Royce O'Neale was ready to play for a pro team in Lithuania, but he stood out on Utah's 2017 Summer League team and ended up signing a partially guaranteed contract with the Jazz. He appeared in 151 regular season games with the Jazz from 2017–19. In January 2020, O’Neale signed a four-year contract extension with the Jazz.

A 6-foot-4 forward from Killeen, Texas, O'Neale traveled around the world before landing in the NBA. O'Neale played collegiately at the University of Denver—where he was named Third Team All-WAC after his sophomore season—for two years before transferring to Baylor for his final two seasons. He was named to the Academic All-Big 12 Second Team after his senior season. After going undrafted in the 2015 NBA Draft, O'Neale began his professional career in Germany for MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg. He played for Golden State's summer league team in 2016 and then signed on with the Spanish club Herbalife Gran Canaria for the 2016-17 season.