KJ Simpson Returns for Nuggets–Jazz Preseason Clash

BOULDER – The NBA is coming back up US36, and this time it’s bringing one of Colorado’s own with it.

The University of Colorado will host a preseason matchup between the Denver Nuggets and Utah Jazz on Sunday, Oct. 4, at 5 p.m. at the CU Events Center, a rare NBA stop in Boulder and the first in a decade.

At the center of it all: KJ Simpson.

The former Colorado star, who electrified the CU Events Center from 2021 to 2024, returns to his old home floor in an NBA uniform. Simpson carved out a standout college career in Boulder, earning two All-Pac-12 honors and steering the Buffaloes on a memorable charge through the 2024 NCAA Tournament. Those runs turned him from promising recruit into program centerpiece.

Now he comes back as a pro.

Drafted in the second round of the 2024 NBA Draft by the Charlotte Hornets, Simpson found his way to Denver on a two-way contract midway through the 2025-26 season. Since then he has quietly built a foothold in the league: 56 NBA games, 17 starts, and averages of 6.7 points, 2.8 assists and 2.6 rebounds per game. Not eye-popping numbers, but the kind that say a player belongs.

For Colorado fans, the preseason date offers something more than a tune-up. It’s a chance to see a familiar face test himself against NBA competition on the same court where he grew into a star.

This will be the fourth time the Nuggets have staged preseason action in Boulder and the first since 2015, when they faced the Chicago Bulls on the Russell “Sox” Walseth Court. Before that, Colorado welcomed Denver for exhibitions against the Portland Trail Blazers in 2007 and 2014. Each visit has turned the campus into a brief NBA outpost; this one doubles as a reunion.

The matchup with Utah will open Denver’s five-game preseason slate. After the Boulder curtain-raiser, the Nuggets and Jazz will do it again in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Oct. 6, as Denver begins to sharpen its rotation and rhythm ahead of the regular season.

From there, the preseason shifts back to Denver. The Nuggets return to Ball Arena on Sunday, Oct. 11, to host the Chicago Bulls, a familiar fall opponent in this stretch of exhibitions. Then comes a Southern California swing: a trip to Los Angeles to meet the Clippers at Intuit Dome on Wednesday, Oct. 14, followed by a finale against the Lakers at Crypto Arena on Friday, Oct. 16.

For the program in Boulder, hosting Denver and Utah is another chance to put CU basketball in the NBA’s spotlight. For the Nuggets, it’s the first step in a new campaign. For KJ Simpson, it’s something else entirely – a full-circle night in the building where his rise began.

Tickets for the Nuggets–Jazz preseason game at the CU Events Center go on sale to the general public on Thursday, Sept. 10.