With help from veterans, Trayce Jackson-Davis makes big impact for Golden State

SAN FRANCISCO — At the NBA draft combine in May when he was asked what players he compared himself to, Trayce Jackson-Davis mentioned Draymond Green and Kevon Looney at the top of his list.

Both players had proven in their time in Golden State that for as perimeter-oriented as the NBA had become, standard big-man skills like interior defense, rebounding and rim protection still mattered, and that an undersized center could make a living with athleticism and high energy even if he didn't frequently step out to shoot from beyond the 3-point line.

Now Jackson-Davis, the former Indiana All-American and 2019 IndyStar Mr. Basketball from Center Grove High School is playing behind one of those players and in front of the other, continuing to make an impact as a rookie for the Golden State Warriors despite being the next-to-last pick in the 2023 draft. After breaking into the Warriors rotation in December when Green was suspended, Jackson-Davis has now surpassed Looney on Golden State's depth chart as the backup center. He's been extraordinarily effective simply by sticking to the basics and he's helped the Warriors cling to a postseason position as they remain in a dogfight for a spot in the play-in round in the hyper-competitive Western Conference.

In 11 games in the month of March, Jackson-Davis is averaging 11.4 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.7 blocks in 22.5 minutes per game, far beyond what he was averaging in each case early in the season. By mostly limiting his offense to shots close to the rim, he's shooting an astounding 81.2% from the field in that stretch and 72.3% from the field on the season.

"We're thrilled with Trayce," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Friday before Golden State lost to the Pacers 123-111.

Jackson-Davis' success comes in part, Kerr said, because he arrived already well-schooled after four years at Indiana where he scored 2,258 points and grabbed 1,143 rebounds as a four-year starter. He was already a high-IQ player and all of his time in college put him into the league with an advanced understanding of the game.

"Trayce is just incredibly mature for a rookie," Kerr said. "He's a little bit like the bigs who came into the league way back when I came in. Lots of college experience. Already grounded in the fundamentals of the game. It's easy to throw stuff at him, sort of NBA stuff that he hasn't seen before and expect him to pick up on it because he's got this great fundamental base."

Still, it's been helpful on a number of levels to be around players who have been around the league much longer than him, especially those who have played his position and are playing fewer minutes, in part, because of his success.

Looney, who is just 28, was a necessary piece to the Warriors' championship run in 2022, grabbing 7.3 rebounds per game that season and 9.3 last year. Because of Jackson-Davis' emergence, he's appeared in just two of the Warriors' last eight games, and he didn't appear at all in Friday night's loss to the Pacers. But Jackson-Davis says in spite of that, Looney's been constantly pushing him to get better.

"Loon, he's just a professional," Jackson-Davis said. "The way he handles everything is great. He and I have a great relationship. He's someone that I rely on heavily because he's always trying to help me get in the right positions and do the right things. That's what a true vet does. Even though he could easily be bitter about it, he has a great attitude and I know whenever he gets his name called, he's going to be ready."

Green has also been a valuable resource, Jackson-Davis said, and for all the trouble that Green can get into, he was also arguably the most important defensive player for the Warriors during their stretch of four NBA titles and six Western Conference titles over eight years. Jackson-Davis said Green and Looney help him out on each side of the floor.

"Both of them provide different insight on the game," Jackson-Davis said. "Looney has talked to me a lot about screening, what guys like to do like Steph (Curry) and (Chris Paul) and Klay (Thompson). Dray is more defensive oriented, what I can do and how I can guard guys."

He's also been helped by veterans at other positions, including Curry and Thompson, but most notably Paul, the sure-thing future Hall-of-Famer currently operating as the Warriors' second-unit point guard. According to Kerr, they've already developed an easy chemistry as pick-and-roll partners.

"Just having a Hall-of-Fame point guard, playing with Chris, he's elevated my game," Jackson-Davis said. "We have a good relationship on the court and off the court. Being able to screen for him, get him open shots and get easy buckets off lobs and stuff like that. It's great. It really elevates our team. It makes the game easy for both of us."

And that's helped Jackson-Davis keep the game simple. He's getting 63.5% of his field goal attempts within 3 feet of the basket and rebounding at a double-digit pace per 36 minutes, which is exactly what they drafted him to do.

"I'm just making the most out of my minutes," Jackson-Davis said. "Just whenever coach calls, being ready."

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IU's Trayce Jackson-Davis stars as Warriors' backup center