Jaylon Tyson broke out in his junior year as a do-it-all player who has the potential to succeed on both sides of the floor in the NBA. Serving as the primary scoring option for the California Golden Bears, the six-foot-seven guard has demonstrated impressive offensive skills in various ways. With further refinement of his already solid defense, Tyson can provide productive play from day one and beyond.
Jaylon Tyson 2024 NBA Draft Profile
College Career
Tyson started his collegiate career with the Texas Longhorns, playing eight games and only averaging around seven minutes per game. He only averaged 1.8 points, 1.1 rebounds, and 0.4 assists in that time with Texas. For his sophomore year, Tyson transferred to Texas Tech, where his minutes and production took a big jump. In 31 games played and averaging 28.9 minutes, Tyson averaged 10.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.3 assists. More impressively, Tyson improved his production efficiently, shooting 48.3% from the field, 40.2% from three, and 72.3% from the line.
Tyson transferred again for his junior year, playing with the California Golden Bears under head coach Mark Madsen. His production empathetically rose to another level, averaging 19.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 3.5 assists. He showcased his versatile offensive skills and two-way potential with his improved play. Tyson was awarded the All-Pac-12 First Team award because of his efforts.
Strengths
Tyson, especially in his junior year, showcased a wide and diverse array of offensive skills that he used to pick apart his opponents in an effective manner. Chiefly, Tyson is relentless in attacking the rim, where he uses his strength to power through contact for the bucket. Not only that, he has a flurry of dribble and hesitation moves, as well as impressive footwork, that allows him to shake off or wear down defenders when going to the rim.
As the primary option in the Golden Bears offense, Tyson was allowed to operate with the ball in his hands significantly more than in previous years. Due to that, he demonstrated incredible skill in the pick-and-roll, scoring with ease and dictating the pace of each possession. Tyson is not only skillful in scoring in the pick-and-roll, but he is also adept at passing as well. He generally was good at reading the defense and getting the ball to the right player, even flashing some incredible passes.
While Tyson operated primarily on-ball for the Golden Bears, he had demonstrated that he could serve in an off-ball spacer role as well. For instance, Tyson has a smooth three-point jumper, which he shot efficiently at 36%. In addition to that, he can shoot it in various ways like spot-ups or off-the-dribble threes. He has also shown flashes of shooting deep beyond the arc. Plus, Tyson is smart at cutting and moving off-ball, showcasing his high basketball IQ.
Weaknesses
Tyson doesn’t have many weaknesses going into the NBA Draft, with his weaknesses mainly pertaining to his athleticism. Specifically, Tyson, while having acceptable athleticism, isn’t going to jump out of the gym or have an explosive first step. His lateral quickness isn’t the greatest either. These weaknesses are most apparent on defense, where Tyson can struggle to keep his man in front of him at times. He isn’t bad at defense, though. He plays defense with tenacious energy and is disruptive. Tyson is smart enough where he finds ways around his physical limitations, but they are something to keep in mind. Tyson does turn the ball over too much, averaging 3.1 per game, which is mainly due to throwing difficult passes at times. Lastly, Tyson is on the older side of NBA prospects as he is 21 years old, which can be seen as a limiting factor in terms of upside.
NBA Comparison
Tyson’s impressive offensive abilities and potential to be a two-way player in the league bring many names to mind. Tyson shows a resemblance to CJ McCollum, especially in terms of the three-point shooting and pick-and-roll ball-handling. If Tyson can fully realize his potential as a two-way player, his playstyle stylistically would be similar to Jalen Williams.
