Keyonte George had one of the most eventful seasons a rookie can experience. The 16th pick in the 2023 NBA Draft by the Utah Jazz, George has at times looked very lost on both ends of the court, and like a savant on both ends of the court. His explosion and speed have made him a threat, and his passing court vision is excellent, but he struggles to stay consistent with his shots and his turnovers are too high for what you hope he becomes.
However, among all the Jazz rookies this season, George is the best. This isn’t surprising considering Taylor Hendricks and Brice Sensabaugh barely played. That shouldn’t take away from the fact that George has produced at times when he’s in the game. In fact, while there are holes in his game and a long way to go before he becomes a basketball player winner, George has more going for him than any other rookie.
This is why the NBA media is starting to take an interest in him.
In a recent YouTube video from Funky Diabetic, an NBA YouTuber with incredible knowledge of the game, he presents George as a rookie who is stepping up. He outperformed his fellow Jazz rookies, that’s for sure, and the video really highlights that he has flashes of genius.
However, the flashes are actually kind of the problem. Flashes imply a quick, sudden event that ends soon, a flash, a camera flash. It’s short and not coherent. Just like George, who is completely inconsistent. One night he loses more threes than Steph Curry, the next night he’s looking for his shoes when a third-line point guard has just pulled him out. He is extremely inconsistent and that is part of the problem. He relies too much on his athleticism and not enough on his skills.
Yet for all its flaws, these flashes give people hope. We haven’t seen any flashes of Hendricks or Sensabaugh yet, so at least George has that going for him. If he somehow manages to be more consistent, especially as a shooter (39% from the floor, 35% from three), then who knows? Maybe George could really take it to the next level.
