Utah Jazz: Royce O’Neale sometimes forgotten off court, but not for long

Utah Jazz wing player Royce O’Neale tends to fly under the radar, but don’t count on that being the case for very much longer.

Let me tell you about somewhat of a funny experience. Just a day ago, I wrote about how both Donovan Mitchell and Kyle Kuzma were spotted at the first University of Utah football game together. While Kuzma was out to support his alma mater, Mitchell was supporting the local team and hanging out with his friend from the Los Angeles Lakers.

I was quick to let Utah Jazz fans know that the two were in attendance, and even shared this awesome picture below of the friendly pair, courtesy of the University of Utah Football Twitter account–

But guess what? It turns out that Mitchell wasn’t the only Jazzman in attendance. Shortly after publishing my article, a reader commented on Twitter, letting me know that Royce O’Neale was in attendance as well. How embarrassing of me to leave that out!

However, it turns out that I wasn’t the only one that overlooked his presence. Check out this screenshot of the football game from Twitter user JP Chunga below–

The Pac-12 Network recognized Donovan Mitchell while in attendance at the game, but guess who they seemingly blatantly ignored? Fellow NBA player and Utah Jazz teammate Royce O’Neale. And it’s not like they would have needed to play Where’s Waldo to find him. He was sitting right next to Donovan! In the exact same frame as the one where they put up Donovan Mitchell’s name!

Needless to say, Donovan’s rise to stardom has made him substantially more recognizable than his Jazz teammate Royce O’Neale, who went undrafted, played overseas, then latched on to a roster spot with the Jazz this past summer. However, while Royce is very much an under-the-radar member of the Jazz cast right now, I have a hunch that he’s about to burst onto the scene, and become much more recognizable in the very near future.

O’Neale was a force to be reckoned with to close out the season, largely thanks to his incredible perimeter defense that often earned him important assignments against some of the best wing players in the game. He boasted an incredible defensive rating of 97.3 for the season.

In the month of February as he started to get more of an opportunity, he was also effective on the other end of the floor, putting up 8.5 points per game on solid shooting marks of 48.6 percent from the floor and 44 percent from deep over the course of 11 games. Likewise in April, he put up seven points on 55.2 percent shooting from the floor and 50 percent from the perimeter.

He fell into a bit of a shooting slump in March where those numbers dipped, but he also managed one of his best defensive ratings of the season over that stretch – an astounding 92.7. All in all, those are incredible marks for a player in his first year as a professional.

Not only that, but his play overall was a tremendous building block for what should be a thrilling and effective sophomore season. O’Neale has already proven himself worthy of a spot in the rotation and has set himself up to have a major role in 2018-19. Honestly, I expect him to thrive in it and have a huge year.

And as he does so, don’t be surprised if he garners a significant increase in attention around the league and in the public eye as he transforms from an under-the-radar guy to a steady NBA contributor. He’s been working hard this offseason, including playing in Houston with Donovan Mitchell going up against the likes of Chris Paul and James Harden, so plan on him being much-improved next season.

As that comes to fruition, I wouldn’t count on Royce O’Neale being left out or forgotten much longer, by myself or anyone else.