Utah Jazz head coach Will Hardy recently went viral for berating his players during a timeout in the team’s 131-101 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday night. The incident happened early in the first quarter, as the Utah Jazz were already down 10-1 against the defending NBA champions after the first 2:26.
“I’m tired of f***ing doing this every game. F***ing play harder,” via Kato Parina of SLC Dunk on X (formerly known as Twitter).
In the profanity-laced video, a clearly fed-up Hardy implored the Utah Jazz to “play harder.” Unfortunately for him, his words didn’t help much, as they were outscored 45-20 in the opening period and never recovered.
It has been a difficult start for the Utah Jazz this season, as they now have an 8-15 record. But at least they’re not (yet) the worst team in the Western Conference, with the Sacramento Kings (6-18), Los Angeles Clippers (6-18), and the New Orleans Pelicans (3-22) at the bottom.
Everything went wrong for the Utah Jazz against the Oklahoma City Thunder
The Utah Jazz were so bad against the Oklahoma City Thunder that there was a major delay during the game, as the game clock and fog machine malfunctioned. At one point in the first half, the fog machine kept blowing smoke behind the Oklahoma City Thunder basket.
“It’s funny, it’s the first time in three-plus years that I’ve even listened to what’s said over the loudspeaker,” head coach Will Hardy said of his POV via Sarah Todd of the Deseret News.
“I wouldn’t even know really what’s being said, but then you have to kind of tune in, because you want to understand where you are in the game,” he added.
