Keyonte George had a career-high 43 points in the Utah Jazz's win against the Minnesota Timberwolves last night. A full circle moment from being drafted by Utah back in 2023, using one of the picks the Jazz received in the Rudy Gobert trade that same year.
Keyonte George went from just a pick to a star player
There’s something incredibly poetic about Keyonte George’s breakout season culminating in a career-night performance against the Minnesota Timberwolves, who once traded away the draft capital that helped bring him to Utah. What felt like a throwaway piece in the Rudy Gobert trade has instead become one of the most exciting young talents in the NBA.
George has come a very long way since being drafted 16th by the Jazz in the 2023 draft. His first two seasons were up and down to say the least. He showed flashes of what we saw last night, but ultimately, his inconsistent play, poor shooting percentage, and lack of defense left Coach Hardy and the Jazz leaning toward moving on from George instead of building around him.
Fast-forward to this season, and Keyonte George is averaging 24.0 points, 6.8 assists, and four rebounds per game (career highs in all categories) while shooting 45.6 percent from the field. He is a leading candidate for the Most Improved Player of the Year and one of the main bright spots this season for a team set on tanking and rebuilding.
The context of the game last night may be what's most interesting. This team, full of young assets assembled largely from the blockbuster Gobert and Mitchell trades, went toe to toe with one of those trade partners. That package included multiple first-round picks. Those picks were all likely to be in the late teens or twenties, and the franchise knew it at the time.
For a player once dismissed as a mid-first-round afterthought in a trade centered around a perennial defensive player of the year candidate, this game marks a full-circle moment. George didn’t just pour in a career-high 43 points, but he showed that the unknown in a lot of these pick-heavy trades can come back to burn you when they turn into real players.
This Utah Jazz team is nowhere near the caliber of this version of the Minnesota Timberwolves. These teams are headed in two very different directions this season. However, last night was a glimpse into a bright future for Utah, led by Keyonte George and Ace Bailey (who had 20 points in the game), that could give the top teams in the conference trouble in seasons to come.