In the world of the NBA, unicorns are used to describe some players who are highly skilled and have a rare combination of attributes, although more people have been included in the discussion of unicorns due to the change in style of play in recent years , But it is undeniable that this kind of value is still very rare in the league, even a good player with both ornamental and practicality. So who do you think of when the word “unicorn” is mentioned in the NBA? Is it Kristaps Porzingis, who was flying around in New York early in his career? Is it Chet Holmgren, the second-best Thunder player who has received a lot of attention? Or which player has skills that are not equal to his height? Or is it this one below…?
In the world of the NBA, unicorns are used to describe some players who integrate height and technology, and have rare attributes. Although more people have been included in the discussion of unicorns due to changes in the style of play in recent years , But it is undeniable that this kind of value is still very rare in the league, even a good player with both ornamental and practicality.
So who do you think of when the word “unicorn” is mentioned in the NBA? Is it Kristaps Porzingis, who was flying around in New York early in his career? Is it Chet Holmgren, the second-best Thunder player who has received a lot of attention? Or which player has skills that are not equal to his height? Or is it the one below…?
A person’s growth and development are often related to his family background, and Jaren Jackson Jr is one of them. His father, Jaren Jackson Sr, has 12 years of NBA qualifications. Although he has only been a role player throughout his career, Jaren Jackson Sr relies on Jaren Jackson Sr, who has a deep understanding of the importance of shooting, also led to big men like his son Jaren Jackson Jr to develop peripheral shooting early on. He is also the key factor that will make the future Jaren Jackson Jr different.
More than ten years later, Jaren Jackson Jr, who has shown his shooting ability and defensive potential in high school, was rated as a 5-star high school student by ESPN and chose to join Michigan State University among several universities. He is a 6-foot-11 center with a height of 7 feet. The wingspan of 5 is still strong in the college battlefield. The freshman averaged 10.9 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3 blocks per game and had a 39.6% three-point shooting rate. He was rated as one of the best Two-Way Players by scouts. Even its uniqueness reminds scouts of Kristaps Porzingis, the No. 4 pick in the 2015 draft. You must know that Kristaps Porzingis just averaged 22.7 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.4 blocks and 39.5% three-point shooting in the previous season. It has shaken the hearts of many scouts, and Jaren’s nickname of unicorn comes from this.
This rare value also allowed Jaren Jackson Jr to be selected by the Memphis Grizzlies with the fourth overall pick in the 2018 draft. The rookie year team was led by big brothers Mike Conley and Marc Gasol, although Jaren is not the one who dominates the offense. But Conley’s organization and Gasol’s high-level combat ability allowed him to focus on the end. Jaren’s height and shooting ability also enabled him to do a remarkable job in this job. In his rookie year, he handed over 13.8 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.4 blocks. However, a good report card also allowed Jaren to be selected for the Rookie of the Year team.
In the second year, the Grizzlies officially stepped into the reconstruction and ushered in a big change. The new GM Zach Kleiman brought a reform to the Grizzlies. He first selected the rebuilding soul Ja Morant in the second pick. The outside world is also optimistic that Jaren and Morant will have a mutually beneficial chemistry in the future. The role has become the core of the Grizzlies’ reconstruction. In addition, Taylor Jenkins, the head coach who has been trained by the Spurs system, has been hired. His coaching style emphasizes multi-point offense and Jaren has more opportunities to hone the ball offense with development potential. Jaren not only handed over his career The best 39.4% three-point shooting rate also shows the possibility of independent attack, that is, the combination of combat power and potential is undoubtedly what the rebuilding team hopes to see most.
Even in February 2020, the NBA was temporarily suspended due to the severe epidemic, but it did not affect Jaren’s performance. In the first three games of the 2020 NBA Bubble, he averaged 25 points with a shooting rate of 48%.
There is no doubt that Jaren Jackson Jr had already established the status of the Grizzlies’ second-in-command at the time.
However, things did not develop so smoothly…
After the third game of Bubble, the Grizzlies suddenly came out with bad news. Jaren Jackson Jr had a torn meniscus in his left knee and was reimbursed for the season. The knee injury not only took a long time to recover, but also had a high chance of causing many sequelae in the future. During the critical growth period of young players Suffering a serious knee injury and falling down also cast a cloud over the future growth and development of Jaren Jackson Jr.
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After 261 days, Jaren Jackson Jr finally recovered and returned to the field, but his performance was worrying…
Too much recuperation obviously made him out of the rhythm of the game. Jaren’s game state has plummeted. First of all, the outside shooting has plummeted and only 28.3% of the three-pointers are shot. 11.1%; on the defensive end, the physical condition has not yet returned to 80%, and the body control performance such as coordination, balance, and core confrontation is very poor. The top body advantage may only have a deterrent effect, resulting in an average of 1.6 per game. Behind the blockage lies great instability.
He even played in 11 games and entered the playoffs before he was ready. As a modern small-ball center, he should be able to contain traditional centers, but he didn’t get any advantage against Rudy Gobert in the first round. Zooming in, the big brother Mike Conley’s field control organization has greatly reduced Jaren’s defensive influence, making him eclipsed in the first round of the series against the Jazz.
