When the Utah Hockey Club selected Tij Iginla with the sixth pick and took 10 other players in the first draft since the team moved to Salt Lake City, fans were excited, thinking they would be in the NHL right away. General manager Bill Armstrong tried to temper expectations, telling them, “No, it takes some time.” After an unexpected victory off the ice Monday night in the draft lottery, the expectations for the club’s future are Rocky Mountain high once again. Utah won the second random draw of lottery balls to move up from the 14th pick to No. 4, adding to an already momentous summer that could feature a free agent spending spree with tons of salary cap space and an owner not afraid to spend money, the first phase of massive arena renovations taking place and the full-time name getting unveiled before next season. “It’s a game-changer for us,” Armstrong said on a post-lottery video call with reporters. “These are exciting times for Utah. … Just great stuff for the franchise. I can’t express in words on the excitement of when that happened and the opportunity in front of us.” Armstrong has over $22 million in room, and

Will Hardy is being given more time to continue the rebuild of the Utah Jazz. The Jazz announced Monday that Hardy has signed a contract extension, one that could keep him as head coach through the 2030-31 season. He’ll enter his fourth season with the Jazz next fall. “Will’s leadership has been invaluable to our program,” Jazz CEO Danny Ainge said. “He has established a vision for our players and a strong foundation of core values, competitive habits, and growth mindset. He is one of the brightest young coaches in our league, and we are incredibly fortunate to have him.” Hardy has gone 85-161 in his first three seasons with the Jazz, missing the playoffs in each of those three years. Utah won 37 games in his first season, 31 in his second and just 17 this season — by far the worst record in franchise history and the worst record in the NBA this season. The Jazz — who didn’t play anyone over the age of 27 in the final weeks of this season and finished the year with the youngest roster in the NBA — clearly understand why that was the case, and the extension shows they’re happy

The owners of the NHL’s Utah Hockey Club and NBA’s Jazz are beginning a massive renovation of their downtown Salt Lake City Arena that will eventually increase hockey capacity to roughly 17,000 and basketball to nearly 19,000 fans. Smith Entertainment Group announced its plan Wednesday after a meeting of the Salt Lake City Council earlier in the week. Officials said the initial stage of renovations this summer should boost the number of full-ice view seats by 1,400: 1,000 new ones and upgrading 400 that had a sightline of just one end of the rink in the team’s first season in the city. After a historic season welcoming the NHL to Utah, Delta Center is about to be transformed into a fundamentally new dual-use arena.The basketball experience will remain one of the loudest in the NBA with seats as close to the action as before, hockey fans will enjoy better… pic.twitter.com/Jod3OXFZkf — Delta Center (@deltacenter) April 30, 2025 “Just in Year 1 (post-renovations) we’re going to see a great improvement for the lower-bowl capacity for hockey,” Jazz president Jim Olson said on a video call with reporters. Rendering of the newly remodeled Delta Center to better accommodate both hockey and basketball. 

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Anthony Edwards had 18 of his 43 points in the third quarter to help the Minnesota Timberwolves pull away from the Utah Jazz for a 116-105 victory on Sunday to secure a spot in the playoffs and stay out of the play-in games. Rudy Gobert had 19 points and 18 rebounds and Donte DiVincenzo added 16 points for the Timberwolves (49-33), who have the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference and will face the third-seeded Los Angeles Lakers in the first round. Edwards initially faced a suspension for this game for a technical foul on Friday that would’ve given him an NBA -high 18 this season, but the league rescinded that penalty after a review. Edwards went 7 for 18 from deep to finish with an NBA-leading 320 made 3-pointers. Brice Sensabaugh scored 22 points for the Jazz (17-65), who finished with the worst record in the NBA and the worst mark in franchise history by six games. Takeaways Jazz: Finishing last in the league for the best position in the draft lottery was made easier with 10 players held out. Washington’s buzzer-beating shot to win at Miami ensured Utah had the worst record to itself.

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Aaron Wiggins scored 35 points and Isaiah Joe added 32 on a career-high 10 3-pointers to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 145-111 victory over the Utah Jazz on Friday night. Jaylin Williams added 15 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists to help power the Thunder to their 31st road victory this season — second only to Boston. Svi Mykhailiuk led Utah with a career-high 27 points. Brice Sensabaugh added 25 points and six assists. The Jazz never led on the way to their 20th loss in 22 games. Utah cut a 12-point deficit to 48-44 early in the second quarter after Keyonte George capped a 10-2 run with a pair of free throws. Oklahoma City rebuilt a double-digit lead before halftime behind hot outside shooting. The Thunder made 13 3-pointers and shot 45% from the perimeter in the first half. Joe punctuated the barrage with a long-distance buzzer beater — his fifth 3-pointer of the half — to give Oklahoma City a 73-58 halftime lead. The Thunder led by 26 in the third quarter, going up 90-64 on another 3-pointer by Joe. The Thunder played without top scorer and MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander,

