“We’ve Done So Many Things Together” | Bogdanovic And O’Neale Want To Run It Back | Utah Jazz

As many people know, the NBA is a make-or-miss league — it’s what separates great teams from elite teams and, ultimately, what decides outcomes and leaves the last team standing. 

For the Utah Jazz, they found themselves in the ideal scenario late Thursday night. Arguably their best three-point shooter and one of their most clutch players hand the ball in his hands with a chance to win the game. 

It’s an opportunity the team will take 10 out of 10 times.

“Bojan (Bogdanovic) is as clutch a player as you’ll see. … You’ve seen him hit big shot after big shot,” head coach Quin Snyder said. “There’s no better guy to have take that shot. … Everyone in the locker room would want him to have that shot at that time.”

With four seconds left, Bogdanovic caught the ball on the left wing, pump-faked, and watched Spencer Dinwiddie sail by him. After a dribble, he reset his feet and let it fly.

While the ball hung in the air for what felt like an eternity, it eventually bounced off the rim and bounced Utah from the 2022 NBA postseason.

“Unfortunately, I missed the shot, but it was a great look,” Bogdanovic said. “I was wide open. … It’s a shot I’ve hit before.”

For Royce O’Neale, the final game of the season was emblematic of his entire season — doing a little bit of everything to put Utah in the best position to win. After finishing with a team-high +11 rating in 33 minutes, O’Neale showed how bright his future remains in Salt Lake City.

“This group, we’ve done so many things together,” O’Neale said. “Who cares what everybody else says? We’re just going to stay together. We’ve had the No. 1 offense and defense over the years.”