2022 NBA Draft Profile: Jalen Williams
What if the Knicks could draft a wing who’s good at pretty much everything on offense and has an otherworldly wingspan at pick 11? Why would he even be available there?
Position: G/F, Santa Clara
Age: 21
Height: 6 ft 7 in
Wingspan: 7 ft 3 in
Weight: 209 lbs
The Sales Pitch: When you watch Jalen, the thing that jumps out is his ability to quickly understand what is happening. He sees weak points and mistakes in real time, and often ahead of time. He knows how to manipulate defenses through passing, through his handle, and using his eyes and body. He also knows how to impose himself and call his own number from anywhere on the court, which is pretty great considering he is a fantastic, ambidextrous, 7-foot-3-wingspan- 40-inch-vert-having finisher, who is a great shooter from two and three, and has a great floater. He can truly do it all. Even if he’s not running an offense, you can trust him to capitalize on any advantages that come his way via scoring and passing. He’s a late bloomer who has shown an aptitude for both learning the game and taking advantage of his physical changes very quickly. If he really begins to shoot threes at a high volume or play defense befitting his 7-foot-3 wingspan, you’re probably talking about a franchise-changing talent.
Elite Traits/Skills: Length, offensive processing, and feel
The Devil’s Advocate Argument: He’s not gonna be running the offense in the NBA. And he is not gonna be some great defender in the NBA. So what is he so great at that is going to keep him on the floor offensively? He’s a good but not amazing shooter. He’s a good but not amazing athlete. His handle is good, but he’s not some elite rim pressure off-ball guy a la Davion Mitchell, nor is he some high-level hesi jimbo merchant a la Alec Burks or Terry Rozier. His passing is fun, but he’s gotta be on the floor and getting the ball to pass. He’s like a bootleg Canal St. version of a solid secondary offense guy — the reality is much worse than it looks online. It takes quite a lot to stay on the court as a starting wing who doesn’t run offense and isn’t a really good defender.
The Misconceptions: He is athletic. Or unathletic. It’s kind of hard to tell. He registered an impressive 39-inch vert at the Combine, but explosiveness doesn’t always pop off the tape, likely because he jumps higher off two feet and often dealt with a crowded paint.
Important Numbers:
21: His age on draft night.
5-foot-10: His height as a high school junior, before he grew eight inches
18/4/4: His points/rebounds/assists per game as a junior
50/40/81: His slash line as a junior
60%: His true shooting percentage
352: Number of PnR possessions including passes he had, highest among likely first rounders this year
89: His percentile of effectiveness on those PnR possessions, which Synergy rates ”excellent”
97: His percentile of effectiveness on “spot-up” possessions (driving or shooting off of spot ups, essentially), an elite rating
11.7%: His total rebound percentage, a pretty low number for a 6-foot-7 wing
1.3: His points per possession on spot-ups (shots and drives), which rates in the 97th percentile
Knicks Fit: Great. You can’t have too many bigger wings, and the Knicks have a significant lack of wings who are great decision makers, athletic, or very good shooters – Jalen is all three!
