Jazz Mailbag: Will Team Improve Anywhere In 2025-26?
Aug 12, 2025, 3:54 PM | Updated: Aug 13, 2025, 9:52 am
Georges Niang #20 (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
(Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – Welcome to the Utah Jazz mailbag, where this week we explore where the team might be better this season than last.
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: Where could the team improve in 2025-26?
What one thing (if any) does this current Utah Jazz roster do better than last year’s roster?
— Calvy J (@CJRealHoops1) August 11, 2025
Question: What one thing (if any) does this current Utah Jazz roster do better than last year’s roster?
Answer: Immediately, two things come to mind that I imagine the 2025-26 Jazz will do better than they did during last season’s 17-65 campaign, and they’re related.
Improved Shooting Despite Key Losses
Let’s start with shooting.
Despite losing five of the team’s top six shooters — including Collin Sexton, John Collins, Jordan Clarkson, Johnny Juzang, and Drew Eubanks — who combined to make up 32 percent of the team’s 1,144 made threes last year, I think the Jazz might be a more dangerous shooting team this season.
In 2024-25, the Jazz averaged the sixth-most threes per game at 39.8 per game, but shot just 35 percent from three — the ninth-worst mark in the league.
Part of that was due to Sexton and Collins playing just 103 of a possible 164 games last season, but part of it was due to strangely bad shooting years from several key players on the roster.
Lauri Markkanen had himself a night.
🔥 34 PTS
🔥 9 REB
🔥 5 3PM pic.twitter.com/RXITQMogD9— NBA (@NBA) November 24, 2024
Lauri Markkanen, who had shot 39 percent from three over his previous two seasons with the Jazz, saw his success rate dip to a mediocre 34 percent.
Jazz Mailbag: Would Team Trade Markkanen To Keep 2026 Pick?
Cody Williams shot a miserable 26 percent while fellow rookie Isaiah Collier shot just 25 percent from three.
While it’s no guarantee those players will shoot better in their sophomore seasons, it’s hard to imagine them shooting worse.
If Brice Sensabaugh, the team’s best shooter, plays more than 20 minutes a night, the Jazz should see a boost. If Taylor Hendricks, a career 37 percent three-point shooter, plays more than three games next season, that too should help.
Add in newcomers like Georges Niang, Walt Clayton Jr., and Ace Bailey — all capable shooters — and the Jazz may have the recipe for a more efficient perimeter attack.
Better Shooting Should Aid Team Identity
With theoretically improved shooting and a stronger focus on youth development, I believe the team should have a more consistent identity from night to night.
Last year, the Jazz tried to thread the needle of featuring their veterans for mid-season trades, while simultaneously giving their first and second-year players ample opportunities to grow.
The results were largely incoherent, mixing strong veteran performances with inconsistent play from the young supporting cast, and a simple lack of continuity due to increasingly long injury reports throughout the season.
6 minutes of Walt from logo land ahead of his summer league debut 🔥💪🏼
— Florida Basketball Hour (@FloridaBBHour) July 5, 2025
With fewer veterans on the team demanding time, coach Will Hardy ought to be able to design a more consistent rotation while truly rewarding the young players who have earned playing time.
Better shooting and a stronger identity, on what should be a much younger roster, won’t guarantee the Jazz more wins next season, but it should create a more familiar product on a nightly basis.
The Jazz should still be penciled in as one of the worst teams in the NBA next season, but maybe they won’t be the most painful to watch.
Want to ask questions in next week’s Jazz mailbag? Give me a follow at @benshoops.
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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.
