Preseason NBA Power Rankings: Philadelphia 76ers look like Eastern Elite

8. Utah Jazz

While there may not be any jazz in Utah, but the Utah Jazz were one of the most electrifying teams in the NBA last season, and I don’t foresee that tune changing anytime soon.

Terribly corny musical puns aside, there’s a lot to like about the Jazz in 2018, especially after Donovan Mitchell‘s emergence from a mid-lottery flyer into a legitimate NBA Rookie of the Year contender, even if he rightfully lost the award to Ben Simmons.

With a solid collection of players only made better with the addition of Grayson Allen and the extensions of Dante Exum, Derrick Favors, the Jazz are slowly becoming must-watch basketball for NBA fans across the country, regardless of where they could name Utah on a map.

And the best part? The Jazz are basically playing with house money.

After losing Gordon Hayward to the Boston Celtics in free agency a little over a year ago, even though the team traded for his preferred point guard, Ricky Rubio days earlier, many pundits, fan, and even players assumed that the Jazz would take a major step back, but somehow the team has gotten better without one of their two best players.

Now with a full offseason to retool their scheme around their former Louisville star shooting guard, it would appear that Donavan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert, and the Jazz could be on their way to another top-4 seeding in the Western Conference playoffs.