NBA Draft Scouting Report: Iowa State Forward Joshua Jefferson

Jefferson has planted himself firmly in first-round talks.

Iowa State Cyclones forward Joshua Jefferson (5) dunks the ball around UCF Knights guard Jeremy Foumena (0) during the first half in the Big-12 conference men’s basketball on Jan. 20, 2026, at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa. | Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Iowa State forward Joshua Jefferson has seen a rapid ascension through college basketball, thriving with two-way versatility and feel, packed within a bulky, 6-foot-9 frame.

Jefferson’s been a high-impact college player for years now, dating back to time with St. Mary’s. But he’s again raised the bar in his senior season with Iowa State, showing off some scalable scoring and play-making on one of the top teams in the nation.

He’ll be 22-and-a-half on draft night, but his do-it-all skillset, mixed with his size and basketball IQ, are sure to put him in the first-round mix.

He’s one of the more well-rounded players in the country, offering NBA teams passing and feel, connective play-making, defensive impact and play-making, in addition to well-rounded scoring.

Strengths:

Passing and Feel

Accounting for his size and position, Jefferson breathes rare air in terms of passing ability and feel, possessing a genuinely versatile skillset that broadens his all-around game.

He’s long been a good passer, posting 2.8 assists to 2.0 turnovers across his second and third seasons, but he’s exploded in this area through the first 20 games of his senior season: 5.2 assists per game to just 2.5 turnovers, and a ridiculous 28.6% assist percentage, good enough to officially land him in “point forward” territory.

And the tape more than backs up Jefferson’s facilitation prowess. Feel is becoming an increasingly-used buzzword in the draft space — Jefferson leaves little doubt of being a high-feel player when watching him.

He’s an ultra-quick processor of the game, with elite court awareness and vision. He offers consistent touch and accuracy, able to fit the ball into tight spaces and deliver to shooting pockets. 

Jefferson has true versatility as a passer. Again, at 6-foot-9, he can play face-up, hitting cutters or shooters with zip passes or off the bounce. He’s patient and composed while posting-up, doing much of the same. He can grab and go in transition, reads the game fast in the short-roll, is touch-y on post-entries, and can pass off the live-dribble with either hand.

There’s truly no limit to Jefferson’s uses as a passer. He can be a bit overzealous at times, forcing the issue, but a 2-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio, as well as four 10-plus assists games so far in his senior season make those moments livable.

His baseline of ball-moving and feel should make him an immediate plus at the NBA level, with room for more.

Connective Play-Making

Equally important as his passing is Joshua Jefferson’s play-making, which has shone a little brighter with Iowa State this season.

Jefferson is a highly connective player, sparking opportunities  and exploiting defense within the flow of offense, opposed to eating up reps or letting the ball stick.

All the aforementioned skills stand out for Jefferson here: touch, accuracy, court-vision, awareness and processing speed. He’s really unfazed by ball pressure and help defenders, reading and reacting with consistency.

Jefferson can drive the ball and facilitate, accessing different parts of the court with a solid handle and adaptability. He can play in the short-roll, owning the IQ advantage more often than not. He’s hub-esque in the high-post or simply posting up, quarterbacking offense and delivering strikes. To the point secondary play-making doesn’t feel completely out of the question when watching Jefferson. 

Jefferson’s versatility as a passer and play-maker at 6-9 makes him fairly unique as a role player. Not only will you be able to count on him to move the ball and limit mistakes, you can also create interesting offensive wrinkles centered around him, while not necessarily detracting from the overall product. And that’s speaks to his connectivity.

Defensive Impact and Play-Making

Jefferson projects to be an even to plus defender at the NBA-level, with size and strength, a floor of steadiness and switchability, and instinctual play-making centered around awareness and good hands. 

Jefferson’s combination of size and feel continues to be useful on the defensive end of the court. He’s bulky and plays with a sturdy base, but is light on his feet enough to defend on the perimeter. His court awareness carries over flawlessly here, as he actively reads the game, keeping himself in position while being opportunistic in making plays.

Jefferson posted over 2.0 steals per game as a junior with a 4.1% steal percentage, and hasn’t seen too much drop-off despite more offensive responsibility in his senior season. He’s an attentive and communicative defender, able to read passers, jump lanes, and double perfectly.