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Kyle Filipowski scored 30 points including a dunk that sent the game into overtime and grabbed 18 rebounds as the Utah Jazz snapped a nine-game losing streak with a 133-126 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night. Brice Sensabaugh added 22 points and Keyonte George had 18, including eight in overtime, for the Jazz. Shaedon Sharpe had 37 to lead Portland, but missed three critical free throws in the final minute of regulation. Rayan Rupert added 19 for the Blazers. Both teams played without key players. The Blazers were missing leading scorer Anfernee Simons (forearm contusion) and third-leading scorer Deni Avdija (thumb sprain). The Jazz sat nine players with either injuries or illnesses including top two scorers John Collins (left ankle sprain) and Lauri Markkanen (left knee injury management). Takeaways Nothing but pride was on the line as both teams have been eliminated from playoff contention. The Jazz are trying to avoid finishing with the worst record in the NBA this season and are now tied with Washington with the league’s worst record at 17-63. The Blazers had won three of their previous four games before Wednesday. The teams split their four-game season

ATLANTA (AP) — Onyeka Okongwu had 27 points and 12 rebounds, Trae Young added 23 points and 15 assists and the Atlanta Hawks beat the Jazz 147-134 on Sunday night, extending Utah’s losing streak to nine games. Caris LeVert scored 21, Dyson Daniels 19 and Vit Krejci made five 3-pointers and finished with 17 points on 6-of-6 shooting for the Hawks, who never trailed. Young set up Okongwu for a layup and then fed Terance Mann for a three-point play to spark a 9-0 run that made it 131-114 when Mann threw down a put-back dunk with 7:54 to play. Keyonte George led the Jazz with a career-high 35 points, including seven 3s. Collin Sexton added 27 points and Isaiah Collier scored 17 with 12 assists. Collier’s 446 assists this season are the most by a rookie since Ja Morant had 488 in the 2019-20 season. Takeaways Jazz: Utah has lost at least eight consecutive games three times since mid-January and had one win in its last 20. The Jazz haven’t won back-to-back games since road wins over the Miami Heat and Orlando Magic on Jan. 4 and 5. Hawks: Atlanta was hot shooting the ball throughout the game, shooting

INDIANPOLIS (AP) — Myles Turner had 26 points, seven rebounds and six blocked shots, and the Indiana Pacers beat the Utah Jazz 140-112 on Friday night for their third straight victory. Pascal Siakam scored 22 points and Bennedict Mathurin had 20, going 12 for 16 from the free throw line. Collin Sexton had 27 points and Johnny Juzang had 17 for Utah. Turner had four blocks in the decisive third quarter. Siakam had a season-best four blocks and Indiana registered a season-best 17 — two short of the franchise record set in 1979 at Washington. Takeaways Jazz: The league’s worst team provided a glimmer of hope by beating the Pacers at their own game — for a half. They were quicker, made 10 3s and even grabbed 11 offensive rebounds in the first two quarters. But the short-handed roster eventually ran out of gas. Pacers: Indiana overcame a poor first half by digging down and finding a way to win. The Pacers will need to be cleaner and more efficient in the playoffs, but they’re inching closer to getting home-court advantage in the first round for the first time since 2014. Key moment Indiana scored nine straight to turn an

HOUSTON (AP) — Jalen Green scored 22 points, Dillon Brooks added 21 and the Houston Rockets beat the Utah Jazz 143-105 on Wednesday night for their 50th win of the season. Jabari Smith Jr. finished with 15 points and 14 rebounds off the bench, Tari Eason had 15 points and nine rebounds and Alperen Sengun had 15 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists for Houston, which shot 54% and was 19 of 45 on 3-pointers. Isaiah Collier had 22 points and 10 assists, Collin Sexton finished with 18 points and Keyonte George had 14 points, for the Jazz, who lost their seventh straight game. Walker Kessler added 11 points and 12 rebounds. Utah shot 43% and were 10 of 40 on 3-pointers. Brooks was issued a technical foul with seven minutes left in the first quarter after appearing to kick Sexton in the groin on a loose ball. If the technical is not rescinded, it would be Brooks’ 16th of the season, and he would be suspended for the Rockets’ game Friday night against Oklahoma City. Houston’s Fred VanVleet missed the game with soreness in his knee and right ankle. Takeaways Jazz: Utah dropped to 1-17 since the end of