The thing about the jazz summer league schedule is that it isn't just one block of games. It’s actually a two-part traveling circus that starts in the high altitude of Salt Lake City and ends under the neon of the Vegas Strip. If you’re just looking for the Vegas dates, you’re missing half the story—and frankly, the best chance to see the new rookies before they get tired.
Most fans assume everything happens in Nevada. Not true. The Utah Jazz host their own mini-tournament first, which has become a massive staple for the local community over the last decade. In 2025, that first leg took place at the Jon M. Huntsman Center because the Delta Center was under renovation. It’s a different vibe. It’s smaller, louder, and the air is thinner.
Breaking Down the Salt Lake City Leg
The Salt Lake City Summer League is a round-robin format. Basically, four teams play each other over three days. For the 2025 stretch, we saw the Jazz, the Memphis Grizzlies, the Oklahoma City Thunder, and the Philadelphia 76ers.
The games happened on July 5, 7, and 8.
Honestly, the Jazz usually dominate the attendance here. Even for summer ball, Utah fans show up. On July 7, for instance, over 8,000 people crammed into the Huntsman Center to watch Brice Sensabaugh drop 37 points against Memphis. It was wild. If you were looking for the schedule then, it looked like this:
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- July 5: Jazz vs. 76ers (Jazz won 93-89)
- July 7: Jazz vs. Grizzlies (Jazz won 112-111 in a nail-biter)
- July 8: Jazz vs. Thunder (Jazz closed it out 86-82)
You've gotta appreciate the efficiency of this three-day sprint. No playoffs, no complex brackets. Just pure basketball before the team packs their bags for the desert.
The Las Vegas Transition
Once the Utah portion wraps up, the entire NBA universe shifts to the Thomas & Mack Center and Cox Pavilion. This is where the jazz summer league schedule gets a bit more crowded. Every single team in the league is there.
For 2025, the Vegas games ran from July 10 to July 20. The Jazz played a four-game preliminary slate before the "consolation" or playoff rounds kicked in.
The schedule was pretty spread out. The Jazz opened against the Charlotte Hornets on July 11 at 7:00 PM ET on ESPN. Then they played the Golden State Warriors on July 13, followed by the San Antonio Spurs on July 14. They finished their main four-game run against the Washington Wizards on July 16.
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Watching these games on TV is usually a mix of ESPN, ESPN2, and NBA TV. If you don’t have a cable sub, you’re basically stuck with ESPN+ or trying to find a stream.
Who Actually Plays?
People get frustrated when the big names sit out. You might buy tickets hoping to see the top pick, but summer league is notoriously fickle. In 2025, all eyes were on Ace Bailey. He made his debut in Salt Lake and played through the first few Vegas games.
The roster usually fills out with a mix of:
- First-round rookies (The main attraction)
- Second-year players (Like Sensabaugh or Taylor Hendricks in past years)
- G-League invites (Guys like Max Abmas or Isaiah Collier)
- International wildcards
The coaching isn't usually done by the main head coach either. Will Hardy is there, sure, but he’s usually sitting baseline in a polo shirt while an assistant coach runs the huddle. It’s a proving ground for everyone, staff included.
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How to Handle Tickets and Travel
If you’re planning for 2026, keep in mind that Salt Lake City tickets are way cheaper and easier to get than Vegas. You can often find single-day passes through the Jazz box office or secondary sites like SeatGeek.
Vegas is a different beast. It’s hot. Like, 110-degrees-in-the-parking-lot hot. The tickets are general admission, meaning if you want a good seat for a 7:00 PM game, you might need to get there at 1:00 PM and sit through three other games.
Actionable Insights for Fans
If you want to track the jazz summer league schedule effectively next year, do these three things:
- Download the Utah Jazz App early: They usually leak the Salt Lake City dates about two weeks before the NBA officially announces the Vegas schedule.
- Watch the SLC games for "Real" minutes: By the time the team gets to game four or five in Vegas, the top rookies are often "shut down" for rest. If you want to see the lottery picks, watch the first three games in Utah.
- Check the local broadcast: While ESPN handles the big national games, KJZZ often carries the local Utah broadcasts, which usually have better insight into the specific Jazz players.
Following the summer league is a grind, but for die-hard fans, it’s the only way to see the future of the franchise before the October lights turn on.