It took one preseason game for Brice Sensabaugh to make a perfect run for the Jazz

Brice Sensabaugh wasted no time in proving to the Utah Jazz that he was too good for Summer League. It wasn’t the biggest surprise after his surprising breakthrough last season. Well, after the Jazz’s preseason debut against the Houston Rockets, he made one thing clear: he should be in the starting lineup this season.

He may have been overshadowed by the likes of Ace Bailey, but Sensabaugh looked like a star. He continued to knock down his threes, showed off his increasing scoring prowess and even threw down the hammer at one point.

Despite everything Sensabaugh has already shown as a Jazzman, not many people knew he was capable of a poster dunk! Either way, the results speak for themselves. In 26 minutes off the bench, Sensabaugh scored 24 points while hitting six threes.

The Jazz have three spots available in their starting lineup. It’s almost guaranteed that Lauri Markkanen and Walker Kessler have etched two of them in stone. And if Bailey keeps this up, he’ll probably get one too. However, Sensabaugh has shown more than enough that he should at least look solid as a starter.

He won’t bring much on the defensive end, but the third-year Jazzman brings so much offensively that Utah shouldn’t risk stunting his growth by relegating him to a bench role when he’s currently more proven than many of their other young prospects.

The Jazz will certainly need a playmaker in their starting lineup, and Sensabaugh isn’t that, but it appears he has the whole package as a complementary starter for the Jazz to add alongside their stars. For a late first-round pick, that’s quite a steal.

No matter what happens, Sensabaugh is part of the future

It’s entirely possible that the Jazz insert Sensabaugh into the starting lineup, either immediately or down the road, just as it’s entirely possible that he isn’t a good fit. But even if he turns out to be a sixth man, Sensabaugh has shown enough to give the Jazz confidence that he will contribute in the near future.

It might be a bit too optimistic to declare him a star in the making, but unlike many other young players on Utah’s roster, Sensabaugh is showing there is absolutely no reason to doubt him. He has all the makings of an elite shooter and could potentially be a decent ISO scorer. There’s a reason why his professional compositions are Bojan Bogdanovic.

The Jazz will certainly need more than just him to qualify for the playoffs, but he could be the guy who gives their next playoff team the extra juice to get over the hump.