Expectation for the 2026-27 Utah Jazz is the playoffs — period
After a four-year teardown and rebuild and years of tanking, the Jazz are expected to be a different team next season.
Utah Jazz head coach Will Hardy talks with guard Keyonte George (3) during the first half of an NBA Cup game against the Sacramento Kings at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 28, 2025. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret News Will Hardy isn’t willing to say it.
Instead, the Utah Jazz head coach danced around the topic when asked if his team could make the playoffs next season. He talked about the difficulty in projecting wins and how Jaren Jackson Jr. played just three games with the Jazz, he mentioned not knowing exactly what the roster would look like and how much work has to be done.
Austin Ainge had a similar tone Monday. “I’m going to focus on the process right now,” the Jazz president of basketball operations said. “We’ve got a lot to prove.
We’ve got a lot of a big summer ahead of us — our players and our front office — players have to get a lot better and continue to work and our front office, we have some key free agents and a lot of other things to finish out our roster to know where we stand. " But the players aren’t as coy or reluctant to make their feelings known. “Obviously, our expectation is to get to the postseason,” Keyonte George said.
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