Keyonte George seemed like a long shot when the Utah Jazz drafted him in 2023. Not so much anymore.
As optimistic as I felt about Keyonte George's NBA chances when the Utah Jazz first drafted him back in 2023, even I couldn't have foreseen his incredible rise over the past few seasons.
In the years before his rookie season, Keyonte George lifted far too many red flags as a prospect both in high school and as a freshman at Baylor. The talent, athleticism and potential was all there, of course, but his production left a lot to be desired.
His draft profile wasn't exactly promising, either. George approached draft night described as an uncomfortably inefficient volume scorer, who showed little playmaking instincts outside of his own self-creation, and was a complete zero on the offensive end.
Truthfully, it's something of a miracle Keyonte didn't slide even further down the draft order than he did. Once projected as a sure-thing top-10 selection, his momentum began to sputter as he trickled down to the late lottery, and then out of the top 14 entirely.
The Jazz graciously selected George with the 16th pick -- fortuitously, considering how they evaluated him as the best prospect available after the 9th pick, when they picked up UCF wing Taylor Hendricks. Considering the players they could have taken, and some of the busts that were plucked up in the picks leading up to George's eventual selection, the Utah Jazz really struck gold on that Summer night.
Obviously, the Jazz weren't going to get a chance to select any of the players in the top five: Victor Wembanyama, Brandon Miller, Scoot Henderson, Amen Thompson, or his twin brother, Ausar Thompson. That top five was set in stone, in whatever order, and when the Jazz failed to find lottery luck, they were forced to view the shuffle from up at the tenth overall pick.
But the remaining bunch are a real mixed bag now three years into their NBA careers.
In order, these were the players picked 6-15, selected before Keyonte George.
Anthony Black is an excellent defender and an impressive oversized guard, but his offensive game is still a work in progress as he suffers from the same ailment that afflicts the rest of the Orlando Magic -- the utter lack of a three-point shot.
Bilal Coulibaly still has room to grow, but he's far from an untouchable piece of Washington's future.
Jarace Walker, tragically, has barely played any real NBA minutes with the Indiana Pacers.
Taylor Hendricks was drafted by Utah, but was since traded to Memphis after making little impact and struggling through injuries.
Cason Wallace has been a great 3-and-D pickup for Oklahoma City. A bright spot in this stretch of the draft and a dependable role player.
Jett Howard was a huge miss by Orlando.
Dereck Lively has been fine, but dearly misses Luka Doncic's steady supply of lobs.
Gradey Dick has been fine with Toronto, but is little more than a role player at the NBA level.
Jordan Hawkins has done well as an undersized guard, but is limited overall.
Kobe Bufkin is a non-factor at the NBA level.
And that brings us to Keyonte George, a player who the Utah Jazz fanbase has fallen in love with over the past three seasons, and made a fringe run at the Western Conference All-Star team for his exceptional scoring ability and remarkable improvement as a passer.
The Utah Jazz found a diamond in the rough with Keyonte George, and I can't wait to see what he does with a competitive roster alongside him.
