Lauri Markkanen and Keyonte George look to lead the Jazz to a new level this season.
Offseason Recap
• Last season: 22-60 (15th in West, missed postseason)
• Key Additions: Josh Green, Jaxson Hayes, Jusuf Nurkić, Josh Okogie, Darryn Peterson
• Every Jazz move this offseason
Season Outlook
Jumping from fourth to second in the Draft Lottery allowed Utah to grab Kansas guard Darryn Peterson in the Draft, adding a play-ready talent to a young group that has been ripening since the team’s last playoff appearance in 2022.
Coach Will Hardy has enough tent-pole guys like Lauri Markkanen, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Keyonte George to mix ‘n’ match for various sizes, styles and strengths.
Markkanen should aim for a return to All-Star status (despite how crowded the West roster will be). Jackson, back from knee surgery after playing only three games for Utah once he arrived from Memphis, is a consummate help defender and unorthodox scorer. George just solidified his Salt Lake City future with a five-year, $157.5 million extension.
Setting expectations high is easy enough, reaching them is the tough part. Last season, the Jazz climbed from 17 to 22 victories. Now they should be targeting 37 or so to chase a Play-In spot and really boost the culture and the spirits at Delta Center.
Breakout Candidate: Ace Bailey
Bailey played his entire rookie season at age 19, one of the league’s youngest performers. His inexperience was evident in his start – the No. 5 pick from Rutgers made only eight of his first 32 shots and averaged 4.4 points in his first five games. Through December, he was averaging 10.4 points and starting to get a feel for his team and the league.
From Jan. 1, Bailey averaged 16.2 points and 4.9 rebounds, and earned more trust from coach Will Hardy. Now he seems positioned to seize an opportunity to help Utah as its sixth man. Assuming rookie Peterson moves into the starting lineup next to George, Bailey could bring instant offense off the bench. He did start in 61 of his 72 appearances last season but could have more of a green light working with the second unit.
1 Number To Know
45.1% — Jazz opponents took 45.1% of their shots – the league’s highest opponent rate last season – from 3-point range. And 59% of their opponents’ 3-point attempts, also the league’s highest rate, were wide open.
The Jazz allowed 15.3 3-pointers per game, the most for any defense in the 47 seasons of the 3-point line, topping their own mark of 14.9 per game the season prior. There have been other issues, as this team has ranked in the bottom two on defense in each of the last three seasons, but improvement probably needs to include better defense around the arc.
— John Schuhmann
5 Must-See Matchups
• Oct. 25: Lakers vs. Jazz — The third game out of the chute for both teams is a potential clash of big men, Hayes and Walker Kessler, who previously played for the opposition. Kessler, whose 2025-26 season was essentially lost to shoulder surgery, has a four-year, $130 million deal with L.A. Hayes came to Salt Lake City for two years, $12 million.
• Nov. 27: Nuggets vs. Jazz — Utah has lost 10 in a row to Denver, one more than its losing streak against OKC. Beating the Northwest Division’s best, even occasionally, is a necessity for legit improvement.
• Dec. 27: Jazz vs. Kings — This is game No. 7 of 13 against last year’s bottom feeders in the West. Utah, Sacramento, Memphis, Dallas and New Orleans held down the final five spots, all finishing 30+ games under .500. This provides a measuring stick on Utah’s early season.
• Feb. 3: Jazz vs. Rockets — This one begins a stretch in which Utah plays 11 of 14 games away from the Delta Center. When they return from Philadelphia on March 8, the Jazz will play five of their final 16 games on the road.
• Feb. 27: Wizards vs. Jazz — We’ll have to wait until after the All-Star break to get a scheduled matchup of the No. 1 (AJ Dybantsa) and No. 2 (Peterson) picks in the 2026 Draft. But the second one comes exactly one week later in Washington.
> Complete Regular Season Schedule
Preseason Storylines
Shoring up the defense is essential. Utah ranked 22nd in offensive efficiency and was ninth in the NBA in points per game (117.6). But they were dead last in points allowed nightly (126.0) and 29th in defensive efficiency. Losing Kessler to the Lakers would seem to be heading in the wrong direction, but Jackson Jr. is a former Defensive Player of the Year and three-time All-Defense pick. Josh Okogie and Josh Green are new arrivals with defensive chops as well.
Will Jackson log more minutes at center or at power forward? Jusuf Nurkić is huge, a double-double guy and a deft passer, but not a paint protector. Hayes is a shot blocker and changer, but limited in other areas. There might be a lot of position-by-committee with the Jazz this season.
Guard Isaiah Collier got to 500 career assists in just 81 games, faster even than franchise and NBA all-time leader John Stockton (93 games). Collier’s ability to set up teammates, especially when pushing the break, has to earn him additional minutes. On a per-36 basis last season, he averaged 16.3 points and 10 assists.
***
Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.
