3. Royce O’Neale
The road to NBA success has been a long one for Jazz wing Royce O’Neale. Coming out of Baylor in 2015, he went undrafted and spent the next two years playing professionally in Europe. After impressing the Jazz coaching staff in 2017 NBA Summer League, the team signed him to a contract.
O’Neale’s rookie year started slow, averaging only 8.4 minutes per game through the first three months of the season. However, his minutes increased once Thabo Sefolosha was lost for the year with a torn MCL in mid-January.
When guard Ricky Rubio suffered a hamstring injury in Game 6 of Utah’s first round series against the Oklahoma City Thunder, head coach Quin Snyder inserted O’Neale into the starting lineup. He was impressive in the second round against the Houston Rockets, scoring 17 points twice and averaged 4.0 rebounds per game during the series.
His minutes will increase during the 2018-19 season, as he may have entrenched himself into the rotation over Sefolosha. He’s one of Utah’s better perimeter defenders, and at 6’6″ he’s capable of guarding every position on the court except center.
Over the summer, he’s been working with Jazz assistant Lamar Skeeter, improving his ball-handling skills to become more of a threat off the dribble. He’s also worked to improve his shooting this summer. He shot 35 percent from beyond the arc last season. If he can improve his 3-point percentage to 40 percent, that — along with his defensive capabilities — will make him a nice asset off the bench for Utah this season.