The Great Expectations of Jaren Jackson Jr.

Jaren Jackson Jr. was the 2023 Defensive Player of the Year. Yes, DPOY can be a controversial award considering how difficult it is to determine who truly is the best defender in the NBA. Analytics always favor bigs. That’s why Rudy Gobert has 1000 DPOY awards. But that doesn’t tell the whole story, especially after seeing the 2024 award recipient get torched by the MVP Nikola Jokic in the playoffs. Either way you view the DPOY award, there is no denying Jaren Jackson Jr.’s incredible 2023 season.

The former 4th overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft had met all expectations placed on him up to that point. Those expectations heightened after 2023, especially entering the FIBA World Cup where he was expected to anchor Team USA’s defense and help lead them to a world title. Unfortunately, Trip was a scape-goat for USA’s disappointing 4th place finish.

He couldn’t score. Cound’t rebound. His defensive prowess was nullified by horrible lineups that left JJJ surrounded by guards who provided no defensive or rebounding support. Who thought it was a good idea to give Jaren no minutes with Walker Kessler or Paolo Banchero and instead leave him alone with a bunch of guards to fend off opposing teams’ big men who are more adjusted to the FIBA game? Ah, that’s right. Steve Kerr!

Breathe… Calm… Regardless, the Jaren Jackson Jr. hype train came to a screeching halt just as it was reaching top speed.

Jaren is human. He understood the negativity thrown at him after the FIBA World Cup. He knew the 2024 season was a chance to shut up the haters. But there was no way he could have known what the next few months had in store for him or the Memphis Grizzlies.

Don’t get it twisted. Ja Morant is, and likely will be as long as he wears Beale Street blue, option 1, the go-to guy, the best player on the Memphis Grizzlies. Those titles shifted during Ja’s suspension to Desmond Bane and Jaren Jackson Jr. For the first 25 games, Trip accepted this unfamiliar role.

Though his per-game stats over those 25 games were solid and included his highest points-per-game average of his career – 21.4 points – his 5.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.8 blocks, and 0.8 steals per game left much to be desired. Those blocks and steals averages paled in comparison to his 2023 season – 3 blocks and 1 steal per game. Of course, no Steven Adams or Brandon Clarke meant Jaren was forced to do even more defensively for a paper-thin frontcourt. Trip could only do so much alongside Bismack Biyombo, Santi Aldama, and Xavier Tillman.

Further, his career best in points per game hid a bigger problem: inefficiency. Jaren shot just 42.8% from the floor and 29.8% from three during that stretch. He clearly struggled to adjust to his heightened workload on offense, which also impacted the amount of energy he could spend on defense.

It wasn’t all negative during those first 25 though. Some remarkable stretches reminded us how good peak Jaren Jackson Jr. really is. 37 points against Phoenix. 41 points against Dallas. Career-high 44 points against Houston along with 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals, and 1 block. Masterful.

Those back-to-back 40-point plus performances came just a few games before Ja Morant’s return on December 19 against New Orleans. Though Memphis limped to a 6-19 record without Morant, Jaren’s game rounded into form at the right time. The Grizzlies were down but not out, yet.

Memphis went 6-4 over its next 10 games. Jaren also looked better offensively once he fell back to a secondary and sometimes tertiary scoring role averaging 20.3 points per game on 52.8% shooting and 41.6% from deep. That 10 game stretch culminated in a 31 point night in Hollywood where everything clicked on all cylinders.

Eight days later, the wheels fell off. Ja was out for the season. Desmond Bane and Marcus Smart were set to miss extended time. Entering the 2023-2024 season, those three players alongside Trip were touted as the nucleus of a hungry team ready to avenge last season’s whimper out of the playoffs. Just 38 games into the new season, one man was left standing.

This was Jaren Jackson Jr.’s team. Major credit to him for buying into his elevated role, putting in the work day in and day out, and setting an example to the rest of the squad even though the playoffs were a long shot. Trip played 66 games, 2nd highest of his career, in a season where many wouldn’t fault him for sitting out more. But he didn’t. And he deserves praise for that.

In Jaren’s remaining 28 games, he averaged 24.1 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.5 blocks, and 1.8 steals on 43.8% shooting and a 30.1 3pt%. Overall, he finished with career highs in points – 22.5, assists – 2.3, and steals – 1.2. His 30.4% usage rate was by far the highest of his career as well. And he produced more memorable moments when called upon.

How could we forget his game-winner against San Antonio?

JJJ goes to work in the clutch to give the Grizzlies the lead with 1.2 seconds left in the 4Q!

Grizzlies-Spurs | Live on the NBA App
📲 https://t.co/le5yOD2pfH pic.twitter.com/wpFtHCfl6V

— NBA (@NBA) March 23, 2024

Or him burying Giannis Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez underneath the rim for 3 quarters before hitting a step-back corner three and telling the entire city of Milwaukee to call him if you need a bucket!!!

Goodness. That’s the Jaren Jackson Jr. Memphis needs next season. A killer. Playing with confidence. Willing to impose himself on the basketball game. Unafraid of the big moments. The best part is the Grizzlies have multiple dudes who can take and make the last shot, a luxury many teams don’t have. There will be times going forward when JJJ will be asked to be the guy once again. I believe he’ll be ready.

So, what’s next? Well, next season will be the most important year of Jaren’s career. Will he transition back to the number 2/3 option? Or will his new experience as the go-to guy and improved scoring force the team’s hand to elevate his role? Can he bounce back after a down year defensively and prove that his DPOY was a sign of things to come and not a fluke? Can he take a playmaking leap, especially when facing a double team? Will he finally get rebounds? Will he solidify himself as the center of the future for the Grizzlies?

There are so many questions we need answers to. But the key for Jaren next season was said perfectly by Brevin Knight on The Anthony Sain show.

“The biggest thing is not just reverting back to old Jaren. I want him to still be as aggressive, as demonstrative, as much wanting the ball as he was this year … Understandably, it’s not going to be the same amount of shots … But through the rotations, there will be opportunities for him to be the Jaren that we saw this year playing next year.”

Great expectations are always placed on Jaren Jackson Jr.’s shoulders. Even more so after his performances this year. If Jaren can take advantage of his offensive opportunities when called upon, while making improvements in other areas of his game, he will surpass even the highest of expectations.