'I love them and I'm proud of them': Jazz coach reflects on season after final game

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SALT LAKE CITY — LeBron James strutted back down the court and then emphatically placed an invisible crown on his head.

He had just hit a 31-foot 3-pointer to wrap up a late surge that pushed the Lakers to a 128-117 win over the Utah Jazz in Los Angeles Sunday.

James was remarkable on Sunday, scoring 36 points and hitting eight 3-pointers. The fact that he had to be, though, said just as much about the Jazz than it did about the game's greatest scorer.

The Lakers entered Sunday unsure of their playoff fate. They knew they'd be playing after Sunday, but where and when was very much up in the air. The Jazz, meanwhile, had known for a few days now that they'd be packing up and headed home following Game 82.

But, in true 2022-23 Jazz fashion, they made it all too annoying for Los Angeles.

Utah was without six rotation players — Lauri Markkanen, Jordan Clarkson, Collin Sexton, Walker Kessler, Talen Horton-Tucker, and Rudy Gay — yet were down just one possession with two minutes remaining.

It's fun to know that your team is not gonna lose due to a lack of effort. That makes your job a lot easier.

Kris Dunn had 26 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists and Kelly Olynyk had 23 points and five rebounds.

The Lakers went on a 8-0 run in the final minute, highlighted by James' deep 3-ball, to finally put Utah's upset bid to bed.

Still, it was an appropriate ending for the Jazz's year. This was a team that no one expected much from; a squad filled with castaways and reclamation projects that Will Hardy morphed into a strong competitive unit that was in just about every game they played — no matter the circumstance.

It was more of the same in the season finale.

"It's fun to know that your team is not gonna lose due to a lack of effort," Hardy said after his final game of his first season as a head coach. "That makes your job a lot easier."

It may make the front office's job a bit more difficult this summer.

The Jazz finished with a 37-45 record, the ninth worst record in the league. That will give them a 20.3% chance at getting a top-four pick at next month's draft lottery, and a 4.5% chance at the No. 1 overall pick. Utah management was hoping for better odds than that.

There was a clear plan in place for this team. That plan was clear based on the return Utah got from trading Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell last summer. Utah wanted to take a step back to play the draft odds. It became more clear at the trade deadline when Danny Ainge and Co. gutted the team for a draft pick four years down the road.

"This is a bit different than anything I've experienced," Rudy Gay said. "I think we all knew going into it that this was gonna be a different year. They made that clear with the decisions they made this summer. Honestly, I wish I could go back to the text messages between me and Mike (Conley) this past summer. We knew something was going to happen, I mean just from us being around the league. We came into this season with an open mind, I think Mike's actual words were like water — just flow; let it flow."

There was some quiet frustration among the players that they were continually being asked to play with what felt like one arm tied behind their collective backs, that didn't break anyone's spirits. They found a way to be competitive and weren't eliminated until the final days of the regular season.

"I told them that I love them and I'm proud of them," Hardy said when asked about his final message to his team. "They were amazing with me and the staff this year. They had a first time head coach, and they just rolled with everything."

And did it with a mostly smile on their face. That was important to Hardy.

"I have watched over the last like five years in the NBA there seems to be a certain level of unhappiness around the league and there's pressure and expectations and all those things," Hardy said. "And I totally understand that but you are allowed to enjoy this.

"I think our team played with a tenacity and a competitiveness but they also played with a level of joy and we had a lot of laughs along the way."