An overview of the Utah Jazz Summer League

With one of the most spectacular Summer League lineups in recent memory, the Utah Jazz will begin their two-week program for Summer League on Monday.
July 8, 9, and 10 are the Utah Jazz’s three consecutive days of play in the Salt Lake City Summer League. The team will be led by third-year center Walker Kessler, second-year players Keyonte George, Taylor Hendricks, and Brice Sensabaugh, and rookies Cody Williams, Isaiah Collier, and Kyle Filipowski. From July 12 to July 22, the Utah Jazz will travel to Las Vegas for the annual NBA summer showcase.

Everything you need know is as follows:

A well-balanced group

A number of players with actual NBA experience and as many as 11 players who could be on the Jazz roster when the 2024–25 regular season begins are among the exceptionally talented Summer League roster that the Jazz are fielding (Kessler, the 2023 rookies, 2024 rookies, Kenneth Lofton Jr., Darius Bazley, and two-way players Taevion Kinsey and Jason Preston).
The Jazz players are aware that they have an opportunity to win the summer tournament.
“Yeah, we seem insane,” Hendricks said with a knowing smirk. It’s insane from top to bottom. Definitely going to be a lot of fun to watch.
Sean Sheldon, who was elevated to the head of the Jazz coaching bench this summer, is leading the club this year. Sheldon said that not every player will play every night during the Summer League schedule since there are so many guys on the club who will undoubtedly see action during the regular season.
Thus, don’t expect to see every young Jazz player you love participating in a Summer League game. The playing roster will fluctuate around a little to allow every member of the team a chance, particularly since the Jazz will play three games in three days during Salt Lake City Summer League.
Sheldon said, “We don’t want to blow the guys out before we get to Vegas.” “Therefore, on certain nights, we’ll have some Jazz players take a night off, and we’ll get some guys from (Exhibit-10) and give them two passes to the games.”

The timetable

The SLC Summer League will have two games each day including the Jazz, Philadelphia 76ers, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Memphis Grizzlies. The Jazz’s upcoming schedule includes games against the Grizzlies at 7 p.m. on Monday, the Thunder on Tuesday, and the Sixers on Wednesday. Click here to see the whole schedule.
The Jazz’s first game in Las Vegas, which will air on NBA TV, is scheduled for Saturday at 8:30 p.m. MDT against the Dallas Mavericks. After that, on July 15 at 8 p.m. MDT on ESPNU, the Jazz will play the Sacramento Kings. On July 17, at 3 p.m. MDT on ESPN2, they will play the Toronto Raptors. On July 18, at 8 p.m. MDT on NBA TV, they will play the Los Angeles Clippers. The Jazz’s record through the four scheduled games will determine the games that follow in the Summer League championship.

What the players should anticipate

For Williams, Collier, and Filipowski, the three 2024 rookies, Summer League will be a process of getting to know one another. Nothing much is expected of them other than to give it their all and begin forming relationships with the other Jazz players. However, there will undoubtedly be evaluation of their defensive savvy, passing skill, decision-making speed, and shot-blocking effectiveness.
There are more demands placed on the Jazz’s second-year players. This summer, Hendricks has been training to strengthen himself and improve his defense. It’s critical that he can physically defend and control the top players on the court. George, who played in the most NBA minutes of any rookie last season, is eager to demonstrate that his decision-making and speed have improved significantly.
“I was going too fast coming off the pick-and-roll, not letting the reads develop, coming off and shooting a pull-up almost every time last year,” George said. “I’ve been really just simplifying my game, making it a lot easier and slowing down. I’ve added a lot to it.”

Kessler seemed to have a fresh appetite for information going into Summer League, after an incredible rookie season and a rather disappointing second year with the Jazz. He was reminded by being among the rookies from both this year and last year that his finest play came from trying to absorb everything and learn as much as he could.
According to Kessler, “I approached my rookie year with the mindset of I’m just trying to learn as much as I can,” which is what made it successful. “I believe that if you approach it as an opportunity to learn, there are no failures—even when you make mistakes and fall short.”
The Jazz will be running some of the same plays that they had previously done with Kelly Olynyk with Kessler in an effort to further develop him as a facilitator.
Sheldon said, “We want to see how he passes it.” “He’s been handling things with such excellence. Therefore, we’ll give him some of those chances where he makes decisions and passes, and we want to keep pressing him defensively. He is aware of his skill as a defender, but the coaches and I work to show him that there is still more to his potential.

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