Deron Williams and John Stockton remain among the best point guards to ever play for the Utah Jazz franchise. Any time a Jazzman joins their company, it's a big deal. Three games into this season, Keyonte George managed to do just that.
Jazz.com's Eric Spyropoulos revealed that George is the third player in Jazz history to put up 65 points and 25 assists three games into the season, next to, you guessed it, Stockton (who did it during the 1989-90 season) and Williams (who did it during the 2007-08 season and 2009-10 season).
A stat like this shows George is just as valuable as a scorer as he is as a playmaker. That's the kind of player the Jazz went out of their way to extend this summer. The fact that he's doing this in year 4 bodes well for this season and in the log run.
Now, no one's saying George is on the same level as those two were, but we may have to start having conversations about whether he's the best point guard Utah has had since Williams. Before anyone thinks that's a shot at Donovan Mitchell, he was (and is) a combo guard, not a point guard.
Here's to hoping this is the first of many
What makes George particularly special isn't just how good he is but the fact that he has made abundantly clear just how much he loves playing for Utah. Sure, the Jazz have had players like that over the years, but not that many who have gone out of their way to show it like George has in the past year.
It's one thing to have anyone on your roster to act like that, but combining that with George's talent is what should make Utah even more optimistic than they already are about him both and long-term.
As he continues to develop, and as the Jazz hopefully improve over time, George can create a legacy not too far off from the ones Williams and Stockton left. Williams is much more attainable because Stockton is one of the best point guards of all time, let alone for the Jazz. George has earned the right to have the bar set high, but not astronomically high.
Now that Utah's mindset has done a 180 compared to his first three years as a Jazzman, nothing should hold George back from becoming the player they want him to be. With any luck, this accolade is sure to be the first of many.
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