Utah Jazz Draft Baylor Guard Keyonte George With 16th Pick
Jun 22, 2023, 7:51 PM | Updated: Jun 26, 2023, 12:58 pm
SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah Jazz selected Baylor guard Keyonte George with the 16th pick in the 2023 NBA Draft on Thursday.
The Jazz used their second of three first-round picks on the guard from Baylor.
RELATED: No. 16 Pick Keyonte George Has High Praise For Other Jazz First-Round Picks
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With their first pick of the night, Utah drafted Central Florida forward Taylor Hendricks at No. 9.
RELATED: Utah Jazz Draft Central Florida Forward Taylor Hendricks With Ninth Pick
Utah is also set to pick at 28th.
We got @keyonte1george at #16 🖤
Welcome to Utah!#TakeNote | #NBADraft pic.twitter.com/4tL2AS2VPj
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) June 23, 2023
Prior to this year’s draft, the Jazz’s last first-round pick was Santi Aldama in 2021. Utah traded that pick to Memphis before the selection.
RELATED: Jazz Trade 30th Pick To Memphis Grizzlies
The last first-round pick to stay in Utah was Udoka Azubuike who was drafted with the 27th pick in 2020.
About Baylor Guard Keyonte George
Despite being listed at 6-foot-4 and 185 lbs, George has one of the better frames among first-year guards projected to be selected in the lottery.
The Baylor freshman has a stocky, strong build that ought to be able to handle the rigors of the NBA game, even early in his career.
Though he’s not an elite athlete, George has excellent body control and navigates the court with the ball in his hands, getting to his spots where he excels as a scorer, averaging 15.3 points per game.
Just that kind of game for Keyonte George right now
Has shirked some early turnovers to go unconscious off the dribble pic.twitter.com/kXo6lcvroZ
— Mark Schindler (@MG_Schindler) February 18, 2023
The guard is an adept scorer with the ball in his hands showing strong handles and an ability to get to his spots on the floor and in rhythm. He has a chance to be one of the more prolific scorers from this draft as he matures, and his game already resembles that of some of the league’s best perimeter players.
While consistency remains an issue, George scored 20 or more in 12 of his 33 appearances at Baylor and knocked down multiple three-pointers in 66 percent of his games.
The freshman had more games (13) in which he hit three or more three-pointers than he did one or fewer (11).
George’s 4.2 rebounds are a strong number, and 79 percent free-throw shooting on 4.5 attempts per game
Defensively, the freshman’s frame and strong balance made him a steady defender. As he ages, it wouldn’t be an enormous surprise if he became a very capable defender at the NBA level.
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Chandler Holt is a Digital Sports Producer for KSLSports.com, specializing in all things basketball and football. Follow Chandler on Twitter at @ChandlerHoltKSL.
