Of all the young players the Utah Jazz had coming into the 2024-25 season, the one with the most hype was Keyonte George. George had shown his rookie year that he could get buckets.
Even though he proved he could put points on the board, his inefficiency couldn't be ignored. However, George had just finished his rookie year, so with a bigger role, hopefully, his scoring inconsistency would iron out throughout the season.
Narrator: it did not.
George's scoring and passing numbers increased in Year 2, but his efficiency largely remained the same at a pretty poor level. His numbers only improved because the Jazz gave him more touches. In fact, the Jazz's offense started to flow a little better when they subbed George for Isaiah Collier, who proved to be a better playmaker.
George had his stretches where he looked like the player the Jazz hoped he would be, but he did absolutely nothing to dispel his issues with inconsistency. The issues didn't stop there for him. Articles detailing his bad body language, along with his inefficiency, have only begged more questions about whether he truly is a cornerstone in the making for Utah.
George came into his sophomore season hyped up to be the Jazz's next great scorer, and when it was all said and done, the bar for him has been set at being Jordan Clarkson 2.0 until further notice.
George finding consistency could determine his future in Utah
For what it's worth, being a replica of Clarkson is not a bad thing for George or the Jazz. However, Clarkson has proven that when he's got it going, he's basically as tough to stop as anyone. George hasn't really shown much of that.
So, while Clarkson has never been a model of consistency, he has proven that he's a threat that teams respect. That's the kind of footing that George has to find. He may not necessarily have to turn into Clarkson - George has already averaged more assists in one season than Clarkson ever has - but there's a reason why Clarkson will enter his 10th season having been paid eight figures a year.
It's not too late for George, and he plays for perhaps the one team that can live with his growing pains, but something has to give next season. There has to be some mocidum of progress from him for the Jazz to justify keeping him around.
In his defense, maybe expectations were a little too high going into Year 2. He could be a good scorer, but just not a great one. Also, Walker Kessler didn't follow up his rookie season all too well. In fact, he regressed in his second season to the point where he was in trade rumors for months last year.
George didn't regress, but staying the same is not good for a young player. He still has two years left to show he can be the player Utah wants him to be, but the clock will tick a lot louder after how lackluster things went for him this season.