If you went to bed early on Monday night, then you missed out on what was the best game of the Summer League thus far. The Utah Jazz defeated the Memphis Grizzlies, 112-111, as GG Jackson had his foot on the line of a 21-foot jumper he made at the buzzer, that would have tied the game at 112 if his toe were just one inch further back.
This game had everything. Jackson poured in 27 points with his aggressive attack-the-rim style, former Duke big man Kyle Filipowski registered a couple of massive dunks, including a surprise coast-to-coast poster, No. 5 overall pick Ace Bailey scored 18 points after struggling in his first professional outing and this year’s “Mr. Irrelevant,” Jahmai Mashack, fouled out with 10 personal fouls in 23 minutes.
The Jazz even had to mount a comeback, as they trailed Memphis by as many as 17 points. The 112 points Utah scored are the most it has ever recorded in a Summer League Game! Still, all of these storylines pale in comparison to what Brice Sensabaugh did.
The former first-round pick of the Jazz out of Ohio State in 2023 scored an SLC Summer League-record 37 points on 9-of-14 shooting, while hitting 6-of-9 three-point attempts and making 92.9% of his free throw attempts.
Sensabaugh was absolutely lethal from beyond the arc in what was truly a special performance, and showed his ability to not only create his own shot, but also be the valued corner catch-and-shoot option. Additionally, the 6-foot-5 forward showed off some slasher ability, getting to the rim for tough buckets.
The 21-year-old averaged just 7.5 points in 32 games played as a rookie, but appeared in 71 contests this past season and averaged 10.9 points per game, as well as 2.2 three pointers per game. Monday night wasn’t the first time Sensabaugh had an offensive explosion in front of the Jazz brass. In a January game against the Heat in Miami, Sensabaugh scored 34 points on 12 of 18 shooting, which included making 7 of 11 threes. He apparently likes the state of Florida, as Sensabaugh then had a 27-point outing vs. the Magic in Orlando the very next day while making 5 of 6 threes.
While the Jazz registered the worst record in the league last year at 17-65, the fan base has to be excited about some of the young talent this organization has acquired, and is in the process of developing.
