Jazz's Keyonte George Makes Confident Statement About Future

The Utah Jazz have no doubt been in the midst of a retooling year during their 2024-25 campaign, finding their way to a bottom-four record in the NBA, gunning for a top draft pick during this offseason's lottery.

Yet, despite the struggles seen throughout the season, there's still tons of optimism for what lies ahead. The Jazz have been methodically putting together a strong base with their budding young core, and as their development and chemistry continue to trend upward, slowly but surely, their success in the standings will do the same.

The Jazz roster is bought into the vision as well, and especially so for second-year guard Keyonte George.

During a recent interview with HoopsHype, George gave some thoughts on what's the come for the Jazz, ensuring his confidence in Lauri Markkanen and the team's common goal: to eventually win a championship.

"The future is very bright," George said. "Lauri is a phenomenal player. He continues to do his thing and lead us, and me and Lauri understand what we want to do –and the whole team does too. They understand the goal we have in mind: we want to make it to the postseason, do damage in the postseason, and ultimately win the championship. We truly believe that, and Will [Hardy] does too."

Of course, everyone wants to get a chance to hoist the Larry O'Brien, but its a long road to get there. George and the Jazz understand the strenuous process needed to get to a championship level, and it starts with the basics.

"Right now, it’s very important to build the right habits, lay the right foundation, and understand how we want to play as a team. We also want to create the culture we want, so when new guys come in, they know what Utah is about," George said. "From there, we can keep moving forward. We just want to build that culture, and once we have it, once everyone understands how Utah plays basketball, everything else will take care of itself. That’s the first building block of anything."

Through a season that's had a fair share of lowlights, the team's found some beauty in the struggle as well –– seeing the development of several of their young players, testing different fits and lineups, and going through numerous learning experiences and tests as well.

It's far from a simple process for the Jazz to get where they need to be, but George is eager to do what it takes.

He won't be doing it alone either. The Jazz have established a great young foundation with four first-round picks to pair next to George, a second-round steal in Kyle Filipowski, two more first-rounders on the way this offseason, and of course, have a cornerstone in Markkanen inked for the foreseeable future.

It may not be perfect, but in due time, the tide is set to turn in Salt Lake City.

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