Finding An NBA Home For Trayce Jackson-Davis

Of all the great players to pass through the Indiana Hoosiers men’s basketball program, next to none have had the impact of Trayce Jackson-Davis. Without even taking advantage of the added year of eligibility available to him due to the coronavirus pandemic, he will leave NCAA basketball as the program’s all-time leading shot-blocker and rebounder (1,143), as well as the third all-time scorer.

There was a time when a résumé such as that from as prestigious of a program as the Hoosiers would have meant instant lottery pick status. This would be doubly true when considering that his father is former NBA All-Star Dale Davis – the NBA has always favoured those with family ties, and Dale Davis had real pedigree.

Perhaps Trayce still will be drafted in the lottery. However, in the pace-and-space era, non-shooters such as TDJ are fighting against the scouts in a way they never used to have to. So, where else can he fit instead?

As a means of projecting Jackson-Davis at the NBA level, perhaps we can turn to recent profiles of two other NBA players published in this space; those of Jaylin Williams, Oklahoma City Thunder rookie, and Kevon Looney, Golden State Warriors star veteran role player. As points of comparison, Williams serves far better for the immediate, while Looney becomes the aspiration.