2026-27 Amex Season Preview: Utah Jazz Players Take Over Reddit AMA During 2026 Media Day
Keyonte George, Lauri Markkanen, Darryn Peterson and more Jazz players participate in Reddit AMA.
NBA.com Staff | Updated on September 29, 2026, 1:18 AM
Keyonte George, Lauri Markkanen, Darryn Peterson and more took part in a Reddit AMA during 2026 Media Day as the Utah Jazz gear up for another season. Check out their answers below.
Q: What's one skill you'd like to add from anyone in the league and why?
Keyonte George: [Andrew] Nembhard — obviously a lot of guys have the bump middy, but just the way he's able to get past his guy, and then as a smaller guard, being able to bump somebody off that far is pretty tough. He's got that type of swagger with him… I definitely want to take that little bump from Nembhard for sure.
Lauri Markkanen: Probably the IQ and vision from (Nikola) Jokić.
Q: What are your favorite cities to play in around the NBA, and why?
Lauri Markkanen: There are a lot of cities I like to play in, but I feel like it's always fun to go to New York and play in The Garden — obviously now they're the defending champions, so it's going to be a great challenge for us, but that's a fun place to play.
Q: For everyone — who would win in a team competition of HORSE? Is there a trick shot master on the team?
Josh Okogie: Me. A half-court shot backwards.
Q: What aspect of your game do you think you've improved the most in?
Keyonte George: I think really the main thing for me was my mental. Just working on different mental skills… making sure I'm present where I'm at, where my feet are at, not being worried about what happened before… staying even-keel. That's really the main thing I've been working on. Obviously, you try to sharpen up your tools — jump shot, mid-range game, floaters, get in shape, work on your footwork — but yeah, for me it was really the mental piece.
Q: Who on this roster has one basketball skill that is way better than fans realize?
Jaren Jackson Jr.: [Center Jusuf Nurkić] got a trey ball. I think I knew that. I feel like I've been playing against Nurk for a while, but yeah, he's got a trey ball.
Q: What teams and/or players are the absolute most frustrating to defend or be defended by, or just play against in general?
Josh Okogie: Who I would say is frustrating to defend — I'd probably say Steph Curry, 'cause you're going to have to run 5 miles and hit a billion screens, so it's kind of frustrating. And somebody that's frustrating to get defended by — probably I would say… oh, my little bro, my little bro Amen Thompson. My little bro, yeah yeah, my little bro.
Q: How are the vibes? It seems like this group really gets along, and I think everyone bonding as teammates is an extremely underrated part of any NBA roster.
Svi Mykhailiuk: Oh, for sure, vibes are great. Obviously we have a great group of guys… It's a great mix of younger and older guys, and I feel like everybody's on the same page. Yeah… it's been a great experience. Everybody likes each other, everybody likes to play with each other and… it's been great. The vibes are very high.
Q: JJJ — what are you most excited to bring to your new team? Anything you learned from your time in Memphis that you think will help make an immediate impact?
Jaren Jackson Jr.: I'm excited to bring energy every day, leadership, experience, defense, playing hard, versatility. I think everything I've learned from my first 8 years in Memphis will help me.
Q: I wonder if Lauri or Jaren have any extra stories to tell during their time in Helsinki that weren't shown on camera.
Jaren Jackson Jr.: Helsinki was a lot of saunas, jumping in the cold ocean or lake or water. What was it? I don't even know something. I was jumping in something. It was cold. Yeah, like over and over again, basically not sleeping. Going to Lyle's game, that was cool. Eating soft serve, walking around with Ryan and Will and Key for hours, passing all these different… felt like monuments, but they're just regular to them. And they're the nicest people in the world ranked — like they're the happiest or something like that. It's cool.
Q: For Keyonte — what recent changes have you made to better take care of your body and improve physical performance?
Keyonte George: Yeah, I think I've started to kind of find the pocket of time where I need to really start getting back the right habits when I'm eating and stuff. Obviously I take our trips, and for me now, after I come back from my trip, that's when I lock in on my eating habits. I mean, I feel like for the most part all summer… I don't really get out of shape. I try to stay in shape throughout the whole year — just for my health in general. I think the changes I kind of made were with the food, obviously being more intentional with fresh-pressed juices, water intake, stuff like that. I'm being real intentional with that.
Q: Lauri, what's it like mentoring young guys like Ace and Darryn?
Lauri Markkanen: Yeah, since I'm the old guy now, it kind of feels weird to be in this spot. I feel like I was just in their shoes a couple of years ago, but it's amazing. They're willing to learn, they're hard workers, and they come in every day with an open mindset and trying to learn, so that's been really easy.
