The latest smack across the face of the tanking Utah Jazz came in Monday’s NBA draft lottery, when the Jazz, who had the worst record in the league last season, wound up with only the No. 5 draft pick.

It was another repudiation of their tanking strategy — intentionally losing games in order to get a better chance at a higher draft pick. In this case, the prize is Cooper Flagg, the 6-foot-9-inch do-everything wing player from Duke who is widely expected to be the No. 1 pick in next month’s draft.

And after Monday’s lottery, that pick will be made by the Dallas Mavericks, who had only a 1.8% chance of getting the No. 1 pick — and yet, miraculously moved ahead of the Jazz (14%) and several other teams with much worse records to secure the right to draft the projected star.

So Utah, now in its third year of losing on purpose, falls all the way down to the No. 5 slot, where they may get a good player — or they may not. So far, all their efforts to rebuild through the draft have been less than satisfying, with none of the top picks they’ve used over the last two years offering any signs of future super-stardom in their initial reveals as NBA players.

So where do the Jazz go from here? Well, the bad news is that their No. 1 pick for next season is due to be conveyed to the Oklahoma City Thunder as part of a past trade if it comes in above the No. 8 pick. So if the Jazz made the decision to actually try to win some games next year, maybe by aggressively seeking veteran help at point guard, a position where they are desperately lacking, they risk winning too may games and having to forfeit their top draft pick next year.

Or they can just continue to tank, just like the last two years, sitting veteran players at opportune moments to make sure they don’t win games against similarly vulnerable teams. And Jazz fans, who pay an average of $133 a seat for tickets, can continue to root for — for what, exactly? More losses, that lead to more disappointment in next year’s lottery?

It’s a fool’s game the Jazz and other tanking franchises are playing. I originally supported a complete teardown when it became apparent that the Donovan Mitchell-Rudy Gobert led version of the Jazz probably wasn’t going to have the juice to ever get out of the stacked Western Conference and reach the NBA finals.

I watched the Boston Celtics go through a quick turnaround, when they dumped aging veteran stars for draft picks and turned those into All-NBA performers like Jason Tatum and Jaylon Brown, and I figured that was a strategy that made sense for the Jazz.

I was wrong.

That strategy only works if you’re good at talent evaluation, talent development and you get some luck — a lot of luck — when the draft lottery comes around. The Jazz have been proven inadequate in all three departments. Especially in the luck category.

I used to enjoy heading to Salt Lake City a couple of times a winter to catch the Jazz when good teams like the Lakers or the Celtics came to town. And I’d splurge for extra-expensive playoff tickets because there is nothing like the electricity of a home playoff game.

Not anymore.

It’s been a couple of years since I shelled out several hundred dollars for tickets, gas, parking and concessions at the Delta Center. Who wants to invest money to root for a team that is trying to lose?

The playoffs, meanwhile, have been nowhere in sight.

And I gave up my streaming subscription to Jazz games two years ago as well. I’d rather watch the ESPN and TNT offerings of games involving teams that are really competing than catching another 20-point Jazz blowout.

Surprisingly, the Jazz still averaged over 18,000 fans a game for last year’s on-going tanking exercise. I guess most Utah fans have a lot more loyalty than I do. Maybe they’re willing to continue to plunk down good money for another 65-loss season next year.

We’ll see.

But if I were Jazz management, I’d take the hint from the basketball gods after Monday’s lottery results. How many different ways can you say, “tanking is bad karma?” Use some of those extra draft picks you have, some of that salary cap room, some of those “assets” you’ve been accruing and get some players that want to win. And then let them compete.

Sure, it’s highly unlikely you’ll ever build an NBA championship roster that way — but it’s highly unlikely in any scenario. The Jazz have never won a title, but there have been many seasons when they’ve played competitive, entertaining basketball with players who ranked in the top-25 or so in the league.

Let’s bring back those days. Let’s actually try to win games. And let’s get off the tanking train for good.

Brad Bugger has been an observing of sports in southeastern Idaho since 1979, as a sports writer, announcer and fan. He can be reached at bpbugger@gmail.com.