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It's been an interesting offseason for the Utah Jazz, who used their first round pick this past June to select Ace Bailey out of Rutgers. There was speculation initially that Bailey might not be willing to suit up for Utah, but that has since died down and the Jazz hope they have added another piece to their emerging young core.
The best player on the Jazz remains small forward Lauri Markkanen, and recently, Markkanen has been participating for his native Finland in EuroBasket.
During Sunday's game, Markkanen went off again, scoring 42 points to go along with 12 rebounds and 3 blocks on 10-17 shooting. Making matters more impressive was that the star was only on the floor for 24 minutes.
This game followed up contests of 31 points and 48 points for Markkanen so far during the EuroBasket exhibition contests.
It's clear that Markkanen has been working extra hard on this game this offseason, which should be good news for Jazz fans who will want to see at least one polished NBA veteran on the court amid what figures to be a brutal rebuilding year.
Tough times for the Utah Jazz
Many figured that Markkanen would have been traded by this point in his career, with several contending teams, including the Golden State Warriors, having been reported to hold interest in the small forward's services.
However, Markkanen has remained a member of the Jazz through it all. The Jazz were among the league's worst teams last year and lost even more talent this offseason, watching Jordan Clarkson bolt to the New York Knicks in free agency and trading John Collins to the Los Angeles Clippers.
However, the team did add Bailey and NCAA tournament standout Walter Clayton Jr. out of Florida in this year's draft, which figures to give them an added boost in perimeter scoring, even if there may be some growing pains along the way.
Still, Markkanen figures to be the head of the snake and will likely be circulated through the rumor mill once again this year.
In any case, the Jazz's 2025-26 season is slated to get underway on October 22 against the Los Angeles Clippers at home.
