Brice Sensabaugh Must Develop One Trait to Secure His Next Jazz Contract

The Utah Jazz are setting up to enter the 2026-27 NBA season with two interesting contract situations on their hands.

The first of those is surrounding Keyonte George, last year's breakout guard in the backcourt who was become a cornerstone of this Jazz roster, and feels due for a big-time payday to come either this next offseason or next to show for it.

But the other situation the Jazz face is a little more interesting, surrounding their fourth-year wing Brice Sensabaugh, who, like George, is also in the last year of his rookie deal.

And while Sensabaugh has shown a handful of appealing qualities to keep him around in Utah on a second contract, it's not exactly a guarantee that the Jazz will pay out that next deal. So for him to guarantee that payday, he might have to prove he's worth that money this upcoming season.

What Brice Sensabaugh Needs to Do for His Second Contract in Utah

Sensabaugh, thanks to a career season in 2025-26, has carved out a role for himself as a quality bench scorer and shooter that the Jazz can rely on.

In 75 games that Sensabaugh played last year, he averaged a career-high 14.9 points per game with 3.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists, shooting 46.0% from the field and 36.7% from three.

That upside as a scorer alone is enough for the Jazz to at least consider keeping Sensabaugh on a pay raise and retaining talent around their second unit. However, there is one aspect to Sensabaugh's game that certainly needs to step up to make him worth that money on a long-term deal: his defensive effort.

Through his first three seasons in the league, Sensabaugh has been a net-negative on the defensive side of the ball.

According to CleaningTheGlass, Jazz lineups gave up 2.5 more points per 100 possessions when Sensabaugh was on the floor last year (29th percentile), and shot 0.8% better from the field (35th percentile).

Mar 28, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Utah Jazz forward Brice Sensabaugh (28) against the Phoenix Suns at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

And the Jazz have no room for those defensive woes around their roster moving forward, knowing how poor they've been on that end of the floor for the past several seasons. Utah has been bottom two in the NBA for defensive rating over the last three years, and lacking contributors on the perimeter defensively is a huge part of that.

But Sensabaugh, even with his steps forward as a scorer, has been outspoken before about his drive to improve on the defensive end. Doing so can only help him get more minutes on a nightly basis, and if consistent, can make him into an extremely valuable three-and-D wing that the Jazz certainly need more of on the roster.

"I think [defense] is probably the biggest focal point for me right now," Sensabaugh said during the Jazz's 2025-26 media day. "I think I shot the ball pretty well last season, and becoming a two-way, three-and-D type of guy is something that I'm looking forward to doing, and something I need to do."

Sensabaugh didn't quite connect the dots defensively last season. And this season, it's even more important for him to deliver on that end for both himself individually and for the bottom line of Utah's success for the season ahead.

If Sensabaugh is able to take a big step forward defensively, those strides might just be the difference between him getting paid by Utah on another contract or the Jazz considering him to be more of an expendable piece of their rebuild.

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