The Jaren Jackson Jr. Conundrum
To this point of his career, Jackson’s spent 40 percent of his minutes at power forward and 59 percent of his minutes at center. Listed at 6-foot-10 and 242 pounds, with a 7-foot-4 wingspan to boot, the fact he’s not a full-time center isn’t due to him being undersized.
At the offensive end, Jackson has an affinity towards perimeter jumpers. Over the course of his career, he’s taken anywhere from 24.1% to 48.9% of his field goal attempts from beyond the arc. In total, 43.7% percent of his shots have come from at least 10 feet away from the rim.
Jackson’s effectiveness around the rim is also limited as a rebounder. The 2023 FIBA World Cup may have been the first time a large swath of fans noticed his deficiencies in that area. On a world stage, they saw him average 2.9 rebounds per contest and 6.2 rebounds per 36 minutes. Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, listed at 6-foot-4, outperformed him in both categories.
At the same time, the 26-year-old has been an exemplary rim-protector. He’s capable of swatting shots as a help defender and turning them away when challenging them straight-up. With that in mind, Jackson’s led the NBA in blocks per game twice. In 2022-23, he averaged a league-high 3.0 blocks per game, helping him win Defensive Player of the Year honors. Along with his measurables, this rather traditional strength of his is what helps him thrive at center.
Walker Kessler’s Leverage Has Been Lowered
The Jazz want to re-sign Kessler, an impending free agent who’ll be in-demand.
However, Jackson prevents them from having to negotiate from a point of desperation. The 2022-23 All-Rookie selection is a superb rebounder with a career average of 9.3 rebounds per game. He’s an intimidating defensive presence at 7-foot-2 and 245 pounds, averaging 2.4 blocks per game to top it off.
Yet, he’s no longer Utah’s only big man who can protect the paint at a high level. Furthermore, the outside jumper that would have made him a mismatch weapon is still in it’s experimental stages, whereas Jackson’s ability to hurt opponents from downtown is a hallmark of his game.
