Keyonte George Shines in Summer League Debut
After a small draft-night slide, Keyonte George played like he was trying to prove himself as a lottery selection in Monday night’s NBA Summer League action.
After shaking off the early rust, George poured on 18 points while shooting 7-for-16 overall in looking like one of the Jazz' better players. He also added five rebounds, three steals and four assists, one of which was highlight-reel worthy.
The Jazz ultimately went on to lose to the Thunder, 95-85, but it ended up being a strong showing for George, who has the only one of Utah’s 2023 first round trio playing. Taylor Hendricks, who was drafted ninth overall, and Brice Sensabaugh, drafted 28th overall, were both out due to various injuries.
The early rust was understandable for George, who capped his lone season at Baylor off while playing through injury. He finished his last five regular season games as a Bear shooting 22 percent overall and 19 percent from beyond the arc. Which ultimately led to his stock dropping out of the lottery.
Prior to his collegiate ankle injury, George averaged 16.9 points on around 40 percent shooting, and even had buzz as high as the top-five earlier in the year.
A highly-touted prospect coming into the college season, the Jazz could very well have left with a steal in their 16th overall pick. He's likely set to see a decent amount of minutes in one of the more fluid backcourts in the NBA.
George and the Jazz are back in action at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, July 5, against the Philadelphia 76ers.
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