Utah Jazz Draft History: 2000 – Present

2001

The 2000-01 season had the Jazz looking very similar to what they looked like the season before. The wins dropped by a couple and they finished the regular season 53-29. This season, the Jazz finished second in the NBA’s Midwest Division and lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Dallas Mavericks. Besides Stockton and Malone, one of the key members of the team was Donyell Marshall who averaged 13.6 points per game that season. As a result of their season, the Jazz landed at 24th overall in the first round of the draft. The Jazz also owned the 52nd overall pick in the draft.

With the 24th pick, the Jazz decided to go with the Spanish point guard, Raul Lopez. At the time, the Jazz had decided that Lopez was to be the predecessor to Stockton. The picked him over the likes of Tony Parker (28), and Gilbert Arenas (30). Lopez wasn’t able to come to the NBA until 2002 due to him tearing his ACL twice. His NBA career would be plagued by injuries and would only last two seasons before heading back overseas.

With the 52nd overall pick that season, the Jazz went with the big man out of Stanford, Jarron Collins. Jarron, not to get confused with his twin brother Jason, served a respectable 10 year career in the NBA before retiring. He moved around the league during his tenure, but primarily served as a back up center.

2002

The Jazz seen their record slip a little bit more after the 2001-02 season. The Jazz dropped to 44-38 and finished fourth in the Midwest Division. However, the Jazz still made the playoffs, only to fall to the Sacramento Kings in the first round. The Jazz ended up with the 19th pick in the first round, and also the 46th pick in the draft. However, neither of these two picks really worked out for the Jazz.

With the 19th pick in the draft, the Jazz went with Ryan Humphrey out of the University of Notre Dame. Humphrey’s only appeared in 85 games in his NBA career and only averaged 2.3 points per game. The Jazz took Humphey’s over guys like Tayshaun Prince (23), and Carlos Boozer (34). The 46th pick didn’t fair much better for the Jazz when they selected Jamal Sampson out of the University of California. Sampson only appeared in 72 games in the NBA and averaged 1.97 points per game. The Jazz took Sampson over guys like Rasual Butler (52), and Luis Scola (55).