Jazz become 1st team to clinch playoff berth this season
The Utah Jazz became the NBA's first team to clinch a playoff berth after the Portland Trail Blazers fell to the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday afternoon.
The Jazz sport an NBA-best 44-16 record this campaign, which includes a 26-4 mark at their home arena. An 11-game winning streak that spanned almost all of January boosted Utah's record.
After finishing as the Western Conference's sixth seed and losing a hard-fought first-round series to the Denver Nuggets last season, Utah brought back almost the same squad. The Jazz have now matched their previous win total in 12 fewer games.
Donovan Mitchell's career-best season has also been a driving force behind Utah's success. The two-time All-Star is averaging 24.6 points per game along with 5.2 assists and 4.4 rebounds, all career highs.
The Jazz sit only two games up on the Phoenix Suns and the Los Angeles Clippers for the top spot in the West. Utah holds the tiebreaker over the Clippers, but not the Suns.
Playoff success has evaded Utah for much of the last decade. The Jazz haven't advanced to the conference finals since the 2006-07 season, and the club hasn't made the NBA Finals since 1997-98, which was also the last time it finished with the league's best record.