Tracing Will Hardy's journey to becoming Utah Jazz's head coach as his side primed for 'tanking' season sit atop NBA Western Conference

Utah Jazz coach Will Hardy is doing a fine job to start the NBA season. The Jazz are supposed to be tanking, but they sit atop the Western Conference. Hardy, 34, is also the youngest active coach in the league.

The Jazz overhauled their roster in the offseason by trading Donovan Mitchell to the Cleveland Cavaliers and Rudy Gobert to the Minnesota Timberwolves. They also dealt Royce O'Neal to the Brooklyn Nets and shipped Bojan Bogdanovic to the Detroit Pistons.

Jordan Clarkson and Mike Conley were linked to potential trades but started the season in Utah. Now, the Jazz are one of the best teams in the league to start the season. Hardy has done a magnificent job as a first-time NBA coach with a roster that has never played together before.

Who is Will Hardy?

Will Hardy was born and raised in Richmond, Virginia. Hardy attended St. Christopher’s High School and played small forward at Williams College from 2006 to 2010. After graduating, he became a basketball operations intern with the San Antonio Spurs.

Hardy was promoted to assistant video coordinator in 2011 before becoming the team's video coordinator in 2013 and won a championship in 2014. Two years later, he became an assistant coach under Gregg Popovich. After six years in San Antonio, Hardy joined the Boston Celtics as an assistant coach to Ime Udoka.

The 34-year-old coach helped the Celtics make the NBA Finals last season. However, the Celtics lost to the Golden State Warriors in six games.

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How did Will Hardy become Utah Jazz's head coach?

Will Hardy was an assistant coach for the Boston Celtics before he became the Utah Jazz's coach. (Photo: NBA)

The Utah Jazz parted ways with coach Quin Snyder in the offseason after eight seasons. The Jazz, under new ownership, wanted a fresh start, and they needed a new leader on the bench.

The team interviewed a handful of candidates that included long-time Jazz assistant coach Alex Jensen, former NBA player and Toronto Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin and former Jazz assistant Johnnie Bryant. However, owner Ryan Smith and CEO Danny Ainge decided to hire Hardy as the Jazz's coach.

"Will Hardy is one of the brightest young leaders in the NBA," Ainge said. "He understands the importance of setting a vision and creating a culture for players. He places great value on communication, player development and creating the most productive environment for players to succeed."

Will Utah Jazz tank later in the season?

Before the season started, many experts predicted the Utah Jazz to tank for Victor Wembanyama. However, coach Will Hardy has the team playing great basketball with a 10-3 record. Lauri Markkanen and Jordan Clarkson play like All-Stars, while Mike Conley provides leadership.

So, will the Jazz tank later in the season? Several NBA executives told The Athletic that the Jazz need to trade several players to start tanking. However, they think that Utah's only trade partner at the moment is the LA Lakers.

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Edited by Bhargav