2023 NBA Draft scouting report: Keyonte George

Baylor’s Keyonte George has NBA Draft lottery potential with his compelling blend of shot creation and defensive toughness on the perimeter. 

Keyonte George was fairly prolific in his freshman season at Baylor, making the All-Pac 12 team and winning conference rookie of the year. He averaged 15.3 points and 4.2 rebounds in 28.6 minutes per game. The Bears’ season ended unceremoniously in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, but George had already done enough to earn lottery looks from NBA teams.

The NBA awaits George in an interesting state of constant evolution. The game has, in some ways, moved away from smaller “score-first” guards like George. He’s only 6-foot-4 and he averaged fewer than three assists per game at Baylor.

On the other hand, George does profile favorably in other aspects of the modern game. He likes to shoot 3s and attack the cup. He also defends well and projects as a two-way player, even if his lack of height could limit him in certain matchups.

His success at the next level with depend a lot on fit, but George has the skill set to transcend any “score-first” label that follows him to the next level.

Keyonte George NBA Draft profile

Height: 6-foot-4
Weight: 185 pounds
Birthdate: November 8, 2003
Position: Shooting Guard
Offensive Role: Spacer/secondary creator
Defensive Role: P.O.A. guard stopper
Projected Draft Range: 10-20

NBA Draft highlights

Strengths

In literal terms, George has excellent strength for his position. He battles at the point of attack defensively and he’s not easy to pick on, despite his smaller frame. He will compete on switches and he’s a potential answer to dynamic lead guards at the next level.

Offensively, George’s ceiling is higher than many of his lottery counterparts due to his extreme poise and creativity off the bounce. He can manipulate defenders with the best of them, constantly shifting speeds before unleashing deadly step-backs or side-steps to generate space. He’s a potentially elite pull-up shooter who is comfortable firing from NBA range.

George didn’t operate as a point guard at Baylor, but he’s comfortable dealing out of pick-and-rolls. His sense of when to push the gas pedal and when the pump the brakes make him very difficult to stay in front of, and he showed the ability to locate open shooters on the perimeter or cutters ducking toward the rim. Every rebuilding team pines for a primary creator to build around. George is one of the few guys outside the top-5 who could feasibly achieve that.

Despite his small frame and limited burst, George is an impressive finisher at the rim. He’s unafraid of contact and has upside as a foul magnet. He can finish with either hand and he’s got some hang time too, even if he’s not the same above-the-rim athlete you might find at the front end of the lottery. As long George can reliably turn the corner, he’s going to put defenses on high alert.

A lot of guards who get the “score-first” label currently pegged to George have far less favorable shot charts. George doesn’t get caught up in endless parades of contested mid-range jumpers — he shoots a ton of 3s and gets to the rim. He’s stylistically in tune with where the league is currently.

Weaknesses

George is only 6-foot-4 in shoes and his measurements are conspicuously absent from the NBA Combine tallies. He doesn’t have elite length, nor is he the best raw athlete on the board, so there are concerns about the extent of his impact defensively. Certain matchups will strain his credibility in the NBA.

He averaged 2.9 turnovers to 2.8 assists at Baylor. George looks good creating out of pick-and-rolls, but there is equally damning tape of him over-dribbling into traffic and coughing up the rock. He will have to work hard to improve his decision-making. There is also the simple fact that he will face bigger, longer athletes in the NBA. George is crafty, but he’s not particularly explosive and there’s a chance higher-level NBA defenders bottle him up off the bounce.

Also concerning from his Baylor numbers: George shot 42.4 percent on 2-point shots and 37.6 percent from the field overall. Part of that is his focus on 3s — which is good — but George only shot 33.8 percent from deep, albeit on high volume and with a high degree of difficulty. It’s not unreasonable to be spooked by a smaller guard who couldn’t consistently generate efficient outcomes inside the arc in college, even if his skill level and touch provide a foundation for optimism.

 Conclusion

George is the No. 15 prospect on our final NBA Draft big board. He could fall victim to an unusually deep class of lottery talent, not to mention potential upside swings for less well-rounded guards elsewhere in the first-round pool. George’s range feels a bit wider than it probably should be.

There’s a lot of good and a lot of bad on George’s profile. The shooting percentages aren’t great and his assist-to-turnover ratio is a genuine red flag. Even so, it’s hard not to buy George’s pace and shiftiness handling the rock. His pull-up jumper is pure and he has a deep bag of tricks in the paint. Projecting forward, it’s not hard to envision the results improving, even in the face of greater competition.

The back of the lottery is filled with teams who could benefit from George’s floor-spacing ability and upside as a slasher and secondary creator. Toronto, New Orleans, and Orlando feel like teams to watch in the lottery. If he tumbles a bit further, the Hawks at No. 15, the Jazz at No. 16, and the Lakers at No. 17 all feel like good landing spots. George shouldn’t fall too far on draft night given his creativity and upside as a creator, even with the valid concerns tied to his size and decision-making.

Check out The Step Back for more news, analysis, opinion and unique basketball coverage. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and Instagram and subscribe to our daily email newsletter, The Whiteboard.