2024 NBA Draft: Jaylen Wells Scouting Report
Jaylen Wells is a former Division II basketball player and 6-foot-8 wing that converted 42% of his threes at Washington State this season. Let's dive into how he projects to the next level.
Jaylen Wells is an intriguing prospect in the 2024 NBA Draft that may be currently flying under radars. He's a 6-foot-8 wing who played at Washington State this past season after spending two seasons in Division II at Sonoma State. Additionally, Wells is listed at 205 pounds and will be 20.8 years old at the time of the draft.
Introduction
Wells is a high-level shooting wing with positional size. He has a quick shot prep and release, is shooting 42% on catch-and-shoot triples, converted 81% of his free throw attempts this past season, and shot 44% from three during his sophomore season at Sonoma State. Wells’ positive trajectory is one of the main indicators that pops on film, as he went from being hesitant with the ball in his hands to soundly attacking closeouts and operating out of the pick-and-roll by the end of the season. This season-by-season positive trajectory dates back to high school and his jump from Division II to Washington State.
READ MORE: Jaylen Wells Interview with Draft Digest
Let's dive into Wells' game below.
Strengths
Catch-and-Shoot Threes
Wells' most clear strength is his ability to hit catch-and-shoot threes. This past season, the Sacramento native converted 42% of his catch-and-shoot threes (131 attempts;89th Points Per Shot percentile) on a significant volume of 4.9 attempts per game and 10.2 three-point attempts per 100 possessions. Additionally, Wells shot 81.4% from the free throw line this season and converted 44% of his threes his sophomore season at Sonoma State.
Attacking Closeouts
Wells’ prolific shooting ability forces defenses to conduct hard closeouts. Oftentimes this leads to a smooth floater, pull-up jumper, or a sidestep three for Wells. He converted 50% of his runners this season (24 attempts; 86th Points Per Shot percentile).
Shooting Off the Dribble
Building off of the floaters mentioned above, Wells is capable of shooting off the dribble as well -- leading to a sound in-between game while forcing point-of-attack defenders to go over screens. This will continue to be useful as his slashing and pick-and-roll reps develop as well. Wells converted 44.3% of his dribble jumpers this past season at Washington State (97 attempts; 89th Points Per Shot percentile).
Areas of Potential
Driving/Slashing
The first area in which Wells can grow as a player and has shown potential in is as a driver. At times, Wells can have a loose handle or look uncertain with the ball in his hands, especially when facing pressure.
However, as the season progressed, Wells’ drives and confidence with the ball in his hands improved, showing flashes of potential as a slasher.
His game-to-game improvements throughout the season aligns with his exponential positive trajectory shown time and time again, dating back to his junior year of high school. Additionally, Wells has even shown flashes of skilled footwork and counters when deterred on drives, as well as self-creation ability.
Lastly, Wells only had 42 attempts at the rim this season and only converted 57.1% of those attempts. Continuing to take drives to the rim or off the pick-and-roll, rather than settling for floaters, will continue to open up his game at the next level.
On-Ball Defense
At nearly 6-foot-8 with a likely similar wingspan, Wells has shown potential as an on-ball defender at Washington State. He’s shown the ability to contain drivers, using his chest and upper-body strength to hold his own against difficult matchups.
Additionally, Wells has shown flashes of lateral quickness, active hands, and the ability to navigate screens both on and off-ball.
While Wells has shown potential on-ball defensively, there are multiple facets of his on-ball defensive game that could improve.
At times, Wells may overuse his hands rather than sliding his feet or using his chest, giving up a driving angle or defensive foul.
Lastly, sometimes Wells may overextend to the current direction of the ball, giving up a driving lane or causing a late on-ball contest. Wells noticeably hustles to get back into position for a contest on these plays.
Off-Ball Defense
Currently, Wells is a neutral off-ball defender. He makes sound rotations and 2.9s to help prevent rim attempts at times.
However, with a low 1.0% steal rate and 0.6% block rate, Wells has room for growth as both an on and off-ball event creator. Increasing his off-ball defensive activity, such as increasing his number of stunts against drivers and digs against post players, could also be beneficial.
Additionally, while his off-ball defensive awareness is normally sound, Wells can be caught ball-watching occasionally,
Rebounding
The final area of potential for Wells is as a rebounder. He hustles for offensive rebounds and recorded an offensive rebounding percentage of five this past season.
Conclusion
Jaylen Wells has what many teams are consistently looking for: the ability to hit catch-and-shoot threes (42%) and positional size (6-foot-8). Most teams, however, are attempting to fulfill a dribble-pass-shoot archetype with a wing like him. While Wells showed improvements as a driver throughout the season, continuing to improve his slashing, his ability to get to the rim, and his creation off of attacking closeouts will help take his game to the next level.
Additionally, Wells has some of the physical tools needed to be a sound on-ball defender at the next level. However, improving his consistency both on and off-ball, increasing his off-ball defensive activity, and/or providing value as an event creator would all take his game to the next level.
If there’s anything certain with Wells, it’s that he’s going to improve from season to season. He only made varsity his junior year of high school, had drastic statistical improvements from his first season to his second season at Sonoma State, and even improved from game to game this past season with Washington State. A hardworking, 6-foot-8 wing that can hit catch-and-shoot threes and attack closeouts feels like someone teams might target in the middle of the second round.
Here's a full breakdown of his positive trajectory as well:
Freshman Year of High School: 16th man on Junior Varsity (5-foot-8)
Sophomore Year of High School: 6th man on Junior Varsity
Junior Year of High School: Started on Varsity, but only averaged nine points and a handful of rebounds (6-foot-2)
Senior Year of High School (after working tirelessly over COVID): Averaged 27 points and eight rebounds per game on varsity (6-foot-6)
Freshman Year at Sonoma State (D2): 30.6 minutes per game (1st on team), 41 FG%, 26 3P%, 72 FT%, 12.6 points per game, 5.8 rebounds per game, 26 steals, All-CCAA Honorable Mention
Sophomore Year at Sonoma State (D2): 36.8 minutes per game (led CCAA), 52 FG% (led team), 44 3P% (led team), 86% FT (led team), 22.4 points per game (led CCAA), 8.7 rebounds per game (led CCAA), 77 assists (led team), 47 steals (led team), CCAA Player of the Year
Junior Year at Washington State: 29.2 minutes per game, 43.6 FG%, 41.7 3P%, 81.4 FT%, 12.6 points per game, 4.6 rebounds per game, 42 assists, 17 steals
Grade: Mid Second Round
A graphical design version of this scouting report can be found here.
All play-by-play data is courtesy of Synergy Sports.
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