SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah Jazz made their first semi-public appearance of the 2025-26 season, holding a scrimmage for students at East High School.
Ahead of Wednesday’s preseason opener against the Rockets, the young Jazz roster played in front of a packed gym full of Salt Lake City teenagers.
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Jazz Scrimmage For East High School Students
The Jazz surprised the high school students who packed the bleachers during an assembly.
Though it was the school’s teachers warming up on the baskets as the teens filed in, the student body was treated to an appearance from the Jazz Bear and the dance team, before the full roster took the court.
“It’s always awesome to come back and give back to the community,” Lauri Markkanen said of the opportunity.
The All-Star forward didn’t participate in the live scrimmage as he returns from a wrist contusion suffered during EuroBasket, but showed no signs of injury as he threw down highlight reel dunks during warmups.
“I’m not sure what the exact date is when I am going to start, but I’ve been doing rehab every day and working out and feeling better,” Markkanen said.
While the scrimmage was little more than a glorified dunk contest, coach Will Hardy relished the opportunity to get the team on the floor in front of the excited crowd.
“There’s nothing like the energy of a high school gym when it’s packed,” Hardy said. “The kids here today have been going crazy, and our guys have really responded.”
Hendricks, Bailey Offer Intrigue At Utah Jazz Scrimmage
Monday’s scrimmage marked the return of Taylor Hendricks to the court after last year’s devastating leg injury. The third-year forward looked fully healthy throughout the scrimmage, repeatedly finishing on top of the rim with emphatic dunks.
He still has a ways to go to get to where he wants to be, but I think you’re seeing early signs of trust in his body,” Hardy added. “We couldn’t be happier to see him out there, and he obviously is enjoying it. He’s gassing up the crowd — his personality is really shining through.”
Rookies Walt Clayton Jr. and Ace Bailey also made their post-Summer League debuts, showing off their promise as first-year players.
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Like Hendricks, Bailey showed off his fresh legs, offering a variety of dunk-contest level throwdowns against less-than-active defenses.
Though attempting to glean anything concrete from the exhibition would be a fool’s errand, the combination of length and athleticism between Hendricks and Bailey is something never before seen in Jazz history, and the type of physical tools that can traditionally only be found when drafting in the lottery.
The star of Monday’s performance, outside of the rowdy East High audience, was undrafted free agent rookie Matthew Murrell.
Here’s a better look. He followed this up with an even bigger dunk. https://t.co/Q5Iux7aTHd pic.twitter.com/Kksnzipjf6
— Ben Anderson (@BensHoops) October 6, 2025
Murrell may be the best leaper on the Jazz roster, and he showed off his explosiveness throughout the event.
The Ole Miss product suffered a knee injury during his fifth year with the Rebels, ending his pre-draft process before it began. Due to the injury, the 23-year-old agreed to a deal with the Jazz early in the offseason despite not being able to compete in Summer League, and will likely end up with the Salt Lake City Stars this season.
Not every Jazz player was able to participate in the scrimmage. In addition to Markkanen, Kyle Filipowski (back), Isaiah Collier (hamstring), Georges Niang (foot), and Walker Kessler (shoulder) were sidelined for the action.
The team now travels to Houston to face the Rockets on Wednesday to open preseason play.
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Ben Anderson is the Utah Jazz insider for KSL Sports and the co-host of Jake and Ben from 10-12p with Jake Scott on 97.5 The KSL Sports Zone. Find Ben on Twitter at @BensHoops, on Instagram @BensHoops, or on BlueSky.