WE NEED TO HAVE A LITTLE CHAT, you and I.
You see, the entire discourse surrounding the Jazz is that its tempo is too unpredictable. Its style too brazen. It’s soul too distorted— oh, I’m horribly sorry, these are my notes about the jazz music of the club I’ve been regularly attending. I’m so embarrassed. One second, please…
[Shuffles papers]
Okay, here we go. The entire discourse surrounding the Utah Jazz has been about youth development. With an eye on the incubators, Utah is focused on the future
— a glorious future which could only be achieved through the draft process. Pick promising players. Painstakingly and deliberately develop said players into serious NBA-caliber hoopers. Repay the investors by lifting a banner in the Delta Center that simply reads: Utah Jazz, World Champions.
It’s a lofty goal, and one that hinges on the bloom of the budding talent in Will Hardy’s garden. Player development — it’s all Jazz fans have at the moment to get excited about while watching a game.
So it blows my mind how egregiously the discourse has whiffed on Brice Sensabaugh. Why will no one talk about how well Brice Sensabaugh performed through 2024-25? The third and final first-round selection of Utah’s first rebuilding draft, Ice Brice was claimed in the late first round along with Taylor Hendricks and Keyonte George. He’s entering his third season with the team. He’s got plenty to prove about his efficacy as a long-term contributor on this Utah Jazz team.
But after a second year in the pros and a questionable jersey number change (surely we can do better than 28, or am I the only one weirded out by this?), Sensabaugh was better — and dare I say excellent — in the core aspect of his game as a sophomore. That’s putting the basketball through the cylinder. He averaged double-digits in the point column, and on salivating efficiency.
Year-over-year, Brice pounded 3.4 more points a night in 1.9 more minutes of floor time. His secret? Hitting that 3-ball at a ridiculous clip. 42.2% from distance. It’s like watching a man toss and stick a pop dart atop another from the other side of the house. It’s like Bryson DeChambeau hitting a hole-in-one over his home (which I swear is like 99% constituted of glass). It’s pure accuracy, bordering on lunacy.
42% of the three-pointers that leave his hands reach their target. That’s the fifth-best rate of all NBA players who attempt five or more ranged attacks per night. That’s a highly valuable skill in the modern age, right?
So it makes me feel like I’m taking crazy pills when I see the discourse surrounding Utah’s future (not that my medication is any of your business). Sensabaugh is getting lost in the shuffle due to the mass quantity of young talent entering Salt Lake City on a yearly basis. Keyonte George, Cody Williams, Kyle Filipowski, Walter Clayton, and Ace Bailey are getting most of the attention, while Brice is drowning on the deep end of the bench.
How quickly we’ve forgotten his back-to-back 25-point nights on a Sunshine State road trip, complete with a 34-point explosion in Miami. Is he the flashiest name on Utah’s roster? No. Does he bring much to the table beyond scoring? Again, the answer is mostly negative.
But I am appalled at the gall of Utah’s ignorance of Brice’s improvement as a second-year pro. Utah’s got a clearly talented hooper in Brice Sensabaugh; that’s something I can’t say confidently in every draft pick over the last three seasons. If it’s player development you want, don’t miss what Sensabaugh is cooking up.
Calvin Barrett is a writer, editor, and prolific Mario Kart racer located in Tokyo, Japan. He has covered the Utah Jazz and BYU athletics since 2024.
