How GG Jackson Fits with the OKC Thunder

With the Oklahoma City Thunder entering the offseason, it’s officially time to time to switch gears to prospect evaluation mode.

And this year’s impending draft has plenty of players that can help bolster the OKC core.

No matter how unlikely it is Oklahoma City lands certain prospects, the Thunder Fit series will take a look at how they would fit with the current team’s configuration. And with a war chest of assets, you never know how far the front office could move up to acquire a player.

The next prospect up in the series is South Carolina forward Gregory “GG” Jackson, who is one of the more polarizing players in the entire cycle.

Here’s how Jackson could fit alongside the rest of the Thunder core:

Offense

At 6-foot-9 with a near-7-foot wingspan, Jackson, who reclassified to the 2022 high school class after becoming the top prospect in 2023, offers skills that most others of his size simply don’t have.

He has high mobility, a solid handle and a strong and consistent shooting motion for his size, giving him real upside as a star creator down the line. As the youngest player in the class, he averaged 15.4 points per game on a struggling South Carolina squad, albeit with shaky percentages.

The negatives, however, lie in just about everything else for Jackson. His passing and playmaking, featuring a negative assist-to-turnover ratio, leaves plenty to be desired. And his general consistency across the board stands to improve.

Regardless, at just 18-years-old, Jackson offers tantalizing upside as a bulky face-up scorer. Next to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams, he could pack a scoring punch down the line. But the rest of his game may not ever tag along.

Defense

Defensively, Jackson is as toolsy as they come, but simply didn’t back it up with his on-court product, similar to other areas of his game.

His wingspan should allow him to clog lanes and protect the rim to some degree down the line, but there’s no guarantee he ever gets the motor to become a premier NBA defender.

If he can lock in and buckle down, Jackson could function well as a positive defensive piece next to Luguentz Dort, Chet Holmgren and more.

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