Following an impressive debut at Summer League where he was a first-team selection, Keyonte George knew there was a path to being in head coach Will Hardy's rotation on opening night.
"I think there is a world where each of them could play themselves into minutes," Hardy said of the rookies back in September. "It's about earning the trust of their teammates. … If their teammates think that they can help them win, they'll be all about it."
After Hardy told him that during training camp, George took those words to heart. He believed in what his head coach said to him, and it became his driving force for the season. He worked hard in training camp to earn the respect and trust of his veteran teammates, eventually finding himself in the rotation on opening night.
Yet that was just the beginning.
"Phenomenal," was George's response when asked how his rookie season went. "Just taking it day by day. … The season didn't go too fast for me because I was just living in the moment. I feel like I took advantage of every day, whether it was a game day or off day. … It was a pretty long season. I like the baseline that I have for myself, I like the way that I competed day in and day out. … Now it's just about sharpening things up that I already know I'm good at."
George lived up to the hype, going from the No. 16 pick in the draft to starting over half of his games. He averaged 13.0 points, 4.4 assists, and 2.8 rebounds on a 40/33/85 shooting split in 27.0 minutes per game. He played in 75 games, making 44 starts. His 75 games played ranked third among all rookies, while his 44 games started finished fifth.
He ranked second among rookies in total assists (336) and assists per contest (4.4 apg). He finished fourth in total points among rookies (974), sixth in points per game (13.0 ppg), and fifth in total minutes played (2,023). He also became the fourth rookie in Jazz history to total at least 825 points and 280 assists in a season. (Donovan Mitchell, Deron Williams, and Trey Burke).
George scored 30+ three times this season, the third-most among rookies — but what set him apart was his performance against Steph Curry and the Warriors on Feb. 15. In 41 minutes, George dropped a career-high 33 points, while adding six assists, three steals, and two rebounds. He also shot 9-of-16 from three, tying the NBA rookie record for most threes in a game.
"To be completely honest, I feel like I belong," George said. "For me, I think that confidence comes from the preparation. … I'm just super confident in my game. I just had a lot of fun out there. It's a long season, and I know what we got. … I'm just going to continue to keep a smile on my face because, at the end of the day, it's just basketball."
"He has a really unique brain for a young player," Hardy added. "I think that's where he's got a big advantage on everyone else because it's gonna, hopefully, accelerate his learning curve. Basketball is pattern recognition when it comes down to it on the offensive end, and the best players are the ones that know all the patterns and can recognize them quickly. … Keyonte has shown the ability to do some of that."
Heading into his first offseason, George is more focused on becoming elite at a few things rather than good at many things.
"Since day one, everybody wanted me to be in the best shape possible, so that's the main thing," he said. "As far as my skillset, you can always add moves and make your handles shaper. … I just want to get an elite-level handle and be consistent throughout the whole season. I want to be that guy where if you leave me open, you know it's good. The main thing for me this summer is just being in shape and getting stronger, and everything else will follow."
Part of the journey to being great is listening to his veterans and coaches, who have been in his spot and made their mark in the league. George has grown especially close to Avery Bradley, who was hired recently as vice president of player development. During his playing days, Bradley was known as an elite defender who got that way by outworking everyone else — a trait he has passed on to George.
"Avery Bradley told me the thing that separates the greats is they don't care about looking cool or fitting in, they just work hard each and every day," George said. "No matter how it looks, they can look goofy, they can look out of pocket, but they're going to go 110% and get better at their craft. I took that piece of advice, and now I think I'll be able to take my game to another level by going game-speed every rep when I'm on the court."
However, Bradley isn't the only one to take note of George's potential. Often after games, George can be seen talking with fellow star guards of opposing teams, including Golden State's Chris Paul, Phoenix's Devin Booker, and Cleveland's Donovan Mitchell.
"The main thing they've been telling me is to just be aggressive," George said about those postgame conversations. "Whether it's scoring or making the right read, the main thing that stuck with me as far as what Donovan (Mitchell) told me is body language. Everybody is gonna mess up, but if I basically want to be in a position that he was in where he was here — a leader — people looking at you at the end of the game, people looking at you between the games, they’re going to look and see your body language. … It's good to show emotion, but the words for me next year are going to emotional intelligence."
George hopes his growth this offseason is just a part of something great the Jazz are building. When asked what sort of players he would like to play next to — or what type of player he hopes the Jazz draft — he remained steadfast in his belief in the players on the current roster.
"I feel like what we have right now is phenomenal pieces," he said. "The young core, the older guys that we have, we all got something we can bring to the table. … It's just about team camaraderie and coming together for the same common goal. Sacrificing something for the greater good of the team because when we win, everybody gonna eat. … It's about being able to sacrifice for however long it is to get to the greater goal."