Aug. 17, 2026, 1:11 p.m.
MT
Colorado basketball’s home floor will host an NBA preseason game this fall. The Denver Nuggets and Utah Jazz are scheduled to play Oct. 4 at the CU Events Center in Boulder. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. MT, marking a rare preseason stop for the Nuggets away from Ball Arena. Utah announced the game as the first of its four preseason contests.
The Boulder date gives the Nuggets a local change of scenery before their 2026-27 regular-season opener, scheduled for Oct. 22 in Oklahoma City. Denver and Utah will meet two days after the CU Events Center game again, in a rematch set for Oct. 6 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City. The Nuggets’ trip to Boulder could also bring two recent Colorado basketball alums back to the CU Events Center.
Denver guard KJ Simpson played three seasons for the Buffs and became one of the program’s most dependable guards before turning pro. A preseason appearance at the CU Events Center would give Simpson a chance to return to the court where he became a first-team All-Pac-12 player and helped carry Colorado into the 2024 NCAA Tournament. Utah forward Cody Williams will also have a homecoming of his own.
Williams spent one season at Colorado before becoming a first-round NBA draft pick, and the Jazz matchup creates the possibility of seeing him face Simpson and the Nuggets on his former college floor. The Nuggets have played preseason games at the CU Events Center before, including matchups against the Portland Trail Blazers in 2014 and the Chicago Bulls in 2015. For Colorado basketball, the game offers an NBA-like environment for students and local fans, less than a month before Tad Boyle’s team begins the 2026-27 season. Ticket and broadcast information has not yet been released. Follow James Carnes on Facebook , Instagram , and X .
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