Keyonte George has had one of the most up-and-down seasons a rookie can have. The 16th pick in the 2023 NBA Draft by the Utah Jazz, George has looked at times very lost on both ends of the court, and like a savant on both ends of the court. His explosion and speed have made him a threat, and his court vision when passing is top-notch, yet he struggles to stay consistent shooting the ball, and his turnovers are too high for what you hope he'll become.
Still, of all the rookies on the Jazz this season, George is the top guy. That's not surprising considering that Taylor Hendricks and Brice Sensabaugh have barely played. That shouldn't take away from the fact that George has produced at times when he's in. In fact, while there are holes in his game and a long way to go before he becomes a winning basketball player, George has more going for him than any other rookie.
It's why the NBA media is starting to pick up on him.
In a recent YouTube video from the Funky Diabetic, an NBA YouTuber with incredible knowledge of the game, he highlights George as a rookie stepping up. He's out-shown his fellow rookies on the Jazz, that's for sure, and the video really highlights that he has flashes of brilliance.
Flashes, however, are actually kind of the problem. Flashes imply a quick and sudden event that is soon over, a flash of lighting, a camera flash. It's short, and not consistent. Just like George, who is highly not consistent. One night he's dropping more threes than Steph Curry, the next night he's looking for his shoes as a third-string point guard just juked him out of them. He's wildly inconsistent and that's part of the issue. He relies too much on his athleticism and not enough on his skills.
Yet, for all of his faults, those flashes give people hope. We haven't seen flashes from Hendricks or Sensabaugh yet, so at least George has that going for him. If he can somehow manage to be more consistent, especially as a shooter (39% from the floor, 35% from three), then who knows? Maybe George could truly ascend to the next level.