His lack of twitch makes it tough to defend truly speedy handlers, allowing separation on advanced moves, and he can also be a step slow on perimeter contests. Though his drive, ability to move his feet and awareness can usually keep him in plays.

With limited verticality, he’s not a prolific shot-blocker or rim-protector, topping out at one block per game this season. But he’s good at  staying vertical on contests, and has the hands and instincts to make things happen on occasion.

Overall, Jefferson projects to play solid team defense, make plays and provide size. He’ll likely be best-served guarding bigger wings and fours. But has versatility from a scheme standpoint. 

Well-Rounded Scoring

Jefferson’s taken strides as a scorer in each of his collegiate seasons, and is now showing off a well-rounded game in his final season with Iowa State. 

He’s again boosted his points per game, this time to 17.4 on 50% shooting, doing so with added opportunity alongside Milan Momcilovic and Tamin Lipsey this season.

Jefferson plays more like a wing than a forward on offense, but has shades of both. His primary play type through his college career has been spotting up, and he’s taken massive strides here both inside and beyond the arc.

He’s starting to knock down open looks with consistency, and that’s obviously made his downhill attack out of spot-up situations easier. He has a good handle for his size and touch around the rim, shooting in the ballpark of 60-65% through his career. Again, he’s not an explosive athlete, but has enough to finish consistently.

Much like his passing game, Jefferson has an affinity scoring in transition, constantly looking to push the pace. He’s also a proven cutter, able to read the floor, gravitate toward space and capitalize. He’s shot 70% on these possessions across the last two seasons. 

The more forward-y aspects of his scoring game appear in his post-up and pick-and-roll play, where he really leverages his size, strength and skill. He’s useable in both scenarios, able to overpower mismatches, and make speedy decisions, be it moving to score himself or creating for teammates.

Ultimately, Jefferson won’t be a standout scorer at the NBA level, but rather a pretty malleable option at the three or four that can thrive in a lot of different ways, and exploit holes when necessary.

Areas of Improvement:

Shooting

Outside of some athletic and mobility concerns, the No. 1 area of improvement for Joshua Jefferson is his shooting, which had been pretty lackluster until his senior season.

Across his first three seasons, Jefferson shot from beyond the arc at just a 29% clip on low volume at 1.5 attempts per game, not near potent enough to open up his scoring game as a whole. As a senior he’s nearly doubled his attempts to 2.9 per game, and has raised his effectiveness by nearly a full 10% to 40%.

That has, of course, contributed to the counting stats, but it’s also trickled down through everything, offering better efficiency and play-making stats across the board.

Efficient 3-point shooting would effectively solidify Jefferson as an impactful role player at the NBA level, but there are rightful concerns about the legitimacy of this shooting leap, and the ability to carry it over to the pros.

As a newly effective shooter, Jefferson’s obviously at his best stationary, simply shooting open spot-up shots. Fifty four of his 57 3-point attempts through 20 games have been catch-and-shoot, and he’s oddly hitting 44% on guarded shots and 36% on unguarded shots. He has shown some real range, and isn’t afraid to take the long three. 

Given the level of touch and feel he has everywhere else, Jefferson should be an effective shooter in the NBA. Though where he plateaus is certain to cap other areas.

Outlook:

Jefferson’s winning style of basketball centered around size, feel, two-way play and steady improvement have led to an impactful collegiate career, and there’s an easy case to be made that he’s an immediate plug-and-play combo forward at the next level.

He’s a malleable scorer who can moonlight as a wing or forward with skill and size, and a proven passer play-maker set to infuse lineups with his connective style. Defensively, he’s versatile with switchability and play-making, and has the instincts to make up for athletic limitations. 

Jefferson will be 22-and-a-half on draft night, but that shouldn’t stop teams in need of ready-made production from betting on a high-feel forward, in an increasingly feel-driven league. 

Given the talent of the 2026 draft class, Jefferson’s range could start anywhere near the middle of the first round, and extend to the end of it. Should his shooting stick around or continue an upward trend, there could be a world where Jefferson offers genuine starter-level impact, but he’ll certainly be tailor-made to be a rotational-level player.

His versatility makes him a fit in plenty of systems, but the Thunder, Grizzlies and Wizards jump out as possible fits.

Range: Mid-to-late first

Role: Versatile combo forward

Impact: Starter, rotation

Swing Skills: Shooting