Utah Jazz guard Keyonte George is posting career-high offensive statistics over the first 32 games of the 2025-26 season. He is averaging 24.6 points, shooting 45.5% on 16.8 attempts per game.
Unfortunately, Keyonte George’s career-best start is unsustainable in the long term. Upon entering the league, Keyonte George has taken over half of his shots from behind the three-point line. Over his first 174 games, he has averaged 6.7 three-pointers per game 51.6% of his shot attempts.
Before this season, he was known as a below-average three-point shooter. According to Hoop Intellect, Keyonte George was a below-average shooter on catch-and-shoot three-pointers. During his lone season at Baylor, he shot 32.5% on 4.3 attempts per game.
This type of three-pointer accounted for 62.3% of his attempts. Consequently, George posted below-average shooting numbers, shooting 33.8% on 6.9 attempts per game.
Keyonte George was unable to improve his three-point percentage over his first two seasons as a professional. He shot 33.9% on 6.7 attempts per game. 49.3% of those attempts were via the catch-and-shoot variety, averaging 3.3 attempts per game. He was a subpar shooter from the three-point line, converting 34.1% of his attempts.
The struggles with catch-and-shoot three-pointer play a big role in his below-average shooting. Fortunately for Keyonte George, he has been able to significantly improve his catch-and-shoot three-point percentage over the first 32 games of this season.
He is shooting 42.9% on 3.5 attempts per game. As in his first two seasons, catch-and-shoots accounted for 49.3% of his three-point attempts.
Keyonte George’s improvement in the catch-and-shoot department has played a pivotal role in his significant increase in three-point percentage. He is currently shooting a career-high 37.4% on 7.1 attempts per game. The improved shooting allowed George to generate 8.1 points per game from behind the three point line, 32.9% of his scoring production.
However, Keyonte George’s shooting track record throughout his basketball career indicates that the improvement is only temporary. Unfortunately, Keyonte George’s shot profile is unlikely to change under the Utah Jazz’s offensive system.
Head coach Will Hardy has implemented a motion offense during his tenure with the Utah Jazz. The Utah offense will frequently have the ball handler standing between the top of the key and the elbow. The ball handler will wait until a teammate cuts towards the basket or comes up with a screen that occurs away from the basketball.
On December 20th 2025, Isaiah Collier had the ball at the top of the key with 90 seconds left in overtime. He held the ball until Ace Bailey cut to the middle of the floor from the left wing.
Once Bailey reached the middle of the floor, he received the ball. Bailey immediately passed the ball to Kevin Love, who was cutting to the basket from the right elbow.
Love ended the possession with a layup. The offensive system has played a role in Utah’s ranking in the top ten in two different play types, coming off screens and cutting to the basket. Over the past three-plus seasons, Utah has ranked 9th in cuts per game, averaging 8.5.
They have also ranked 2nd in coming off the screen, averaging 8.5 per game. Due to the amount of off-ball movement within an offensive possession, Will Hardy prefers to leave the paint open to give his players room to move.
Consequently, the offensive system increases the likelihood of a three-point attempt because players spend significant time standing behind the arc. During Will Hardy’s tenure, Utah has ranked 7th in three-point attempts per game, averaging 38.3.
Given the evidence presented above, Keyonte George’s offensive statistics are temporary rather than permanent.
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