The Utah Jazz will enter the 2025-26 season boasting a talented crop of young players with All-Star caliber forward Lauri Markkanen at the helm. (Photo by Chris Nicoll/NBAE via Getty Images)
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2024-25 Record: 17-65 (15th in West, missed playoffs)
With Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert at the helm, the Jazz established themselves as a perennial contender in the West for years. They put together six straight winning seasons from 2016 to 2021, including three 50+ win seasons. But after three straight seasons without a playoff appearance, Utah looks to be committed to a full rebuild.
Most of the veterans from the post Mitchell-Gobert era are now gone, replaced by up-and-coming, homegrown talent. As Utah shifts into a new era, success in 2025-26 won’t be measured by wins, but instead the continued development of its young core.
Offseason
- Re-signing: N/A
- Additions: Kyle Anderson (trade), Kevin Love (trade), Georges Niang (trade), Jusuf Nurkić (trade)
- Draft: Ace Bailey (5th pick), Walter Clayton Jr. (18th pick, acquired via trade), John Tonje (53rd pick)
- Departures: Jordan Clarkson (waived), John Collins (trade), Johnny Juzang (waived), Collin Sexton (trade), Jaden Springer (waived)
- Unsigned Free Agents: N/A
This offseason saw the departure of a few veteran fixtures in Utah over the past several years in Clarkson, Collins and Sexton. The Jazz replaced them with a new crop of vets to support their young core, bringing in Anderson, Niang and Nurkić all via trades. These pieces will continue to support Lauri Markkanen, who blossomed into an All-Star after joining the Jazz and averaged 19.0 points and 5.9 rebounds across 47 games last season.
In the draft, Utah opted to go with standout one-and-done forward Ace Bailey out of Rutgers with the 5th overall pick and traded up to No. 18 to snag Walter Clayton Jr., who helped lead Florida to the 2025 NCAA championship. They join a returning young core that also features a slew of recent first-round picks in Walker Kessler (22nd overall in 2022), Taylor Hendricks (9th overall in 2023), Keyonte George (16th overall in 2023), Brice Sensabaugh (28th overall in 2023), Cody Williams (10th overall in 2024) and Isaiah Collier (29th overall in 2024), as well as NBA 2K26 Summer League MVP Kyle Filipowski (32nd overall in 2024).
Summer League MVP: Kyle Filipowski highlights
Take a look at some of the best plays from NBA 2K26 Summer League MVP Kyle Filipowski.
X-factor
Kyle Filipowski. He is one of the promising young players on the Jazz roster hoping to take a leap in 2025-26. The 6-foot-11 forward out of Duke turned heads at NBA 2K26 Summer League, claiming MVP honors after averaging 29.3 points and 7.7 rebounds while shooting 56.1% from the field and 39.1% from 3-point range.
Filipowski averaged 9.6 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.9 assists in 21.1 minutes per game in 72 appearances in his rookie season and was one of only two NBA rookies to total more than 650 points, 400 rebounds and 100 assists. If his Summer League performance was a good indication of things to come, expect Filipowski to be a key cog in Utah’s operation going forward.
> Watch Kyle Filipowski on NBA League Pass
One key question
What’s the plan with Lauri Markkanen? The former All-Star and 2023 Kia Most Improved Player inked a five-year deal with the Jazz prior to the 2024-25 season, but a year later it’s unclear if Markkanen fits into Utah’s long-term plans of building for the future.
At just 28 years old, Markkanen is just entering his prime and will likely be one of the most attractive trade targets for win-now teams, especially given his performance at FIBA EuroBasket 2025. The Jazz star erupted for 43 points in a Group Phase game vs. Great Britain and led Finland to its first-ever EuroBasket semifinals appearance.
Fantasy Outlook from Rotowire
The team at RotoWire broke down the top fantasy options for each team in the West. Here’s how they broke down some of the best options from the Jazz:
“If there’s one thing to get excited about, it’s some of the young pieces. Ace Bailey was their top pick in this year’s draft, while Cody Williams looked like a different player at Summer League this season. They need to hit on some of these draft picks to correct the rebuild, with Keyonte George and Walker Kessler looking like the best young assets on this team. Lauri Markkanen is still this team’s best player, but his trade seems inevitable with the way this team is trending.”
Key dates
- Preseason Opener: Oct. 8 at Rockets (8 ET, League Pass)
- Regular Season/Home Opener: Oct. 22 vs. Clippers (9 ET, League Pass)
- Emirates NBA Cup West Group A Play: Oct. 31 at Suns (10 ET, League Pass), Nov. 7 at Timberwolves (8 ET, League Pass), Nov. 21 vs. Thunder (10 ET, League Pass), Nov. 28 vs. Kings (9:30 ET, League Pass)
What they’re saying
Law Murray, The Athletic: “The Jazz went with the high-ceiling player in the draft, selecting Bailey fifth. Bailey basically replaces Clarkson on the roster. Later in the first round, Utah went with national champion Clayton, who takes Sexton’s vacated roster spot. Sexton was traded to Charlotte for Nurkić, the appetizer to a three-team trade that sent Collins to LA and Kyle Anderson to Utah… Utah is somehow even bigger than last season’s team, but how much better the Jazz can expect to be will come down to the progression of their growing developmental corps. Nine of Utah’s top 13 players were in the last four drafts.” (Read more)
