Notable NBA players like Steve Nash and the late Kobe Bryant have often said there are many similarities between basketball and soccer. On Wednesday, the professional teams in those sports in Utah had a chance to prove it.
The Utah Jazz and Real Salt Lake held a joint practice at America First Field. Jazz players and coaches like Collin Sexton and Will Hardy got to engage in skill work with Jefferson Savarino and Pablo Mastroeni. Both teams ended the practice with a penalty shootout.
“It’s not what I used to do, so trying to figure it out,” Sexton told official Jazz media. “I be out here definitely looking terrible.”
Sexton added that the unconventional practice was good for the camaraderie and chemistry an NBA team needs to get through the season.
“Everybody’s having a good time out here,” Sexton said. “You see everybody smiling and enjoying themselves.”
Mastroeni told reporters that the practice was good to “break things up” for RSL, which is in the final stretch of its season.
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