Dwyane Wade Discusses Keyonte George, Visiting BYU
Oct 27, 2023, 3:52 PM | Updated: Oct 29, 2023, 3:25 pm
Danny Ainge speaks to Tony Finau and Dwyane Wade during the second half of a game at Delta Center (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)
(Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith and NBA Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade joined Hans and Scotty to discuss the development of rookie Keyonte George, and Wade’s experience visiting the BYU campus.
George, the Jazz’s 16th overall pick shined during the Salt Lake and Las Vegas Summer Leagues, and quickly worked his way into the rotation on opening night.
You can listen to the full interview in the player below.
Dwyane Wade Discusses Keyonte George
Wade, a minority share owner in the Jazz discussed George after his debut on Wednesday.
“You want to see a guy like Keyonte develop,” Wade said. “You want to see him develop to a place where he is in October, he’s not in December, where he is in December, he’s not in February.”
George was one of the few bright spots in the Jazz season opener after scoring eight points, grabbing two rebounds, and dishing out two assists while connecting on 3-5 from the floor and 1-3 from three.
“Every time you step out on the court, you just want to get better and better,” Wade added.
Dwyane Wade, Smith Visit BYU Campus
Smith oversees a Leadership and Decision Making course at BYU and invited Wade to the campus to talk to the class.
“I thought it was great just to share with them a little insight, share with them the journey of this life, and just be real and honest,” Wade said.
Dwyane Wade was the guest speaker in Ryan Smith’s @BYUMarriott class earlier today.
One of the all time greatest academic moments in BYU history. pic.twitter.com/uStiJinZJT
— Jackson Payne (@jackson5payne) October 25, 2023
“Life is not just the beautiful photos that are covered in filters on social media — I just walked through the journey with them, it was a great conversation Ryan and I had.”
In addition to speaking at Smith’s class Smith’s class, Wade also took in a BYU basketball practice.
“Thanks to Coach Pope for allowing us to come in and allow us to watch the team’s open scrimmage, but it was my first time being there,” Wade said.
so special having @DwyaneWade at practice today!🤙 pic.twitter.com/P4HJmQWtiu
— BYU Men’s Basketball (@BYUMBB) October 27, 2023
BYU is well represented within the Jazz front office with both Smith and team CEO Danny Ainge having graduated from the school.
Wade, a alumni of Marquette University, didn’t skip on his opportunity to razz Ainge about his trip to BYU.
“One thing I’m proud of and I’m grateful for is that Danny Ainge cannot say that he’s the greatest player to come through BYU anymore because I walked through the halls.”
Not only did Wade make his first trip to BYU this week, but he also learned about another notorious staple within the Utah community.
“I took Dwyane Sodalicious yesterday,” Smith revealed. “He could not understand, like, ‘What — you guys do this?’ I was like, ‘Oh, yeah, we do this.'”
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Sodalicous is drink and treat shop that specializes in custom flavored “dirty sodas.”
“Out of all the things I’ve done in my life, I think that was the most important thing I’ve done in Utah so far,” Wade joked.
Wade retired from the NBA in 2019 and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame earlier this year.
Ben Anderson is the Utah Jazz insider for KSL Sports and the co-host of Jake and Ben from 10-12p with Jake Scott on 97.5 The KSL Sports Zone. Find Ben on Twitter at @BensHoops or on Instagram @BensHoops.
