Utah Jazz fans have enough reason to be excited as is with the upcoming draft and how they'll look this coming season. However, just before they get to see an exciting tomorrow start in no time, they at least get one last hurrah from watching two former Jazz standouts go head-to-head with each other in the 2026 Eastern Conference Finals.
The Cleveland Cavaliers' victory over the Detroit Pistons puts them against the New York Knicks. By extension, that also means we will get to see old friends Donovan Mitchell and Jordan Clarkson go up against each other in the penultimate round of the NBA Playoffs.
It's not Mitchell vs. Clarkson directly, but still, it'll be cool to see a former Jazz star go up against a former Jazz vet in a high-stakes series. Mitchell finally reached a level in Cleveland that he never did in Utah (directly after Rudy Gobert did the same in Minnesota the previous two seasons), while Clarkson reached a level he also never did in Utah, but for the first time since... his days in Cleveland.
And now, the two friends and ex-teammates get to go up against each other. Jazz fans haven't seen notable Jazz alumni going up against each other in a playoff series like this, which should make for a fun ride while their exciting future awaits them.
Too bad we may never get Mitchell vs. Gobert
In a perfect world, the Jazz would win every single championship from here on out, but in a world that balances both idealism and realism, fans would have loved to see Mitchell and Gobert go up against each other in the NBA Finals.
Not just because they played together for a while, but because of their well-documented tension as teammates that has seemingly evaporated since they parted ways. It would have been awesome two of the 10 best Jazzmen in franchise history go up against each other on the NBA's biggest stage.
Plus, the role Utah would have played in an NBA Finals matchup would have been cool to see in real time. It's funny how both Cleveland and Minnesota have reached the heights they've wanted, but haven't done so in the same year, nor have they reached that final round.
Jazz fans will graciously settle for Mitchell vs. Clarkson in the next round. It has been a few years since the two were teammates, but what they did for the franchise is still fresh on everyone's minds in Utah. No matter who wins, this will be a fun spectacle.
Oh, and Knicks in five...
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