Q: What's the most points you've scored before making the NBA? (International, high school, college, middle school, or even before, lol)
Isaiah Collier: The most points I scored in my life was 57 in middle school. It was a good game.
Q: How do you feel about the current roster? Will it be a top 6 seed in the West?
Josh Green: I think we have a great group of guys. I really enjoyed being around them the last couple weeks. I think the best way to go into the season is with no expectations, just continue to build our chemistry and build an identity on the court, and I think we'll be ready to go.
Q: Lauri — you've yet to play in the playoffs. Why do you think this might be the year you break through?
Lauri Markkanen: Just the vibe in the facility. I feel like everybody's been locked in the whole summer. We have a great team, great coaching staff, and I think we're ready to go. We're trying to get off to a good start and hopefully we can keep that up.
Q: What's your favorite thing about living in Utah?
Brice Sensabaugh: My favorite thing about Utah is definitely the outdoor scene. I feel like there's endless stuff to do — like hiking, paddleboarding, ATVs, stuff like that… but yeah, things that I enjoy doing, fishing, stuff like that. And it's pretty cool, also the scenery too.
Q: Who is one player in the league that "deserves their flowers" and why?
Jaxson Hayes: Shout out my dog, Naji Marshall, man. He's king of the floater. That's my dog. I've known him since like sophomore year of high school.
Q: Who on this roster has one basketball skill that is way better than fans realize?
Brice Sensabaugh: I think one thing that stuck out to me this summer is Darryn Peterson's ability to block jump shots. I think that's kind of something that most people can't really do… you know, few and far between kind of thing. His ability to get off the ground — as somebody's shooting a jump shot and get to it — is pretty impressive.
Q: What aspect of your game do you think you've improved the most in?
Mo Bamba: I think just my general knowledge of the game. This has been the offseason where I spent the most time playing actual 5-on-5 as opposed to doing 1-on-1 workouts. The 1-on-1 workouts are great for just skill… but I think I'm at a point in my career where just X's and O's knowledge and synergy and just how the game flows is more important.
Q: How are the vibes? It seems like this group really gets along, and I think everyone bonding as teammates is an extremely underrated part of any NBA roster.
Kyle Filipowski: Vibes are always high here in Utah. Just the fan base, the environment — it's super cool because I didn't really expect this when I first got here, but they really welcome you. This community welcomes you like… you were born and raised here. And it's really cool to be able to play in front of them, where they show so much love.
Q: Who on this roster has one basketball skill that is way better than fans realize?
Harrison Ingram: Jaren Jackson Jr. with his offhand. He uses his left hand a lot, and a lot of floaters, a lot of touch shots… so I feel like that and his offhand.
Q: What's one skill you'd like to add from anyone in the league and why? Past or present?
Jonas Aidoo: I would go with Jamal Crawford's handles. That's been my favorite player of all time, so Jamal Crawford's handles at my size would be insane.
Q: For Ace — How much do you desire to be the franchise player? What's your drive to be the top, top, top (All-NBA honors, MVP, All-Defensive Team) basketball player? And where are you at in terms of the confidence of getting on the rim, inviting contact and drawing fouls?
Ace Bailey: Confidence is growing every day… but it's very important for me to be a franchise player. I mean, that's every kid's goal… from just watching the Michael Jordans, the Kevin Durants, even if it takes time like James Harden. So it's very important.
Q: For Darryn Peterson — How did you feel when you heard the NBA Commissioner call your name 2nd overall?
Darryn Peterson: It was crazy. My first thought was just, let me hurry up and get to my mom 'cause I know she was about to start crying, so I gave her that hug. Went around the table, then I walked up to the stage. It was just like a deep breath, like super refreshing for me because I worked super hard my entire life to get there, so it felt great.
Q: For Darryn — What's the bar to make this a successful season for you?
Darryn Peterson: A ton of wins. That's what success is to me — just winning games and having an impact on every game.
Q: For Darryn — Who are you most looking forward to playing against in the NBA?
Darryn Peterson: LeBron [James], D-Book [Devin Booker], Luka [Dončić], Shai [Gilgeous-Alexander], Ant [Edwards]. Those guys come to mind.
Q: Darryn, what did you know about the Jazz before getting drafted here? Also, does having two All-Star-level bigs on the roster change the way you approach the game at all?
Darryn Peterson: After the Lottery, I looked into the teams at the top, did some research, and it's crazy because I said I would fit the best with Utah, so it's crazy that they ended up taking me. Two All-Star bigs is huge for me — two vets that I can count on and ask questions. Obviously, I want to be an All-Star one day, so trying to figure out how to do that.
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