NBA team to move training camp to Las Vegas

The Utah Jazz, who last season had the NBA’s best regular-season record, are moving their training camp to Las Vegas.

The club announced this week it will open its three-day camp Sept. 28 at Wynn Las Vegas.

The Jazz will bring two courts that will be set up in a ballroom for the practices, which will be closed to the public. This is their first camp away from Salt Lake City since 2008 when they trained in Boise, Idaho.

Vegas Summer League co-founder Albert Hall was instrumental in bringing the Jazz to Las Vegas, developing a connection with the organization through the annual event. Hall’s company, HallPass Media, is handling logistics for training camp.

“We’re probably one of the last teams to go to Vegas (for Summer League) because we have our own,” Jazz spokesman Derek Garduno said. “We have a great relationship with Albert. He’s been great with getting everything set up.”

Hall said he has known Jazz coach Quin Snyder for many years.

“We’ve done a lot of stuff over the years,” Hall said. “He knows what we’ve done in Vegas. They’re looking for that little extra edge. They’ve been so close and are one of the elite teams in the league.”

Utah again should be one of the contenders for a league title. The Jazz, who went 52-20 last season, lost in the second round of the playoffs to the Los Angeles Clippers. Star guard Donovan Mitchell, however, played with an injured ankle in the six-game series.

Mitchell, who last season averaged 26.4 points, made the All-Star Game the past two seasons. Teammate Rudy Gobert, a 7-foot-1-inch center, was last season named NBA Defensive Player of the Year for the third time after averaging 14.3 points and 13.5 rebounds.

The Jazz and Las Vegas have a prior connection.

They played 11 designated home games at the Thomas & Mack Center in the 1983-84 season and two more the following year. The most significant game occurred April 5, 1984, when Los Angeles Lakers center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar became the NBA’s all-time leading scorer before a crowd of 18,389.

NBA teams often train away from their home cities. The Lakers make an annual trip to Hawaii, and the Phoenix Suns head north to work out in Flagstaff, Arizona.

Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @markanderson65 on Twitter.