Keyonte fever has only continued to spread this season. The Utah Jazz guard only just recently turned 22, and he's taken the leap many thought he would. He's been so good that he's already garnering comparisons to esteemed Jazz alumni like Deron Williams. Those have only kept coming, as George's most recent comp has been Tyrese Maxey.
Michael Pina made this comparison during his appearance on "The Zach Lowe Show" a few days ago, where he explained why he sees similarities between the two.
"It's a best-case scenario for sure," Pina said. "I was just looking at numbers... he goes through these stretches where he's just a blur and he's almost unguardable and he's hitting ridiculous shots off the dribble and getting where he wants and he just reminds me of what Maxey was a few years ago right before he won Most Improved Player."
Lowe and Pina discussed how lofty a comparison it is. It is setting the bar high, but George's play has stood out just that much that it isn't completely far-fetched to suggest comparing the two.
Maxey has become one of the best scoring guards in the NBA as his play has led to both MIP and an All-Star game appearance. If the 76ers become somewhat relevant by mid-season, he'll probably make his second. George has had the look of an electric scorer, with his only Achilles heel being his shooting inefficiency, but even that's gotten better.
They are similar player archetypes, and they were picked in similar spots in their respective NBA Drafts. They may not have similar career paths, but they don't necessarily have to.
George doesn't have to be Maxey to be a home run for the Jazz
George has been out to prove he truly is a cornerstone of the Jazz's future. He doesn't have to copy Maxey's career to do that, and he may never have to. All he has to do is prove how good he is in his own way, and he's proven that two months into this season.
In that time, it's not just that George has shown how good he can be, but his bad performances have shown that he makes Utah that much better when he's on his game and that much worse when he's not. The season's not young enough anymore for him to prove he can maintain this level of play. However, it's still young enough for George to prove that he could improve from here.
He's already shown improvement as he's taken his leap. His inconsistent shooting, which has plagued him in his first two years in the league, has finally gotten consistent. Since November 18, George has averaged over 25 points per game while shooting 48.6% from the field and 43% from three, per NBA.com.
In a season where he's already demonstrated to Utah that they have every reason to believe in him, he has somehow given them more reasons and has the potential to add to that. If it culminates in him turning into Maxey 2.0, then this was as perfect of a season as both he and the Jazz could have anticipated.