On Monday night, Utah Jazz guard Keyonte George cheered on his teammates from the sidelines. He offered advice during dead balls and shared laughs during timeouts.
You wouldn’t have known it by watching him, but Monday night’s game, which George missed due to a hamstring strain, officially ruled out George from being a candidate for any end-of-season awards.
On March 11, George exited a game against the New York Knicks after playing 20 minutes. He immediately ran to the locker room, favoring his right leg on the way.
After the game, George sat quietly, staring at his locker, clearly dejected. He knew that the pull he felt in his hamstring was going to sideline him for at least enough games that he wouldn’t be able to hit the 65-game mark needed for end-of-season awards. And although he wasn’t going to be in line to win Most Improved Player, he would have definitely received second and third-place votes.
Though there’s no acclaim and no reward for receiving votes and not winning, it would have meant something to George. It would have been validation for the jump he’s made in this, his third year.
George did not speak with reporters that night, and his demeanor was somber. But his mood quickly shifted in the coming days.
Despite being ruled out for at least two weeks due to the injury, knowing that eventually the day would come that he would officially be off the list of players who could receive votes due to not playing the required 65 games, George put on a happy face and made sure that even if he couldn’t be on the court, he would be there for his teammates.
“Nobody wants to get hurt and Keyonte has put in a lot of work,” Jazz head coach Will Hardy said. “But he’s a good teammate, and he’s cares about the other guys. He also recognizes his position in our locker room and on our team. When you want to be somebody that’s in a leadership role...he understands that he has to give himself to the group, and he has to be there for the guys that are playing.”
George is not the most senior of Jazz players, and there are other veterans on the team that have natural leading voices or roles. Lauri Markkanen is a more lead-by-example type person, Kevin Love is a natural vocal presence in the locker room along with a number of other players. But George, as the Jazz’s starting point guard is required to take on a leading role.
That role has been difficult to adjust to and learning everything that the role entails has required a lot of effort from George. But it’s a role that he has embraced and the responsibility of being a leader on and off the court is something that George has welcomed.
So, when things looked bleak and he was feeling emotional back on March 11, he didn’t allow his mood to fester or permeate through the locker room.
“He has to be there for his teammates,” Hardy said. “He has to be there for our group as a whole. It’s not just the players — it’s the players, the coaches, the support staff. You can’t isolate yourself when it’s not going your way."
On Monday night, it was official that George would not be able to reach a benchmark that would have been meaningful for him. But, what was more impactful and more meaningful, was being there for his basketball family and making sure that he was the right kind of leader, even if he wasn’t in uniform.