SAN FRANCISCO — With 1:13 left in a third quarter the Warriors pulled away from Washington, Trayce Jackson-Davis windmilled his arms, swatting a Landry Shamet layup attempt off the backboard and back into his possession. The rookie then outletted to Chris Paul to start a fast break and hustled down the middle of the court to rejoin the play.
Paul rewarded Jackson-Davis for his hustle — and smart ball screen in semi transition — by lobbing an alley-oop to the rim, which Jackson-Davis stuffed.
On a night Jordan Poole returned to the Chase Center for the first time since getting traded, Jackson-Davis was the one who threw a party. In Golden State’s 129-118 victory over Washington, the rookie further cemented his value to the Warriors by posting 10 points and 15 rebounds in 25 minutes. He became the third rookie this year, joining Rookie of the Year favorites Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren, to register consecutive double-doubles. He became the first Warriors rookie to haul 15 boards since Anthony Randolph in 2009.
No cherry-picked stat is more important than the new reality for the Warriors: in two months, Jackson-Davis has gone from the 57th pick in the NBA draft to an indispensable piece of Golden State’s front court.
“Trayce is fantastic,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said postgame. “He’s controlling the glass, 15 rebounds tonight. He’s a lob threat, you saw a couple plays there where he dove to the rim and guys found him. Even when he doesn’t get the ball on those plays, he’s pulling the defense in, opening up other people. He’s really giving us a different look at that spot. He compliments (Kevon Looney) and Dario (Saric) really well.”
The rim-to-rim sequence was an 11-second window into Jackson-Davis’ capabilities. He’s the athletic, vertical threat the Warriors hoped James Wiseman would be, only packaged in a 6-foot-9 frame instead of a 7-foot one.
“For us having that lob threat is a different look,” Steph Curry said. “(Kevon Looney) has been unbelievable for years, and still is, still impactful. Trayce gives you a little something different and it’s a nice change of speed.”
THIS WHOLE SEQUENCE FROM TJD pic.twitter.com/qYP7BShoPx
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) December 23, 2023
He has already shedded the “Baby T” nickname — he’s now “Trayce Jr.” if you’re asking Klay Thompson — and could soon shed his bench role. Although Kevon Looney remains Golden State’s starting center, and steady leader, Jackson-Davis has already been playing significantly more minutes than Looney and closing quarters.
Jackson-Davis has emerged as the Warriors have been without Draymond Green, who’s serving an indefinite suspension. The way he and Brandin Podziemski have been playing, the Warriors under first-year general manager Mike Dunleavy have their most productive rookie class in years.
“It’s obviously Mike’s first draft,” Kerr said before the Wizards game. “Just watching him during the process, it looked like he felt totally comfortable. The draft is so hard. It can be so hit-or-miss. But we got a couple really good players at No. 19 and 57, which is pretty rare.”
Jackson-Davis was officially drafted by the Wizards, but traded instantly to the Warriors (he didn’t think twice about facing off against what was technically the team that selected him). Jackson-Davis starred at Indiana University, where he returned for his senior year in 2023. That season, he won the Karl Malone Award given to the nation’s top power forward and was a consensus first-team All-American. He averaged 20.9 points and 10.8 games.
“I was very surprised, honestly,” Jackson-Davis said of dropping so far in the draft. “I felt like my senior year in college I added a lot to my game, whether it be the passing, the blocking shots, rebounding at a high level, finishing basically everything, improving my game, leading my team to wins.”
Perhaps Jackson-Davis slipped because of his age, or because of his lack of size. Any team could have had him, he just so happened to become a Warrior.
“At the end of the day, I play with a chip on my shoulder anyway, so it is what it is,” Jackson-Davis said. “I’m happy to be here and I’m blessed to play with these guys.”
Fitting in to the Warriors’ system has typically been difficult for rookies. There’s a learning curve to adjusting to Golden State’s hyperactive, motion offense. Perhaps staying the extra year in college has played to Jackson-Davis’ advantage in that component.
Most 57th picks don’t pan out. Many don’t even reach the NBA. Yet only 18 games into his career, Jackson Davis is getting compared to Andrew Bogut by Kerr and earning Steph Curry’s stamp of approval.
“I think his confidence when he goes out there, he’s just playing hard and I love when young guys do that,” Curry said. “That’s what they can control and it’s turning into impact. It’s a great advantage that he has and he’s using it.”