2023 NBA Draft Scouting Report: Keyonte George

I have watched Keyonte George in multiple games, all the YouTube highlights, and have looked at and compared his advanced stats for well over a month now. At one point I was all in, at another point I was all out, and at times I’ve warmed up to the idea of drafting him. Ultimately I do not know if he’s the player the Jazz need, let me know what you think after reading this article.

Keyonte George is a 6’4, 185 lb combo guard for the Baylor Bears, in his first and only season with the Bears he averaged 15.3 points per game, 4.2 rebounds per game, and 2.8 assists per game. He shot an underwhelming, 37.6 from the field and 33.8 from deep.

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Keyonte played high school ball in Texas before transferring to the basketball famous high school, IMG Academy in Florida. Keyonte was highly recruited out of high school, he was a McDonald’s All-American, a five-star recruit, and ranked top 10 in almost all high school recruiting sites. He moved back to Texas to play for Baylor over blue blood schools like Kansas and Kentucky.

Keyonte was born in 2003 and it shows, I’m not talking about immaturity. I’m saying this man grew up watching Steph Curry and his game is clearly molded by it, he was just 12 years old when Steph won his first championship. Keyonte shoots the 3 and shoots it often (shot 6.9 3’s a game), he shoots from deep, he shoots coming off screens, and he shoots step backs off of crossovers. He will undoubtedly be compared to both Steph Curry and Damian Lillard, unfortunately, those are some of the greatest players ever and no one should ever be compared to them. Let’s let him write his own story

Strengths:

Ball handling

His most underrated skill is his dribbling, Keyonte creates shots for himself with ease, and he also uses a blend of crossovers and hesitations to get to the rim with ease. This skill will transfer to the league seamlessly

Free throw

Getting to the line is the easiest way to score in the NBA, he shot 150 free throws last year. That is 6th in the Big 12. Getting fouled will be a skill that keeps his points per game higher than you might expect.

Scoring

A player his age can rarely shoot the ball as he does, efficiency isn’t there yet but his form is great and the confidence is there. He also has a knack for throwing down the occasional yam.

Weaknesses:

2.8 assists per game

If Keyonte is a point guard, he needs to be able to pass the ball better, having 91 assists and 95 turnovers is a terrible assist-turnover ratio.

Efficiency

37% from the field and 33% from deep won’t cut it, shot selection needs to be much better to raise those numbers.

Defense

Cleaning up the defensive side of the ball will be one of Keyonte’s biggest tasks. Too many people were able to blow by him on that end

Conclusion

If the lottery Gods give us the 9th pick, I’m not convinced Keyonte George is the player the Jazz should draft. Positional length, playmaking, and defense are all things I believe the Jazz will prioritize this offseason, Keyonte doesn’t fit into any of those. With that said, if Keyonte were to fall to our middle of the 1st round pick via Minnesota, I would consider taking him there. At some point the draft moves from tangible skills to high upside, Keyonte fits in the latter. Regardless of where he goes, I’ll be rooting for him.