End of Season Grades: Evaluating Jazz PG Keyonte George

Despite the Utah Jazz going just 31-51 on the year, there were plenty of memorable and enjoyable pieces to the season. One of the brightest was Keyonte George, the rookie out of Baylor who burst onto the scene from day one and seized the Jazz starting point guard role.

It’s hard to expect any more from the 20-year-old who was taken with the 16th pick in last summer's draft. George averaged 13.0 points, 4.4 assists, and 2.8 rebounds per game for the Jazz. Those numbers were good for fourth in scoring and second in total assists amongst all rookies this year. The passing, in particular, was a lot better than advertised after not being asked to do much of that while at Baylor.

George’s scoring remains the most intriguing piece of his game. He recorded three games in which he scored over 30 points and went over 20 points in nine others. When he’s playing confidently, he can get buckets from all three levels and has plenty of juice from long-range. On February 15, George etched his name into the record books when he knocked down nine three-pointers, which tied him for the rookie record and put him all alone for Jazz rookies.

An underrated storyline from the season was the leadership role the rookie took on as the season progressed. Jazz head coach Will Hardy thrust him into the starting point guard role early on, and along with this came added responsibility- a responsibility that George seemed comfortable with. Heading into his first full offseason, George will have even more of an opportunity to be a leader for this Jazz team that is looking to improve.

Despite all the positives, it wasn’t a perfect season for George. He, like the Jazz's other guards, struggled with efficiency. There was a point in the middle of March where George seemed to have figured out how to get to his spots and score more efficiently, but those numbers dipped as his teammates missed games and his name became more prominent on opposing scouting reports. Judging by his end-of-season comments, he’s not worried about the misses. George said getting stronger and in better shape would result in the shots falling at a higher clip. 

Defensively, George is still a work in progress. Although his length stands out, there's still plenty of room to grow. He has enough size to play either backcourt position, which he used to showcase some nice individual defensive sequences. His off-ball awareness needs to improve, as does his general focus on that end, but he certainly has the potential to be a fine defender in this league.

One area where George can improve is, in his words, emotional intelligence. He’s immensely talented, but he needs to keep his head up when he misses a shot or makes a silly turnover. He’s young, though, and there’s so much good that it’s hard to dwell on the bad.

Overall, it was a very promising season for George. He’ll head into a big offseason with a lot to learn but a great foundation of skills & intelligence to build on. In a postgame press conference, Hardy said that Keyonte could become the future of the Jazz program. That is high praise from his head coach, but it is certainly a quote that should make you feel good as a Jazz fan.

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