Jayden Quaintance was historically dominant on defense this season

Kentucky basketball secured a commitment in the transfer portal from a familiar face in Arizona State big man Jayden Quaintance, who was committed to Kentucky under John Calipari before his departure. Mark Pope got his biggest fish yet in Quaintance, who is seen as a potential top 5 NBA Draft pick in the 2026 draft class and who also entered his freshman season top 10 in the 2024 recruiting class.

With major upside, especially defensively, there is a certain stat floating around that has caught the eyes of many people, including a handful of NBA scouts. According to an NBA Draft analytics page on X, the 6-9 big man is deemed a 'unicorn talent,' and his defensive rating ranks above some very familiar names in a list of 'underclassmen unicorns' from their time in college that includes names such as Karl-Anthony Towns (Kentucky), Joel Embiid (Kansas), Dereck Lively (Duke), Nerlens Noel (Kentucky) and Walker Kessler (North Carolina/Auburn). The analytics page also called the big man 'one of the best defensive prospects I've ever evaluated. Quaintance's overall defensive efficiency rating is higher than each one of those former college basketball stars, three of which who are currently in the NBA, with Noel being a former NBA player.

Those ratings go to show just how massive of a get Quaintance is for Pope and the Kentucky staff, speaking volumes to the defensive numbers he put up in his freshman season for the Sun Devils before injury, posting 7.9 rebounds per game, 2.6 blocks and 1.1 steals per game. Pope knows how well the 6-9 big will fit in his system. His mobility and explosiveness is impressive on the offensive end, but it's his defensive instincts that have scouts and NBA Draft analysts drooling when watching tape.

Quaintance, who is currently rehabbing an ACL injury, is going to have plenty of opportunities to shine and back up his status as a top draft pick in 2026. Check out the analytics table below to see where the big man's numbers stack up against some of the best defensive college underclassmen in recent years.

For Kentucky fans curious about Jayden Quaintance in short: he is a unicorn talent.

At just 17 years old (!), he’s one of the best defensive prospects I’ve ever evaluated — he sits at the table with some of the best underclassmen defensive prospects over the years.

Get hyped. https://t.co/76g20xWQfW pic.twitter.com/AjRwIpsqXO
— Mohamed (@mcfdraft) April 8, 2025