One of the most substantial bright spots of the Utah Jazz during this 2023-24 season has been the emergence of rookie point guard Keyonte George. After being selected with the 16th overall pick in this past summer's draft, the Baylor product has gotten his career off to a pretty hot start in Salt Lake City.
He was selected as to the Rising Stars team during the 2024 All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis and has consistently shown flashes of having what it takes to be a high-level NBA guard as a scorer and playmaker.
A lot of his success can be credited to the preparation he underwent before his first year kicked off. In an interview with Krysten Peek of Yahoo! Sports, the Jazz rookie went on to describe that he watched a large amount of Mike Conley film from the previous season to see what he needed to do as a lead guard in Utah's offense:
"I watched as much film as I could just so I knew what my role was going to be coming in. I knew Mike [Conley] was gone, so I just had to go into a new situation, trying to be a lead guard, and I was trying to speed up the process. My main goal was to be effective as soon as possible so I wanted to put myself in a position to be knowledgeable and not think about what I was doing in a new system and just play."
During his first 51 games, he's been on the floor, things have looked pretty well for George. He's averaged 11.7 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 4.3 assists, now being elevated once again as a nightly starter in Will Hardy's rotation. Since the departure of Mike Conley, the team has been looking for a reliable guard to run this offensive unit, and Keyonte has been a major guy to step up as a result.
George notes how Conley ran the offense alongside the team's existing cast, emphasizing the importance of getting the team in rhythm and playing a successful brand of basketball:
"When I was watching games from last season, I just wanted to see how Mike [Conley] was setting things up for Walker [Kessler], Lauri [Markkanen] and Jordan [Clarkson]. "Those are the guys that we need in rhythm when it comes to winning ball games, and I wanted to know how to get them the ball and their movements off-ball."
Some rookies enter the league facing a tough adjustment period going from college to pro, and while Keyonte has had some challenges along the way as a young player, the approach he held entering into his rookie season has no doubt been a massive aid to his development.
Keyonte continued to attribute his competitiveness as a critical factor to what's allowed his first year in the league to go as positively as it has, now showing the world that he is more than capable of being an effective guard at the NBA level:
"There were 15 other guys drafted before me and, nothing but love and respect to those guys, but I’m a competitor and it all stays between the lines. Each and every night, I’m thinking of, not necessarily how can I prove myself, but I hope people understand and recognize now that I’m definitely capable of the things that I’m doing and I belong in this league."
Around 25 more games lie ahead for George's rookie season, where he will get the opportunity to build upon an already successful campaign. If he's shown anything up to this point, the Jazz have a special player in store for the future of basketball in Salt Lake City.
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