The Utah Jazz should be the talk of the league. They are having a masterful season, and they look like championship contenders. It is really a great story of how small market teams can make it in the league. What makes it even more surprising, the Jazz did not do this with one single top-10 pick. Their last pick in the top-10 was actually Dante Exum, who is not on the roster anymore. Of course, they added Donovan Mitchell, the 13th pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, but that was through a trade. Even better, they did not swing some massive trade to bring this team together. This is a story of an organically built franchise and the league should be learning from them. Here are their two secrets behind this season's early success.

Jazz secrets of success 

Organic building 

This early season was not just born out of nothing. As highlighted above, the Jazz have built for this for a few years now. They gradually added piece by piece to make sure they build a culture of success and they have done this perfectly. Their core is obvious, with Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, but building around this was the challenge. In essence, Mitchell and Gobert are very different players and it takes a specific group to connect all the right dots.

The first piece brought in was Joe Ingles, who provided additional scoring off the wing. This is a perfect player for this setup, as both Gobert and Mitchell draw a lot of attention so they can get kick the ball out to the shooter. One wing was handled by Ingles, so the other wing needed to be filled as well. That is where Bojan Bogdanovic comes in, who is now cashing in on all the trust the Jazz put in him. He is averaging 17.4 points on 43.7% three-point shooting, which is fifth in the league for players with at least 20 games played and at least four attempts for three per game.

Two more pieces were added in the last two years, and they are Mike Conley and Jordan Clarkson. The latter one is especially relevant, as bench scoring got a huge boost for the Jazz with Clarkson. This season, they are 10th in bench scoring, but they were 8th last season, and in the last season without Clarkson, the Jazz was occupying the bottom 15 of the league. Conley was a risk, due to his age and injuries, but he uses his massive experience to tie everything together.

This season, with their 23-9 start, the Jazz are just getting the fruits of their hard work. It is really a testament to the perfect cohesion of coach Quin Snyder and their front office, who are able to find perfect pieces for their roster. They have made zero bad signings and all the money put in was well spent. While playoff success was somewhat lacking in the last few seasons, this year might be different.

Balance in offense and defense 

According to Basketball Reference, the Jazz have the best offensive rating in the league and the 8th best defensive rating. That is somewhat surprising, as the squad was mostly known for their impeccable defense led by three-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert. However, their offense has been steadily on the rise and became the perfect complement to their great defense.

The real story behind this success of the Jazz is the balance. Right now, they have five players averaging over 14 points per game, with Rudy Gay also contributing in his limited veteran role with 8.3 points per game. They have an inside presence with Gobert, averaging a cool 15.4 points and 14.9 rebounds, and an outside presence with Bogdanovic lighting it up from behind the arc. That is all complemented with the drive and slash game of Donovan Mitchell, who is averaging 25.4 points per contest, and tied in together by Conley.

Overall, the Jazz leads the league in many offensive categories. They take and make the most three-pointers, and take and make the second-most free throws in the league. They dominate the defensive and offensive glass and have the second-best field goal percentage as a team in the whole NBA. Defensively, they have the eighth-most blocks and limit their opposition to shoot poor percentages from the field and three-point land. In these two categories, the Jazz are 9th and 3rd in the league, respectively.

As it was mentioned above, the Jazz should be the blueprint for all small-market teams to succeed. They have done this without a major trade, a top-10 pick, or a major signing in the offseason. Their biggest signings were Bojan Bogdanovic, Jordan Clarkson, and an aging Mike Conley, so they cannot really be considered major in league terms. However, consistency, balance, and trust in and between the front office and the coach are key for long-term success.