Nets rookie Jalen Wilson embraces Brooklyn and challenges ahead in NBA

About six weeks before his first NBA training camp, Jalen Wilson is sitting in the second floor of a YMCA on Atlantic Avenue. He’s there to lead a clinic and make a five-figure donation. It’s a bit of a full-circle moment for Wilson. Growing up, the Nets rookie spent ‘almost every day’ at the YMCA in his hometown of Arlington, Texas. Most of the time, Wilson was on the basketball court.

“I saw my love for basketball just keep growing and growing and growing throughout that entire process,” Wilson said.

So, when Wilson was presented with an opportunity to support the Dodge YMCA on Atlantic Avenue, he said ‘it was an easy yes’ for him.

He partnered with Wilson Sporting Goods to fundraise for the facility; Wilson earned money for every point and assist he recorded in the Las Vegas Summer League as part of the brand’s program.

“It was a great way to give back to a place that I felt help build me up as a kid,” Wilson said.
The 6-foot-8, 225-pound wing averaged 17.6 points and 2.8 assists in Las Vegas. He also pulled down 7.8 rebounds and hit 46 percent of his 3-point attempts.

Those numbers ultimately benefitted the Dodge YMCA in downtown Brooklyn. Wilson, the Big 12 Player of the Year, and Wilson Sporting Goods combined to donate $10,000 to the gym last week.

If things go according to plan, last week’s event will be the first of many ties between Wilson and the borough of Brooklyn.

The Nets drafted Wilson with the No. 51 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. GM Sean Marks said team personnel were celebrating loudly when they realized they could get Wilson. Once he was drafted, Wilson didn’t waste any time getting to know his new employer.

He’s spent most of the past two months in Brooklyn (and Las Vegas) working out at the team facility and spending time with teammates, coaches and other Nets personnel.

“Coming to a new place, new city, new organization - obviously very different from Kansas - I think it was important for me to get around, get to know everybody,” Wilson said in an interview with SNY. “This is my job now, so I feel like if I’m going to do it, I gotta do it the right way. And that’s meeting everybody, building a relationship with everybody and just being around.”

Wilson played four years at Kansas, winning the 2022 national title. He’s less than three months shy of his 23rd birthday. With his age and experience, Wilson brings a maturity and awareness that is rare for NBA rookies.

“I feel like I know exactly what I need to do to get on the court and stay on the court,” Wilson said. “Being able to stick to rebounding, defending, playing hard, knocking down shots - Those are things that, half of it is just going out there and playing hard and half of it is just the work that you put in.”

Wilson starred at Kansas with Christian Braun, who played – and made meaningful contributions - in Denver’s win over Miami in the NBA Finals. Kansas has produced dozens of NBA players over the years (including Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn).

It didn’t happen by accident.

To Wilson, the standard at Kansas under Bill Self prepares you well for life as a professional.

“Coach always says, faces will change but the expectations never will. And that’s serious. I was there for four years, saw a lot of different guys. We were always held to the same standard no matter what was going on,” Wilson said. “I feel like the way he coaches you, he gets the best out of you not only as a player, but as a man. You see how well it translates to the next level as far as guys being mentally prepared. We’ve heard all the yelling, and all that. So when you get to here and someone is yelling, it’s second nature.”

Plenty of things won’t be second nature for Wilson this season. That’s the nature of life as an NBA rookie.

The Nets are deep at Wilson’s position. So he’ll have to leapfrog some players to earn a spot in Brooklyn’s rotation. Regardless of how it plays out, Wilson feels prepared to contribute on and off the court in Year One.

“I don’t even need the ball to contribute. There’s so many different ways to help winning in basketball,” he says. “And I was able to learn that (at Kansas). Winning a championship, I was like the third or fourth option on the team. I gotta guard everybody, I gotta get loose balls, hustle plays – things that most guys don’t want to do. I’ve been inspired to want it to be part of my game.

“I want to be as versatile as I can be. That comes with playing hard, having the grit and the chip on your shoulder. I feel like with any rotation, anything they want us to go do, I’m going to be well prepared as far as my approach and just being mature about it all.”

Wilson’s maturity – and his experience at Kansas – should be valuable to a Nets team that is balancing development and winning in the wake of the Kevin Durant/Kyrie Irving era.

“Me coming from a school like Kansas, coach Vaughn understands that no matter who is there… there’s a standard. And I feel like he wants to build that standard,” Wilson said. “I know I’m a rookie but being 22, about to be 23 years old, I feel like I’m mature enough to be able to share my experiences and understand that when you have a culture, you have a foundation that you can do anything (from). Me being able to present that and being able to execute it on and off the floor, I feel like that’s an advantage I have.”

SUMMER HOOPS CROWNS CHAMPS

It’s mid-August, which means it’s the end of the season for many NYC streetball tournaments. Hoops In The Sun in Orchard Beach is having its title game this weekend. Dyckman crowned a champion this week. Top of The Hill Classic and Kingdome hosted championship games on Friday night.  Gersh Park is winding down. The Isaiah Whitehead Classic crowned a champion recently. ClashTV, Amazon Music, and SLiC Sports supported summer basketball in NYC this summer with grants to Gersh Park, the Isaiah Whitehead Classic (IWC) and Rucker Park.

“The goal is to continue to inspire the people in the community who are leading the operations. These communities need support, and leaders make sacrifices to make these leagues happen,” said former Knick Baron Davis, the founder of SLiC Sports. “They save lives and make livelihoods between generations.”

“The importance is to never let the street ball/summer ball culture die because it is the essence of every NBA player,” says Chris Gotti Lorenzo, who works with ClashTV. “It empowers the players, the community, as well as the brands that are associated with these parks to grow and fester in a way that is like no other.”

ClashTV broadcast several NYC streetball tournaments this summer. The platform hopes that grants will help offset ongoing expenses associated with the games. “In a perfect world, every park will be fully funded through sponsorship and partnerships that will help bring this incredible game to the world,” Gotti Lorenzo says.