Jazz, Trail Blazers' Rookies Shine in High-Scoring G League Contest

The Utah Jazz and Portal Trail Blazers have had shaky starts to begin the 2025-26 NBA season.

Portland look solid early on, but has since fizzled out, while Utah is still in the midst of its rebuild. The Trail Blazers are 9-16 and sit No. 11 in the Western Conference, while the Jazz are 8-15 and hold the No. 12 spot.

The Jazz have seen plenty of encouraging moments from rookies Ace Bailey and Walter Clayton Jr., but have a few other young players that haven't lived up to their draft position yet. For Portland, undrafted rookie Caleb Love has notched a few solid performances, but first-round pick Yang Hansen has come on much slower.

On Thursday night, howver, rookies from each team had strong outings in the G League, as John Tonje helped the Salt Lake City Stars to a 174-146 win against the Rip City Remix and undrafted rookie Sean Pedulla.

Tonje, the No. 53 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, logged 29 points, 5 rebounds, a block and a turnover in the win, shooting 9-of-13 from the field, 2-of-4 from beyond the arc and 5-of-5 from the free throw line.

Listed at 6-foot-4 and 218 pounds, the 24-year-old has appeared in 12 G League games this year and is averaging 16.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists and a steal while shooting 49.6% from the field and 38.1% from 3-point range on more than 5 attempts per contest.

After six seasons of college basketball, Tonje hasn't appeared in an NBA contest yet, but if the rookie wing continues to perform well in the G League, he could get an opportunity with the Jazz as the season progresses.

For the Remix, rookie guard Sean Pedulla erupted to lead all scorers with 38 points. The former Virginia Tech and Mississippi standout added 8 rebounds, 4 assists, a steal and a block while shooting 13-of-17 from the field, 5-of-8 from deep and 4-of-4 from the free throw line.

Pedulla went undrafted after spending three years with the Hokies and finishing his college career with the Rebels, and hasn't seen time in the NBA yet this season.

In 11 G League contests this season, Pedulla is averaging 13.4 points, 3.4 assists, 2.3 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 41% from the field and 32.1% from 3-point range.

Fellow undrafted rookie Jayson Kent also had a strong showing for Rip City, chipping in 27 points, 5 rebounds, an assist and a turnover while shooting 11-of-16 from the field and 5-of-8 from deep.

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