Jazz fans outraged as Keyonte George's breakout is absolutely disrespected

The rule of thumb with tanking teams is that typically, no one on the team makes the All-Star game. You guys remember when Lauri Markkanen made the All-Star team with the Utah Jazz? Their record was 29-30. Not good, but average and good enough to not be considered a tanker by any stretch.

Because the Jazz are much worse now than they were then, they didn't get any All-Star recognition, which is a shame because, besides Markkanen, Keyonte George has also undeniably played at an All-Star level.

With the season more than halfway over, George is averaging 24.2 points, 6.6 assists, four rebounds, and 1.1 steals while shooting nearly 46% from the field and 37.7% from three. When George was basically forgotten heading into this season, he has proven why there was so much hype around him coming into Year 2, though it just took him a year to put it together.

Fans were understandably distraught at the fact that he did not make the team.

Even non-Jazz fans couldn't believe it.

This is George's third year, so there's plenty of time for him to make the All-Star team. If and when Utah starts winning more games, he'll get the recognition he deserves.

At least one award is still on the table

Okay, so George won't make the All-Star game this season. It's frustrating, but it could be worse. When it comes down to it, George has made Jazz fans very excited about the future because of his ascension. They may not be happening now, but it's fair to believe that All-Star appearances are coming for the blossoming Jazz star.

Besides, even though George won't be on the All-Star team, he is very much in line to win the NBA's Most Improved Player award. Three years after his star teammate Markkanen did it, George has played well enough to be the frontrunner.

Because the league has seen internal improvements from the likes of Deni Avdija and Michael Porter Jr., they may have a case, but the big difference between those two and George is that we already knew that they were good. Just not this good.

George is different because at the end of Year 2, there were so many questions about his future. His traditional numbers won't show it, but he was so bad last season that many wondered if he wasn't long for Utah.

Of course it sounds ridiculous in hindsight, which only further demonstrates how swiftly he has reversed the narrative on himself. More importantly, this season will go down as simply a stepping stone while he ascends to the franchise cornerstone he appears to be for the Jazz.

If anything, his snub will only put even more of a chip on his shoulder.