The Utah Jazz rookies talk about their ties to one another before being drafted

The Utah Jazz rookies talk about their NBA experiences so far.

The Utah Jazz had three first-round draft picks during the 2023 NBA Draft and selected Taylor Hendricks, Keyonte George, and Brice Sensabaugh with those picks. The three young men then became members of the Utah Jazz, where they would see different paths through their first summer together.

Hendricks suffered a minor injury that kept him out of the Summer League, while Sensabaugh missed the league due to recovery from knee surgery. Then there’s George, who played so well during Summer League, that many think he may have earned himself a shot at the starting point guard spot.

Now, the three young men are sharing their experiences in a new video from the Utah Jazz’s YouTube channel.

One of the unique things that the interview and the three rookies all touched on is that they all have ties with one another from before their pro days. All three men played basketball in Florida, in fact, Sensabaugh and Hendricks lived just about three miles apart when they were younger.

As they grew up, they each settled in different spots before college. George moved to the west coast of Florida, right around St Petersburgh in Bradenton. Hendricks stayed local to Fort Lauderdale and played in and around the area. All the while Sensabaugh moved from Wilton Manors to Orlando to play at Lake Highland Preparatory.

Due to that, all three young men have found a bond with one another heading into their NBA journey together. Sensabaugh labeled their close and shared experiences a “blessing”, while George would add to that, saying;

"It’s always good to have somebody to go through the ups and downs. For the guys that by themselves, they ain’t go nobody to lean on, kinda. That helps a lot going through this."

When asked if the possibility of them all playing together in the NBA after years of competing against one another in high school, the three rookies just looked around at one another and laughed while shaking their heads no.