Ranking Jazz's Best Rebuild Prospects: Brice Sensabaugh | No. 7

It's time to break down Brice Sensabaugh and how he could factor into the Utah Jazz's post-rebuild success.

Mar 31, 2024; Sacramento, California, USA; Utah Jazz forward Brice Sensabaugh (8) dribbles against Sacramento Kings forward Harrison Barnes (40) during the fourth quarter at Golden 1 Center. / Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports

The Utah Jazz are amid a rumor-filled summer that has yet to result in much roster movement. The Jazz have added three new rookies to their young core.

Since starting this rebuild, the Jazz have had three years of draft picks. Each prospect is at a different point in their development, and each figures to be a valuable piece to the Jazz future.

So we're going to rank them.

This is not a ranking of who has the highest ceiling nor is it a look solely at who’s the best right now; we’ll consider what they’ve shown already, the areas they figure to improve, and the context of where that fits for the Jazz.

This will be a series that goes player by player, co-authored by Alex White and Art Cummings. Without further ado, let’s dive in, starting with the No. 7 overall prospect.

7. Brice Sensabaugh

Mar 25, 2024; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz forward Brice Sensabaugh (8) reacts to a play against the Dallas Mavericks during the first quarter at Delta Center. / Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports

Alex White

The 20-year-old out of Ohio State came to Utah with the 28th pick in the 2023 NBA draft. Though he spent most of his rookie season playing in the G-League, Sensabaugh demonstrated plenty of offensive juice in his first professional season with the Jazz. He's a smooth scorer who can put the ball in the basket from all 3-levels, particularly in isolation.

Sensabaugh’s best offensive skill right now is his jump shot — he shot 36.5% from behind the arc in 29 G-League games. I’d like to see him become more prolific as a catch-and-shoot threat as he develops because he is such a good shooter.

One of the most encouraging skills I saw from Sensabaugh this past year is his passing. He demonstrated the ability to process defenses and make smart plays for his teammates with the ball in his hands. 

Currently, Sensabaugh likes to take his time, put the ball on the floor, and try to create for himself. It’s a good skill to have no doubt, but one reserved for players who reach a very high level of ability and efficiency. I expect Sensabaugh will find his spots and learn to make quicker decisions with experience.

The biggest question mark in Sensabaugh’s game remains his defense. Despite working on his body ahead of summer league, I still worry about his ability to stay in front of guys on the perimeter.

On top of that, his focus tends to wane on that end of the court. Encouragingly, Sensabaugh’s effort defensively was good throughout Summer League.

To stick in the NBA, Sensabaugh will need to figure out how to impact the game without having the ball in his hands or take a massive leap as an offensive hub. This is a big year for his development but he’s got plenty of talent to capitalize on the opportunity.

Putting him behind his teammates is not an indictment on him but more a testament to how much I like some of the other prospects the Jazz have.

Art Cummings

I'm a noted Sensabaugh fan and believe he has a lot more to show than what we have seen so far. He was injured to start his rookie campaign which caused him to miss Summer League his rookie year.

Summer League is valuable experience for young players, especially 19-year-olds who only played one year of college basketball. Sensabaugh was beyond the development curve to start his career due to injury. He spent the good majority of his rookie season in the G-League playing for the Salt Lake City Stars. 

Sensabaugh is just oozing with offensive talent and we have seen a ton of flashes of his offensive potential. Despite playing just 32 total games for the Jazz his rookie season at 18.2 minutes per game, he was able to score 14 or more points in eight total games as a rookie.

Sensabaugh topped out at 22 points against Sacramento and Cleveland in the latter part of the schedule. Over his final eight games, Sensabaugh shot a blistering 43.2% from 3 on 5.5 attempts per game.

Alex wants to see Sensabaugh become a more prolific catch-and-shoot shooter. During this same span, he showed his prowess as a catch-and-shoot threat, shooting 44.0% from 3 on 3.6 catch-and-shoot attempts per game.

Sensabaugh is supremely talented and it has never been about a lack of it. He needs to put it all together and become a more complete player.

In the 2024 Salt Lake Summer League, Sensabaugh struggled a lot with turnovers. I liked his effort on defense but he still has a long way to go on that end of the floor as well. I believe these two issues are his biggest roadblocks to a ton of playing time and becoming the player I think he can be.

Ultimately, Sensabaugh was higher than this ranking on my own rankings, but as a consensus ranking with Alex, this is where he ended up overall. I could see him shooting up this board if he is able to put it all together like I think he is capable of doing.

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