The Utah Jazz announced today the team’s five-game 2017 preseason schedule which will feature three home games at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Utah will host NBL’s Sydney Kings from Australia in the preseason opener, marking the first game inside the newly renovated Vivint Smart Home Arena on Oct. 2. It will also be the first time an NBL team will travel to the U.S. to play against an NBA team.
The Jazz will next host Israel’s Maccabi Haifa (pronounced “muh-KAHB-ee HI-Fah”) on Oct. 4 in Utah’s second straight international preseason matchup. Also known as the “Greens” and one of the Israeli Basketball Super League’s (Israel’s top division) original eight teams, Maccabi Haifa finished the 2016-17 season as the runner-up for the league championship and has now reached the Israeli League Finals three times in the past five years.