Utah really couldn't have asked for a more favorable start to the season.
It's bad practice to count your chickens before they hatch -- just as it's bad practice to open your article with a cliché -- but when looking at the opening stretch of the Utah Jazz's 2026-27 schedule, it's hard not to start tallying wins before a single minute has been played.
Two early matchups with the Memphis Grizzlies, a team that will gather its fair share of lottery balls by the end of the year, will provide fertile soil for the Jazz to find a groove and pick up some wins early. The New Orleans Pelicans, another step along the way, struggles to win basketball games even when not deliberately tanking -- just as last year's team.
The Jazz will face off against these two teams in three of their first four matchups of the calendar this October. And for a roster that hopes to solidify themselves as a playoff lock in the Western Conference, Utah's first step toward their goal begins by making a statement against teams that project to populate the bottom of the Western Conference standings by the season's end. Hello, Memphis. Hello, New Orleans.
But where I expect the Utah Jazz to really find their swagger is on the third game of the season, when Walker Kessler and the Los Angeles Lakers enter the Delta Center in an early-scheduled "revenge game".
The Kessler departure was awkward, ugly, and uncomfortable for all involved as Utah refused to pay him the astronomical sum he and his team demanded, exceeding $30 million for a center who had played in roughly 60% of possible games (missing most due to injury) and had yet to earn any major accolades or awards during his young career with the Jazz.
Kessler is an excellent shot-blocker, but his limited skill set and unavailability make a hefty long-term investment into his services a major risk for the Jazz.
That risk only magnifies when considering the fact that Keyonte George, Brice Sensabaugh, Ace Bailey, and Darrryn Peterson would all be taking a pay raise before Kessler's price-hiked contract expired.
Yes, the Jazz will be fired up to take on Kessler and make a clear statement before the eyes of the nation: Utah doesn't need Kessler to become the team they aspire to be, and they'll prove it on the court.
Then comes the San Antonio game fifth in the order, however, and that's likely the spot where Utah stumbles. The Spurs escaped the Western Conference playoffs as champions after dethroning the Oklahoma City Thunder, and still view the Jazz as minnows in the Western waters.
It'll be a measuring stick evening for the Jazz, and their first battle against a title contender in the early season. But if Utah can enter that game with a 4-0 record -- which doesn't appear to be unlikely by any stretch -- they may make an early statement against Wemby and the NBA runners-up.
