Keyonte George Breaks Silence After $157.5M Jazz Extension

On Friday, Keyonte George became just the third player from the 2023 Draft to sign his extension. Victor Wembanyama and Amen Thompson were the first two, and then the Utah Jazz showed faith in their 22-year-old star. Despite having a career year, there were some uncertainties regarding the extension.

There was a press conference on Saturday, where Utah Jazz Governor Ryan Smith and head coach Will Hardy were present alongside George to celebrate the news. The final question from the presser was about whether any pressure had been lifted after his $157.5 extension.

“Obviously, there’s some relief. I get six more years in the NBA, so that’s cool,” George told reporters.

“It’s a lot of money, so that’s cool. I’ll be able to give myself something nice. It happened yesterday, so now we’re over it. I celebrate today and enjoy it. Obviously, you fight hard for this moment, but now I got to get back to work.”

After just one season with Baylor, the Jazz selected Keyonte George with their 16th pick. Since then, his performances and scoring have only increased. From averaging 16.8 points on 39.1% shooting in 2024-25, the 22-year-old had his career-best 23.6 points on 45.6% shooting with 6.1 assists and 3.7 rebounds.

He was first in points for Jazz and second in assists among players who played 50 or more games. Despite this, reports emerged during the off-season that the Jazz and Keyonte George remain unlikely to agree to a rookie-scale contract extension.

“Sources also expressed doubt that the Jazz would reach an agreement on a rookie contract extension with guard Keyonte George despite the franchise’s optimism that he will play a key role in Utah’s future after his breakout third season,” ESPN’s Tim MacMahon wrote.

Then reports emerged that the former Baylor standout wouldn’t receive $51 million max salary.

Ultimately, the 22-year-old reached an agreement. If the two sides hadn’t reached an agreement by the October deadline, he would have headed toward Restricted Free Agency (RFA) in the summer of 2027.

“Obviously, going through the process, I knew where I wanted to be,” George told reporters. “Like I said, thankful to Austin [Ainge] and Ryan [Smith]. We were able to have some conversations throughout the whole summer and come to an agreement.

“But like I said, there wasn’t any doubt in my mind or any pushback with anybody. This is my second family. I feel like Utah is my second family, so signing here and extending here honestly was a no-brainer.”

Even the Jazz leadership group believed in Keyonte George and expressed gratitude. President of basketball operations Austin Ainge called the 22-year-old “an integral part of this franchise’s future.”

Meanwhile, Governor Smith was a fan of George’s “all-in” approach, not just for his teammates but for the franchise and the community. Head coach Hardy also stated that it was an “honor” to be recognized as Keyonte’s coach.