Will South Carolina basketball's GG Jackson be first-round pick? 2023 NBA Draft projections
COLUMBIA — It has been 17 years since a South Carolina basketball player was selected in the first round of the NBA Draft, and GG Jackson hopes to break that streak.
Jackson was the No. 1 prospect in the class of 2023, but he reclassified to 2022 and flipped his commitment from North Carolina to the Gamecocks. The 6-foot-8 forward averaged 15.4 points and 5.9 rebounds per game in his lone season at South Carolina. He will be the youngest player in this year's NBA Draft at 18 years old.
Though he was once touted as a potential lottery pick, Jackson's underwhelming freshman season and pre-draft process have brought down his stock. Most mock drafts currently place him at the very end of the first round or early in the second.
Here's where Jackson stands in the latest projections ahead of the draft Thursday (8 p.m., ESPN):
Bleacher Report
Pick: No. 33, second round
Team: San Antonio Spurs
The buzz: "Jackson will draw looks from teams in the teens who see upside in an 18-year-old forward who can create for himself, hit specialty jumpers and shoot threes. He's also a candidate to slip given his lengthier NBA-ready timeline, inefficient scoring and suspect decision-making and defense." — Jonathan Wasserman
CBS Sports
Pick: No. 30, first round
Team: Los Angeles Clippers
The buzz: "Not the most appealing profile coming off a disappointing season at South Carolina, but Jackson ... has a subset of believers in NBA circles and could sneak into the first round despite an underwhelming pre-draft process." — Kyle Boone
SB Nation
Pick: No. 29, first round
Team: Indiana Pacers
The buzz: "Jackson is a boom-or-bust prospect whose upside is too tantilizing to pass on with a late first round pick ... His feel for the game is very much still a work in progress, but he could one day develop into someone who could play both sides of the pick-and-roll, crush switches against small defenders, and offer some pull-up mid-range shooting." — Ricky O'Donnell
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Sporting News
Pick: No. 27, first round
Team: Charlotte Hornets
The buzz: "The Hornets will be looking to acquire as much upside and potential as possible, and Jackson would give them a raw shot creator on the wing with NBA size and tools." — Kyle Irving
The Ringer
Pick: No. 33, second round
Team: San Antonio Spurs
The buzz: "Jackson has to be worth the risk at some point, despite his underwhelming freshman season and predraft run of workouts and interviews. Maybe the Spurs would bet that their culture can help fix him?" — Kevin O'Connor
Yahoo Sports
Pick: No. 39, second round
Team: Charlotte Hornets
The buzz: "Jackson has great size for a young forward and will need some development before he shows impactful minutes at the NBA level." — Krysten Peek
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Where South Carolina's GG Jackson stands in 2023 NBA Draft projections
