A little while ago, the topic of who on the Utah Jazz's roster would be part of their next contending team was brought up. Some players mentioned were obvious, like Walker Kessler, while others looked like iffy picks, like Keyonte George.
However, one glaring omission from the list was Brice Sensabaugh. Sensabaugh had proven his improvement this season, but until the last couple of months, it wasn't exactly clear if he would find consistency. Now, he has found that too, with his new calling being his floor-spacing abilities.
Besides Kessler, Sensabaugh has shown the most progress among the Jazz's young players (who aren't rookies) this year. He's impressed so much that he's caught the attention of the well-renowned sports media analyst, Bill Simmons.
Simmons was discussing his 2025 Made-Up NBA Awards on his podcast, and among these awards is, as he puts it, the Reggie Lewis "I don't know. I just like this guy" award, and Sensabaugh's name was dropped as a nominee.
Simmons explained why he decided to include the Jazz's youngster.
"I don't know how much Utah you've watched, but the catch-and-shoot numbers are crazy. Like he's clearly going to be a nine-man rotation guy for a good team at some point in his career," Simmons said.
First, by catching Simmons' eye, Sensabaugh's improvement becomes all the more impressive because Utah hasn't had much to brag about this season.
Second, he's correct. Two years into his career, Sensabaugh is incredibly good at the one thing NBA players need to be good at to stay in the game. His shooting progression has been so good that his floor could be that of Jazz alum Georges Niang.
To be perfectly adequate at spacing the floor is good, but as Simmons alludes, Sensabaugh's catch-and-shoot abilities can be developed into a legitimate weapon. Sensabaugh isn't the next face of the Jazz, but he proved Utah was right on the money to pick him and then some.
At the very least, he has proven that he should be a guy the Jazz put next to their All-Stars. Counting on him to become one might be setting the bar too high, but perhaps less so would be for him to build from here.
Sensabaugh deserves bigger role next season
At 22 years old, there's no telling what Sensabaugh could be. He's taken a major step forward after many questioned if he would stay in the NBA in his rookie season. Being an elite shooter while this young is a fantastic start for him, so who's to say that his three-point shooting is where it starts and stops for his progress?
Sensabaugh has also shown an ability to create his own shot. In fact, that's how he burst onto the scene earlier this season, but again, inconsistency was the problem. Now that he has found himself as a floor spacer, that could open the door for other developments in the coming years besides shot creation.
Sensabaugh likely won't make any All-Defense teams, and he probably won't win any rebounding titles at that, but there's a world where he can develop into a crafty all-around scorer for Utah. If he's able to turn into something like that without compromising his floor-spacing, that's an excellent weapon for Utah.
And could very well be among the little things that gets the Jazz their first championship down the line.