz’s 13 percent. 53 percent of the GM’s polled chose the Jazz as the second-best team in the West before the season.

Gobert Recognized As Best Interior Defender

Despite winning his third Defensive Player of the Year award in the last four seasons, Rudy Gobert was not voted by GMs as the best defensive player in the NBA.

That honor went to Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo who received 47 percent of the vote. Gobert came in second place with 17 percent of the vote.

Rudy Gobert has earned All-Defensive first team honors for the fifth consecutive season. #takeNote #DPOYhttps://t.co/e3NvQfSN60

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) June 14, 2021

However, the Jazz star was overwhelmingly favored as the NBA’s best interior defender, receiving 77 percent of the votes to Antetokoumpo’s 13 percent.

Antetokounmpo’s Bucks were selected as the NBA’s best defensive team with 40 percent of the vote, while the Jazz were voted second with 33 percent.

Love For Jazz Coaching Staff

Quin Snyder was shown the most respect by NBA GMs on the annual survey. Entering his eighth season with the team, Snyder was chosen as the third-best coach in the league receiving 14 percent and trailing only Miami’s Erik Spoelstra and Phoenix’s Monty Williams.

Snyder also finished third in the survey for his defensive schemes and tied for fourth for best in-game adjustments.

The Jazz coach received his highest marks for his offensive scheme, receiving a survey-best 27 percent of the vote.

Backing up Snyder, Alex Jensen also received votes as one of the NBA’s best assistant coaches.

Odds And Ends

The Jazz also received votes from GMs regarding best draft pick, best home-court advantage, the player most likely to become a head coach, and most enjoyable to watch.

The league’s GMs picked Utah as the best home-court advantage in the NBA. Last season the Jazz won a franchise-best 24 games in a row at Vivint Arena.

Rookie Jared Butler scored 16 points to lead all @utahjazz scorers in his NBA debut, but it was what he did when not scoring that was most impressive.

“The biggest thing that I saw was his pace," Donovan Mitchell said.#TakeNote https://t.co/z00QRYtOqU

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) October 5, 2021

Rookie Jared Butler received votes as the best value draft pick after falling to the 40th pick in the second round in July. Butler scored a team-high 16 points in his debut for the Jazz on Monday night.

Mike Conley was ranked as the fourth by GMs as the best future head coach in the NBA receiving seven percent of the vote. Guard Joe Ingles also received votes in the poll.

Finally, after setting league records for their three-point shooting, the Jazz also received votes as the most enjoyable team to watch.