Looking around on Utah Jazz Twitter, some fans are seeing a very small group of Jazz nation and other NBA fans always getting after point guard Keyonte George.
Gripes consist of George not being able to score earlier in the shot clock, being a sub-par defender at times, and, most notably, calling out his bad performance on November 30 against the Houston Rockets, asking for him to be investigated.
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Luckily the positive comments and love outweigh the negativity within Jazz nation. George has made a huge jump in development this NBA season, becoming one of Utah’s best players.
The Infamous Game
As mentioned before, the Jazz played against the Rockets on November 30, 2025. George was questionable to play that game, due to an illness he was fighting. He elected to play anyways for the team.
His stat line showed he was sick,, as he recorded zero points, eight turnovers, a rebound, and two assists, cementing it as his worst game ever. NBA fans all over X clamored that George should be investigated and was the worst player of all time. Though facing persecution, what came next was astounding – George drowned out the negativity and played much better the next day.
December 1 was the second night of a back-to-back against the Rockets. George started slow, missing his first few shots, but as the game went on, he started to look like his old self.
He hit key shots down the stretch to keep the Jazz in the lead and made timely assists to help Utah get a 133-125 win over the Rockets.
George’s stats were immaculate: 28 points, four rebounds, and eight assists.
Qualities of a Leader
Last year, George would not have had such a great bounce-back game. In his second year, fans knew George as a player who typically displayed bad body language and distanced himself from his coach and teammates when his play was poor.
Will Hardy benching him did not help his game — in fact many Jazz writers and broadcasters questioned if he was even an NBA player.
George was one of many players to stay in Salt Lake City this summer to train and get their bodies ready for the 2025 season. He tuned out any distractions and went to work.
During his training, George matured.
He wanted the team to become more than just teammates on the court, but also friends. He set up a trip to Texas where the team talked with each other, worked out together, and even just spent some time having fun. The excursion was so well loved, the team wants to make it a tradition for years to come.
“I think the hardest thing in the NBA is to build camaraderie,” George stated. It’s easy in college, just because we’re always with one another and staying close with each other.”
Summer Work Paying Off
Aside from improving off-the-court leadership, George has improved immensely on the court as well. His three pointing shooting has improved, especially on wide-open threes (meaning the defender is at least six feet away).
Last year he was hitting 32% of his wide-open threes, now he’s draining 42%. This stat should make Jazz fans proud, with his poor three-point shooting last year, there were real doubts on George’s NBA ability.
The mid-range shot has also been added to his arsenal. With 52% of George’s shots coming from the midrange he’s been able to hit at least 49% of those looks this year.
During the summer George worked with childhood friends at the Jazz training facility in order to help his isolation and mid-range game become efficient. His hard work paid off. In the 2024 season he averaged 0.81 points per isolation possession, now he’s upgraded that number to 1.00 point per isolation possession, an above-league-average number.
Ball Don’t Lie
The Jazz are first in the league in assist percentage (the percent of field goals made by players that are assisted by another). They lead this number with 72.1% of their makes being assisted by another player. A big contributor to this percentage is George, being the 12th-best player in the league when it comes to assists – an average of 6.7 assists per game.
According to NBA statistics, George is in the tier of players like Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic, and Tyrese Maxey when it comes to helping his teammates score. Besides being tenth in assists in the league, George is also 26th in the league in scoring. Only averaging 16.8 points per game last year, George has managed to increase that number to 22.9 this year.
Keyonte George Coming in Clutch
Not to mention, George has been a part of some major wins for this Jazz squad. On December 4 when the Jazz beat the Brooklyn Nets, George scored 29 points and had 10 assists. George was pivotal in the game. He sunk back-to-back clutch threes to keep the Jazz in the lead and made some beautiful passes to involve his teammates as well.
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The same could be said when the Jazz beat the Chicago Bulls in double overtime on November 16; George scored 33 points and tallied six assists in that game.
After a rough first-half George bounced back and helped lead the Jazz to a victory. He hit clutch mid-range shots in overtime to help Utah stay afloat. Even after air-balling a three, George was trusted with the Jazz’s last shot in the second overtime and nailed it, leading his team to a 150-147 win.
Last year no one could fathom George being capable of pulling off such a feat. If George continues on this path, he could have the makings of becoming a top 20 player in the league and a key piece in the next up-and-coming competitive Jazz team.
Much Left to See
With the Jazz wanting to be competitive by next season, George has the opportunity to become one of the next legends in Utah if he continues to grow. That being said, there are still some things George needs to work on.
Defense has always been an issue for Keyonte ever since the Jazz drafted him out of Baylor. He currently has a defensive rating of 124.3, giving him the fourth worst in defensive rating in the league according to StatMuse.
Two other Jazz players are on that list as well, so if George truly wants to help his team win games he’s going to have to become at least a league average defender. He also struggles a bit with turnovers still, like when he had eight in that Rockets game. George currently averages 3.6 turnovers a game, even more than last year when he averaged 2.7 a game.
He has the fifth-most turnovers in the league (82 total to be exact) – though the stat is really high it shouldn’t be overly concerning to Jazz nation.
George still have less turnovers than Cade Cunningham, Deni Avdija, Jaylen Brown and James Harden (who has the most in the league with 91), all of which could be All-Stars this season. Having high turnovers comes with being a playmaker and a primary ball handler.
As the season continues, fans should look to see how George continues to progress. If the Jazz are truly set on keeping their pick, they’ll most likely keep losing and players will be tested.
George has the tools to continue to play well and be that glue the team desperately needs in tough times. He has the ability to keep improving, and if he does, the league will be speaking highly of George in no time.
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