Utah Jazz select Baylor guard Keyonte George at No. 16

Freshman combo guard Keyonte George from Baylor is headed to the Utah Jazz.

The Jazz used the No. 16 pick — the second of their three first-round picks — to grab a talented guard who could play a significant role in their rebuild moving forward.

While the Jazz had an opportunity to select a falling top-of-lottery talent, Villanova’s Cam Whitmore, they ended up going another direction with the pick.

But George is no slouch. He was one of the highest-recruited players in the 2022 high school draft class; ESPN had him as the sixth-best player in the 2022 class, while Rivals and 247Sports both considered him the ninth-best player.

In college, though, he had a relatively up and down season for Baylor. The 19-year-old, 6-foot-4 guard showed an ability to score from all three levels, including a really high 3-point rate for the Bears; no one else on the Bears took more shots.

George averaged 15.4 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 2.8 assists for Baylor last season, shooting 37.6% from the field, 33.8% from deep, and 79.3% from the free-throw line.

But he wasn’t the most efficient player in the class, shooting 33% from deep, and occasionally forcing an extra turnover or two. For a high-usage player, he really competed on the defensive end. The hope is that if you ask him to take a more complementary role, his skills can overcome his weaknesses.

“This is the best moment of my life, I can’t even explain how I feel,” George said after being drafted. “But I understand this is just the beginning.”

George follows a long history of Baylor players with the Jazz, including Jared Butler, Royce O’Neale, Ekpe Udoh, and John Lucas III.

With the No. 9 pick, the Jazz drafted Central Florida’s Taylor Hendricks.

This story will be updated.