The Utah Jazz went into the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery hoping to get the No. 1 pick. They had the NBA’s worst record when the 2024-25 season ended, which made them one of the three teams tied for the highest odds at winning the lottery.

Unfortunately, the Jazz did not get the No. 1 pick and fell all the way to the No. 5 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, which was their worst-case scenario. This means the Jazz lost 65 games and won’t even get a top prospect like Cooper Flagg or Dylan Harper for their troubles.

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Jazz fans were justifiably furious at the lottery’s final results. The scapegoat in question after the Jazz rewarded the fifth overall pick was the Boston Celtics’ former President of Basketball Operations, Danny Ainge.

Utah Jazz CEO Danny Ainge© Rob Gray-Imagn Images

Utah Jazz CEO Danny Ainge© Rob Gray-Imagn Images

Many Jazz fans took to their X accounts to express their displeasure with the former Celtics executive.

“Danny ainge 100% should be fired,” one fan put bluntly.

Another fan repeated the same sentiment, writing, “Danny Ainge should be fired. He was dumb enough to believe that tanking would work.”

“Danny Ainge needs to be fired,” added another. “This has been a disastrous run by him. He’s completely torpedoed one of the best, most winningest franchises in NBA history. We’re in absolute hell now. We may not make the playoffs for 10 years,” the fan wrote.”

More fans said the same thing:

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“Tanking is BS. Putting the fans (and) players through intentionally losing. Ainge needs to be fired.”

“Maybe they should try winning, isn’t that the goal to win games. Karma should never let them win, and Ainge should be fired.”

The Jazz don’t have a long history of tanking their season, and when they have, it usually hasn’t led to them getting a high lottery pick.

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