Utah Jazz guard Keyonte George is unlikely to remain in the race for this season’s Most Improved Player award due to a hamstring strain that won’t be reevaluated for about another week and a half.
The award requires players to appear in at least 65 games. George has played in 54 so far, but one of those games won’t count because he logged fewer than 15 minutes.
As a result, he would need to return next Saturday and play in Utah’s final 12 games to reach the minimum – something that now appears very unlikely.
As Kevin Reynolds of The Salt Lake Tribune notes, even before the injury, Jazz head coach Will Hardy made it clear that the team’s priority would be George’s health rather than pushing him to meet the games requirement.
“I would like to get Keyonte 65. I’m not ever trying to take away someone’s ability to have individual success,” head coach Will Hardy said in early March.
“But I think Keyonte also understands that we’re going to approach it a game at a time, and we’re going to try to make sure that he’s healthy. That’s always going to be our approach. We’re going to choose the health of our organization, the health of our players, over chasing awards.”
Even if he doesn’t qualify for the award, George has taken a major step forward this season.
The 22-year-old is averaging career highs of 23.6 points, 6.1 assists, and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 45.6% from the field, 37.1% from three-point range, and 89.2% from the free throw line.
He will become eligible for a rookie-scale extension in July.
Keyonte George will have to return to play next Saturday and not miss another Jazz game to be eligible for end-of-season awards. Story: https://t.co/A5CfsiIi5G
— Hoops Rumors (@HoopsRumors) March 15, 2026
