NBA Draft Scouting Report: Indiana's Trayce Jackson-Davis
Trayce Jackson-Davis
Forward | Indiana
Height: 6'9” | Weight: 245 lbs
2023 Draft Age: 23.34
Troy Wayrynen / USA TODAY Sports
Prospect Profile
Although he’s an older prospect, Jackson-Davis will have interest from NBA teams ahead of this summer’s draft. He’s got a great combination of size and athleticism that allows him to bully defenders in the paint.
At almost 250 pounds, he would actually be one of the heavier players in the NBA which means that strength should translate well at the next level. He's a double-double machine with the ability to score at a high level and clean the glass.
The lefty forward plays with a lot of energy and does most of his damage in the paint on offense. Jackson-Davis is patient with his post moves and has good balance. He feels his defender well when backing them down in the paint and loves to spin into a dunk or layup. He can finish with both hands, but definitely prefers turning into a left-handed shot in the post.
In terms of where his offense lacks, it’s essentially anything outside of the paint. Furthermore, his face-up game needs work. Jackson-Davis has shown a willingness to shoot more midrange jumpers of late, but he’s not a 3-point threat at all. Not only does he not take many shots from deep, but he doesn’t convert on them either. He’d only shot three times from beyond the arc in his four-year college career and made none of them.
Again, he’s extremely efficient near the rim, but not as much anywhere else on the floor. The senior does have the ability to take defenders off the bounce and create for himself at the rim though.
Outside of the jumper, Jackson-Davis’ skillset makes him somewhat of a tweener as it relates to his NBA position. This makes it difficult to evaluate him as a prospect at the next level. He’s a bit too small to play center but doesn’t necessarily have the range and skill of many modern forwards.
Due to this, he may have to be a situational role player at the highest level in small ball lineups, which obviously could limit his ceiling.
With that in mind, he still does plenty of things that should get NBA teams excited about him as a risk later in draft or as an undrafted free agent.
He’ll need to be more disciplined this season to improve draft stock as he’s known for sometimes being turnover prone.
Jackson-Davis is a solid defender and has shown some versatility on that end of the floor in pick-and-role situations as well as in the paint against bigger centers. While he did earn two Big Ten All-Defense nods during the course of his career, schemes and matchups look a lot different at the next level.
The former four-star recruiter from Indiana has been a fantastic player for his home state Hoosiers during his long college career. The son of former NBA player Dale Davis, he will look to be the next in his family to make it to the league.
Jackson-Davis is coming off of four All-Big Ten campaigns and was in the running for the Naismith College Player of the Year, as one of the most decorated prospects of the past half decade. He declared for 2022 NBA Draft initially but dropped out for another season at Indiana.
He had the opportunity to play alongside familiar faces again last season on a veteran Hoosiers roster but had the pleasure of taking the floor with freshman and potential first rounder Jalen Hood-Schifino.
Highlights
Draft Projection
Late First or Early Second-Round Pick in 2023 NBA Draft.
2023 Big Board
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