Duke basketball: Check out what Tre Jones is doing

Duke basketball star Tre Jones is a starter and winner as a third-year pro.

Second-round draft picks begin their careers with no guaranteed NBA future, much less a full-time role in a starting lineup for a team with a winning record a few years later. But as it stands, former two-year Duke basketball floor general Tre Jones, who went No. 41 overall at the 2020 NBA Draft, is doing precisely that.

In short, through six games as a starter in his third year with the San Antonio Spurs, the 22-year-old natural leader looks like a surefire second-round success story in the making for the franchise that drafted him.

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Against the Chicago Bulls on Friday night, Jones and his clutch gene helped the Spurs (4-2) seal their 129-124 win at home by knocking down a three with 3:34 to play before adding in four points and a steal across the final minute.

He's finished with double-digit points in all but one outing and is now averaging a career-high 13.5 points, more than double his 2021-22 mark. Meanwhile, he's shooting a respectable 35.7 percent from deep, good for about one make every night beyond the arc, and a brilliant 96.0 percent (24-for-25) from the foul line.

Toss in Jones' 4.8 assists, 4.3 rebounds, 1.5 steals, and only 2.3 turnovers in 30.8 minutes per game.

Of course, none of the above should surprise anyone who watched the former five-star recruit exquisitely orchestrate the 2018-19 Zion Williamson and RJ Barrett show in Durham before becoming the 2019-20 ACC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year for the Blue Devils.

Minnesota native Tre Jones and the San Antonio Spurs host the Minnesota Timberwolves (4-2) at 7 p.m. ET Sunday on NBA TV.

The Timberwolves employ two Duke basketball products in veteran guard Austin Rivers and rookie forward Wendell Moore Jr., who went No. 26 at the NBA Draft and has played only two minutes this season. However, the team recently assigned Moore to their G League affiliate, the Iowa Wolves.

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