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Trayce Jackson-Davis Scores Career-High 20 Points, Makes Case For All-Rookie Team
Trayce Jackson-Davis had another big night Thursday in the Golden State Warriors' 133-110 win over the Houston Rockets. Since the beginning of March, he's averaging 11.1 points and 7.3 rebounds per game, and Klay Thompson believes he deserves a spot on the NBA All-Rookie Team.
Trayce Jackson-Davis was selected 57th overall in the 2023 NBA Draft, but he's played well above his draft slot for the Golden State Warriors this season.
In a 133-110 win over the Houston Rockets on Thursday, Jackson-Davis scored a career-high 20 points on 8-for-10 shooting and a perfect 4-for-4 at the free throw line. He added five rebounds, four assists, one block, one steal and committed just one turnover in 28 minutes.
His four-time NBA champion teammate Klay Thompson believes Jackson-Davis has made a case for one of 10 spots on the NBA All-Rookie team.
"Trayce was one of the best players at Indiana in the college scene, so when you play for four years and you're NBA ready, you can tell he's been coached very well," Thompson said. "His fundamentals are very good, and he's an NBA ready player. The value we get from him at the 50-something pick, it's very special. Give our front office credit for that. Give Trayce a ton of credit for just his readiness as a professional. It's very impressive, and he's had such an incredible year. I would assume he would be on one of these All-Rookie teams. He's playing that well."
Thursday marked Jackson-Davis' 10th start in 62 appearances as a rookie for the 42-34 Warriors, who are in 10th place in the Western Conference standings but just four games out of fifth place.
During a six-game win streak, the Warriors have held opponents to 100 points or less in four games. All 30 NBA teams score between 106 and 122.7 points per game, and Warriors coach Steve Kerr credited Thursday's win to the team's defense, especially the interior combination of Jackson-Davis and Draymond Green.
"Trayce and Draymond together have changed our team," Kerr said. "It's pretty dramatic, just the rim protection, the rebounding that Trayce gives us, what that allows Draymond to do. It's been really fun to watch them together. Trayce, for a rookie, it's amazing what he's doing."
Playing 16 minutes per game this season, Jackson-Davis is averaging 7.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists and one block. He's shooting an efficient 70.7% from the field, which ranks second among rookies and third among all NBA players with at least 50 field goal attempts.
Jackson-Davis has been especially productive since the beginning of March, averaging 11.1 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game across 17 games. He's approaching the game with a simple mindset.
"I'm just taking what the defense gives me," Jackson-Davis said. "Staying aggressive, but at the same time knowing that if a guy comes in, kicking it out because we've got shooters everywhere on the floor or a guy diving. But yeah, just doing my part."
Jackson-Davis is the all-time leader in blocked shots at Indiana. He ranked first in the Big Ten and fifth in the entire NCAA with 92 blocks as a first-team All-American senior in 2022-23 under coach Mike Woodson at Indiana. Now he's fourth among NBA rookies with 64 blocks. That'll always be part of his game, but Jackson-Davis is striving to become a more versatile defender, too.
"Blocking shots, that's something I've always enjoyed doing," Jackson-Davis said. "But this year just having a big emphasis on guarding on the perimeter, and I think that's where the next step in my game that I want to take, challenge myself to guard some of these guys. So just proving to myself that I can do it. Overall, I just think when our team has that defensive-minded game plan, it's great for us."
The NBA names 10 total players to the first and second team All-Rookie at the end of each season, and Jackson-Davis' stats warrant consideration. Among rookies, he's 22nd in minutes played (993.6), 19th in total points (481), second in field goal percentage (70.7%), eighth in total rebounds (300), 17th in assists (74), 22nd in steals (26), fourth in blocks (64), seventh in double-doubles (5), 13th in free throws made (65) and fifth in plus-minus (plus-65).
As for his case to make the All-Rookie team, Jackson-Davis is letting his game speak for itself.
"At the end of the day, I just go out there, play as hard as I can," Jackson-Davis said. "Then I let that do the talking."
