The Utah Jazz was not expected to make the playoffs this season and it's fair to say their fans had no expectations after they lost Gordon Hayward in free agency.
But the franchise was not prepared to rebuild and were keen to push on from their impressive 2016-17 campaign despite losing their leading scorer.
The front office made moves in the trade market to offset the loss of Hayward and their season was ultimately defined by one particular deal they pulled off.
They traded Trey Lyles to the Denver Nuggets for the draft rights to Donovan Mitchell and this proved to be a masterstroke.
Mitchell enjoyed a phenomenal rookie year and led the Jazz to the postseason after they finished with a 48-32 record.
The 21-year-old took the NBA by storm in his debut campaign and is a leading candidate for Rookie of the Year as a result.
He averaged a team-high 20.5 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 79 games in the regular season.
The shooting guard then took this form into the playoffs and played a major role in helping Utah upset the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round before they fell short against the Houston Rockets in round two.
Because of his emergence and the way he was able to fill the shoes of the departed Hayward, this was viewed as a hugely successful season for the Jazz.
Not satisfied
But Mitchell is not prepared to accept losing as any type of success and isn't interested in moral victories.
The youngster has a winning mentality and expressed his disappointment at how the season ended for the Salt Lake City franchise in a special piece on The Players' Tribune titled "No Moral Ws".
"What you have to understand is - we didn't beat our expectations by being the type of team satisfied with moral W's. We beat our expectations by being satisfied with W's," Mitchell wrote.
"We beat our expectations by being killers... All we cared about was being the best... And all we ever had in our minds as a goal was a championship."
The Louisville product recalls how he felt when the team landed back in Utah following their elimination by the Rockets where they were greeted by their fans.
He promised them that "this is the start of something special" and that they will be competing for years to come.
"But it’s only a temporary L — because we’re going to be back next year, and the year after that, and the year after that," he said. "It’s temporary, because this isn’t the end.
"...Hopefully the next time we hang out at the airport, we’ll bring a trophy."
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