2023 NBA Draft Profile: Trayce Jackson-Davis

NBA Position: Small-ball Big

General Info: 23-year-old Senior, played at Indiana. From Greenwood, IN. Son of former Indiana Pacer Dale Davis.

Measurables: 6’9, 240 lbs, 7’1 wingspan.

2022-23 Season Statistics: 20.9 PPG, 10.9 RPG, 4.0 APG, 0.8 SPG, 2.9 BPG, 2.5 TPG (32 games played, 34.5 minutes a contest), 58.1% FG, 0% 3P, 69.5% FT

All hyperlinks in this profile are video clips showcasing the skills discussed. Stats are from Synergy Sports or Basketball Reference. 

Trayce Jackson-Davis spent the past four years as one of the better big men in college basketball, but took it to a whole different level in his senior season when he was not only the Hoosier’s leading scorer, rebounder, and shot blocker, but also their leading playmaker. Indiana was one of the more efficient offensive teams in the county under former NBA coach Mike Woodson, and Jackson-Davis was the catalyst behind that efficiency (along with freshman guard Jalen Hood-Schifino, a likely top-20 pick in this draft class). While Trayce has some clear weaknesses in his game—including one in particular that could keep him out of the 1st round altogether—his physical tools, playmaking improvements, and rim protection abilities could make him an interesting option at the next level, especially for a Sacramento Kings team that may still be looking for a back-up to Domantas Sabonis.

Jackson-Davis profiles as a strong pick-and-roll/rim-running big man who can create speed-based mismatches and excel in a transition-heavy, higher-paced offense. He’s got good quickness and explosiveness, and the drive to make highlights happen. In transition or in a motion-heavy offense, Davis can take advantage of slower and/or bigger defenders and finish with craft around the basket. He’s left-hand dominant, but had some beautiful finishes showcasing his fluidity and touch at the rim. He also showed the ability to take bigs off the bounce in college, and his strength as a ball handler should give him options in the NBA even as his offensive diet changes.

That said, his offensive transition from Indiana to the NBA won’t be direct. A whopping 36% of Jackson-Davis’ scoring attempts came in post-up plays last season (per Synergy, he averaged 0.95 points per post-up possession, 73rd percentile, while shooting 53.5%). This will absolutely change in the NBA; Trayce’s post-up skills could be used in mismatches, but won’t create him anywhere close to the same advantages he’s been used to at Indiana.

A big improvement for Trayce this past season was his utilization as a playmaker – in the open court, and in the high- and low-post. He averaged 4 assists per game and a 1.5/1 assist-to-turnover ratio, stellar numbers for a big man who also led Indiana in shot attempts and usage and rebounding rates. He’s got good vision for how the offense is moving, and can whip passes with flare. Paired with his strength on the glass, his strong handling ability for his position, and his speed in the open court, Jackson-Davis is a dangerous grab-and-go big who can get the offense moving.

But it’s also fair to wonder at the value of drafting (potentially in the 1st round) a playmaking big man who lacks the size—and unfortunately, the jump shot—to fall back on if offenses start daring him to be an on-ball creator. To this point, Jackson-Davis’ offensive game is missing any semblance of a jump shot. He took only three threes in his entire Indiana career (all misses), shot 21.4% in the mid-range this season (on 3 of 14 attempts), and hit 67% from the line in his four years in Bloomington.

Jackson-Davis flashed deep shots in summer workouts last year, and raised some eyebrows when he hit threes at the 2023 NBA Draft combine. But to this point, his shooting has never materialized into his actual game for one reason or another. This will limit his value in the high-post, as teams will dare him to shoot. Until Trayce proves his shot in a real game, fans shouldn’t expect him to start firing from deep consistently, no matter how much it would unlock his potential at the next level.

Trayce’s explosiveness shows up on the defensive end, where he averaged 2.9 blocks per game this season. Where many collegiate scoring stars use all their effort on the offensive end, Jackson-Davis’s two-way energy—2nd leading scorer and rebounder in the Big 10, and 1st in blocks—is refreshing. While faster NBA offenses and players will certainly shrink his defensive range in drop-coverage, he was often excellent at stopping pick-and-rolls at Indiana. I don’t see him becoming a true, traditional rim protector in the NBA—he certainly got moved around by bigger bigs in college—but his timing and pop as a weak-side rim protector could help any team that needs paint protection.

While Jackson-Davis’ lack of shooting limits his offensive positional versatility, his quickness could give him the versatility to switch up his defensive assignments. While no one should want him switched onto elite NBA guards, he had strong moments against some collegiate forwards and wings, including Iowa’s Kris Murray. Finally, Jackson-Davis was a great rebounder at Indiana, and will likely be a good one in the NBA. He’ll be undersized against a decent chunk of NBA bigs, but his explosiveness and willingness to fight for position will help him stay effective. He finished 3rd in career rebounds in Big 10 history for a reason.

We saw the Kings try every option available to them this year for a backup center, and a recurring theme was that Mike Brown and company often struggled to adjust the offensive gameplan with their bench bigs when Sabonis was off the court. In that sense, Jackson-Davis could be a strong fit—while no one will replicate Domas’ playmaking, Trayce is an excellent passer in his own right, and could also threaten as a pick-and-roll/rim-running threat. Jackson-Davis’ weak-side and secondary shot-blocking ability would also be a real boon for a team that has had limited rim protection.

Jackson-Davis’ utter lack of a deep shot is concerning, given that most teams—but especially the Sacramento Kings—don’t ever want to be playing with multiple non-shooters off the bench. It’s fair to wonder at the value of using a 1st rounder (even in the 20s) on a small-ball center who can’t shoot. But pair either Trey Lyles or maybe-future-King Sasha Vezenkov with Jackson-Davis, and Sacramento might have enough floor spacing to compensate. Most importantly, the Kings seem to gravitate towards smart, high-instinct players, a label Jackson-Davis absolutely deserves.