“A Great Day” | Utah Gives Jazz Nation A Fun Show During Open … – NBA.com

Saturday afternoon at the Delta Center was all about fun. 

It was Utah’s annual free open scrimmage, giving fans an up-close and personal look at the team. It featured an hour’s worth of practice and ended with a scrimmage filled with deep threes and highlight dunks. 

“This is one of my favorite events of the year,” said David Locke, Jazz radio play-by-play announcer. “It’s a wonderful chance for fans to get up close to the team and players. For many of our most die hard fans, it is their closest touch point and it’s a great day. … You could tell players really felt that energy. The Jazz Nation connection to their team is unequaled.”

But while everything was in good fun — and plenty was had — the Jazz are still about winning. So when the scrimmage ended in a tie score, it was announced that a do-or-die overtime period would take place. 

It didn’t last long as Walker Kessler won the tip at midcourt, getting the ball to Talen Horton-Tucker. Rather than getting the ball to all-star Lauri Markkanen or sharpshooter Jordan Clarkson, Horton-Tucker took rookie Taylor Hendricks off the dribble. Getting into the paint, Horton-Tucker finished the layup in traffic to give the black team the victory. 

With highlight plays aplenty, there were numerous moments that stood out.

Most notably were the player interviews conducted by Jazz Digital Reporter Nayo Campbell. During timeouts and between quarters, Campbell asked players who was the most competitive, who talked the most trash, and what they love about living in Salt Lake City. Notably, every player who was interviewed said that guard Kris Dunn was by far the most competitive player on the roster and the best trash talker. 

Another highlight was when Digital Media Manager JP Chunga interviewed Hardy before the scrimmage took place. As usual, Hardy credited a lot of Utah’s success to the homecourt advantage they get every game from the loud and passionate fanbase. He also promised Jazz Nation a “gritty and hardworking” squad. 

With the play on the court over, fans were given one more treat at the end as Clarkson took control of the microphone and began calling out his rookie teammates: Keyonte George, Brice Sensabaugh, and Hendricks, calling for a dance competition between the youngsters. After being hesitant at first, all three got into the moment and put on a show, much to the delight of the crowd. 

For anybody who missed out or wants to rewatch the action, head to Jazz+ for the video replay.