SALT LAKE CITY – Welcome to the Utah Jazz mailbag, where this week we attempt to predict the team’s opening night starting five.
Each week, we will send out a prompt on X and BlueSky asking for the questions you have about the Jazz.
Then, we’ll respond to as many as we can in that week’s Jazz mailbag in the Jazz Notes podcast.
Jazz Mailbag: Who Will Be The Team’s Starting Five?
Who is your projected starting 5 on opening night?
— SleeperJazz (@SleeperJazz) September 22, 2025
Question: Who is your projected starting 5 on opening night?
Answer: Let me preface this by stating the obvious: the Jazz’s starting five on opening night will not be the same group that will be starting at midseason, and certainly won’t be the same group starting at the end of the year.
With that said, let’s get the obvious names out of the way.
Lauri Markkanen is the Jazz’s best player and will be starting. Walker Kessler might have actually been the Jazz’s best player last season, and will be starting.
That leaves three open positions, and with Markkanen’s ability to play either forward position, a lot of flexibility for coach Will Hardy to play with throughout training camp.
Ace Bailey in his 2nd SL game tonight vs the Grizzlies…
18 PTS (7-14 FG, 3-5 3PT)
7 REBS
3 AST
How we Feeling now Lol??? pic.twitter.com/3DNUl90tC9
— Frankie Vision (@Frankie_Vision) July 8, 2025
While Markkanen and Kessler should be considered true locks, I also believe there’s a strong likelihood that Ace Bailey will be in the team’s starting lineup on opening night.
After losing 67 games last season in an effort to land a high-profile player in the draft, not allowing Bailey adequate time to compete with the team’s best players would be a hard sell to fans.
The question then becomes, where does Bailey play?
While he may project as a versatile forward long-term, his current physical tools may not allow him to handle the rigors of opposing NBA bigs at this point in his career.
Bailey was largely a perimeter player in college and could open the season in the Jazz’s backcourt as an oversized two-guard.
That leaves the point guard and a forward position still up for grabs.
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Ideally, Taylor Hendricks would step in where he began the season last year, starting alongside Kessler and Markkanen, helping add a versatile defender to the team’s frontcourt.
However, having suffered a serious leg injury in just the third game of his sophomore campaign, I expect the team to bring him along slowly, and likely in a bench role to open the year.
If that is in fact the case, I would pencil Kyle Filipowski in as the Jazz’s third frontcourt starter to open the season.
Kyle Filipowski of the Utah Jazz is the #NBA2KSummerLeague MVP!
🔥 29.3 PPG
🔥 7.7 RPG
🔥 56.1 FG%
🔥 39.1 3P% pic.twitter.com/7wmB6r6RxC
— NBA (@NBA) July 22, 2025
Filipowski was the Jazz’s best player in the Las Vegas Summer League and the best rookie on the roster last year.
His defensive limitations might push him into a second-unit role by the next time the Jazz are in playoff contention, but at this point, it’s hard to argue with his production.
That leaves just one position left, and it’s arguably the most important spot on the floor.
It’s no coincidence that the Jazz have won games at a meaningful rate since the night Mike Conley was traded, and finding their point guard of the future remains a glaring need.
Allow me to give you two predictions.
First, Walt Clayton Jr. will be the Jazz’s next truly deserving starting point guard.
Two, Keyonte George will be the starter on opening night.
Keyonte George ‘24-25 pic.twitter.com/l5Of0noizY
— Brett Usher (@UsherNBA) June 4, 2025
It’s really difficult to start a rookie in the NBA, and it’s nearly impossible to start two and still expect to have a fully functional roster.
With Bailey likely to earn one of the five starting spots, it might pressure Hardy to go with a more veteran option to initiate the offense, with George as the best option.
There’s a strong argument to be made that Isaiah Collier was the Jazz’s best pure point guard last season, but his lack of shooting is a hindrance to the development of the young players around him.
With Kessler’s inability to spread the floor and both Filipowski and Bailey being relatively unproven, having an experienced guard who can create his own shot is critical.
Though I expect Clayton Jr. to evolve into the team’s best backcourt shooter and, at the very least, an adequate playmaker, tasking him with the starting job might be too much to ask early in his career.
In time, Clayton Jr. should move into the team’s starting point guard role, allowing George to adopt a more natural position as an off-ball scorer and secondary playmaker, but entering his third season, he can handle those duties on opening night.
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Ben Anderson is the author of the Jazz Mailbag, a Utah Jazz insider for KSL Sports, the author of the Jazz Mailbag, 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.