The Jazz Beat Denver With a Starting Five That Didn't Exist 18 Months Ago

The Utah Jazz won a basketball game on Sunday night, 109-97 over the Denver Nuggets, and the scoreline barely matters. What matters is what was on the floor. According to video out of the team's first training camp sessions, the group that took the court featured Keyonte George, rookie Darryn Peterson, Lauri Markkanen, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Jusuf Nurkic.

Sit with that for a second. Two of those five — George and Markkanen — were Jazzmen before February 2026. Jackson Jr. arrived at that month's trade deadline in a blockbuster from Memphis that also brought John Konchar, Vince Williams Jr., and Jock Landale to Utah while shipping Taylor Hendricks, Georges Niang, Kyle Anderson, Walter Clayton, and three future first-rounders to the Grizzlies. Peterson came in June, when Utah won the lottery and took him second overall. Nurkic is a new face entirely.

This is what a rebuild looks like when it stops being a rebuild.

From 22 Wins to a Win Total With a Number in Front of It

The contrast is jarring. Utah went 22-60 last season, scoring 117.6 points per game while surrendering 126.0 — a minus-8.4 point differential that ranked among the league's worst. It was the fourth straight year near the bottom of the Western Conference, and the roster was constructed with draft positioning in mind.

That roster is essentially gone. Walker Kessler was dealt to the Lakers for two future unprotected first-round picks plus pick swaps in 2028 and 2030. In his place, Utah built around Jackson Jr., the former Defensive Player of the Year who averaged 19.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks across 48 games last season. Markkanen returns as the offensive centerpiece after posting 26.7 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. George, who put up 23.6 points and 6.1 assists on .456/.371/.892 shooting splits, signed a five-year, $157.5 million extension in September with no player or team options — a deal that locks in the backcourt next to Peterson.

Add Ace Bailey, who played all 72 games as a rookie last season at 13.8 points per contest, and the Jazz suddenly have more All-Star-caliber talent than they've had since the Donovan Mitchell era.

The Part That Should Give Utah Pause

Availability is the story nobody wants to write about. Markkanen appeared in just 42 games last season. Jackson Jr. played 48. George played 54. That's the three most important players on the roster combining to miss well over 100 games, and it's the single biggest variable between Utah competing for a play-in spot and repeating last year's lottery trip.

The preseason win over Denver — a game in which Nikola Jokic still found time to throw one of his signature no-look passes — doesn't answer that question. It was one exhibition game with rotation minutes that won't resemble opening night. The Jazz play Denver again Tuesday, then close the preseason against San Antonio and Phoenix before opening the regular season October 21 at Memphis.

What the Market Says

The external expectations are modest but real. Utah's season win total sits at 37.5, with the over priced at -120 and the under at +100 — meaning the market sees a roughly 15-win improvement as the most likely outcome, not a best-case one. Championship odds sit at 20,000, placing the Jazz near the bottom of the futures board, wedged between Dallas and Memphis.

That's fine. Nobody in Salt Lake City is asking this team to win a title in October. The question is whether a starting five assembled in 18 months can stay on the floor long enough to matter. Sunday was the first evidence, and it was encouraging. It was also meaningless. Both things are true, and the next six months will decide which one the Jazz actually are.