After ranking near the bottom of the league defensively over the past three seasons, the Utah Jazz are counting on Jaren Jackson Jr., a former Defensive Player of the Year, to help improve that area in 2025/26.
However, the organization understands that one addition alone won’t be enough to fix its struggles, according to Sarah Todd.
President of basketball operations Austin Ainge made it clear that improving on defense will be a major focus moving forward.
“Defense is going to be a team-wide goal for us this summer,” Ainge said. “Every guy’s been told that we’re making a big leap next year defensively. No discussion. It’s going to happen.”
Head coach Will Hardy also pointed to Ace Bailey and Keyonte George as players he expects to take noticeable steps forward on the defensive end.
Spencer Jones made an unexpected contribution to Monday’s win: https://t.co/mV36fB5L1Q
— Hoops Rumors (@HoopsRumors) April 29, 2026
