Jazz Guard Keyonte George's Rookie of the Year Odds Among Top-10

Utah Jazz fans may want to get their 2023 NBA Rookie of the Year bets in early this year. FanDuel currently has Keyonte George as an 80-1 shot of taking home the Wilt Chamberlin Trophy this upcoming season.

.@FanDuel's odds for Rookie of the Year... Check out your boy Keyonte George, #JazzNation. pic.twitter.com/RyF4Xj4A0y
— Utah Jazz On SI (@JazzOnSI) July 11, 2023

It may still be a long shot, but George looks NBA-ready after scoring 33 points while dishing out 10 assists in a 105-99 victory versus the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday night. Not be outdone, George followed up that performance with 26 points on 9-for-15 shooting on Monday night.

The No. 16 overall pick in the 2023 NBA draft gave all the credit to his teammates and coaching staff after Saturday’s win.

“My teammates are creating shots for me,” George said. “I’m finding open once I get the ball straight catch, and shoot no waisted movements that comes with the staff just trusting me... the four other guys on the court, they’re trusting me. I trust in my work, so that’s what happened in the fourth [quarter].”

On draft night, it wasn’t clear whether the Jazz envisioned George at the one or two spot, but after delivering double-digit assists against the Clippers, he looks to be trending in the direction of being a point guard. Although it’s just one game, Jazz fans have to be wondering whether there’s a path for George to get substantial minutes to start the season.

Jordan Clarkson and Collin Sexton are currently penciled in for the lion's share of minutes at the guard positions. This leaves Talen Horton-Tucker, Kris Dunn, Ochai Agbaji, and George in a training camp battle for time on the court.

However, the Jazz could opt to give Abaji some time as the backup small forward. Currently, second-year Jazzman Simone Fontecchio provides the resistance for those minutes.

There’s also the possibility of a trade that could clear a path for George at some point this year. I can’t imagine the Jazz ending the season with all six guards that are currently rostered at year's end.

That said, if George does find his way into the starting lineup, he’ll have to first show he can produce at a high level during a regular season game. This has always been the case for high-profile Jazz rookies in the past.

Utah selected Dante Exum in the lottery in 2014, but didn’t allow the No. 5 overall pick to start until the 35th game of the season.
Enus Freedom started zero games his rookie year, even though he was the No. 3 overall pick in 2011.
In 2005, Deron Williams was picked No. 3 overall but only started 47 out of 80 games played. The three-time All-Star wasn’t inserted into the starting lineup until the ninth game of the season.
Donovan Mitchell started only three of his first 11 games as a Jazzman. Mitchell became a permanent fixture as a starter at game 12.
Gordon Hayward started 17-of-72 games in his rookie campaign, with his first opportunity at game seven.

Either way, the emergence of George should put the Damian Lillard-to-Utah nonsense to rest. Giving up four first-rounders and two young stars while also sentencing George to permanent backup duty would have been a major blow to what the Jazz front office has built up to this point.

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