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Trayce Jackson-Davis Gets 14 in Las Vegas Summer League Debut With Warriors

Former Indiana star Trayce Jackson-Davis made his NBA debut on Thursday night, scoring 14 points and grabbing seven rebounds for the Golden State Warriors in their Las Vegas Summer League game. "I couldn't ask for anything more,'' he said of his first night on the floor after a hamstring injury sidelined him for the first week of summer games.

Tom Brew

Trayce Jackson-Davis Gets 14 in Las Vegas Summer League Debut With Warriors
Trayce Jackson-Davis Gets 14 in Las Vegas Summer League Debut With Warriors /
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LAS VEGAS, Nev. — Golden State Warriors rookie Trayce Jackson-Davis has been itching to get on the floor here in the Las Vegas Summer League, but a hamstring injury has forced all involved to take it slow with the second-round pick. It's just July after all.

But the 6-foot-9 forward finally saw action Thursday night, and he posted a solid stat line in his pro debut, scoring 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting, along with seven rebounds, an assist, a steal and a block in 20 minutes of action. He had only two turnovers in the Warriors' 118-101 loss to the Houston Rockets, who have won all four games here. The Warriors are 0-4.

Jackson-Davis started and had a basket, rebound, assist and block in the first two minutes. He was on a minutes restriction after missing Golden State's first five summer league games with hamstring issues. He's been working out in half-court settings, and he did look a little rusty. But he did some good things. 

“I couldn’t ask for anything more,” Jackson-Davis said of his debut. “Obviously we want to win games, but at the end of the day, it’s an experience. I was itching to get out there, and I didn’t have any pain. 

"I just have to continue to rehab, just in case. But overall, I felt good. I'm just going to continue to get my minutes more and more, hopefully.”

One of the things the Warriors like most about Jackson-Davis is his ability to pass the ball in traffic. He had a nice assist in the first minute of the game. 

It was good to see in a summer league game, but also something to look forward to in the fall when he's on the floor wit the best collection of three-point shooters the game has ever seen. Jackson-Davis will be able to find them. 

The Warriors also like that he's a four-year college veteran who's played a lot of basketball. Despite not practicing with him current group of teammates, he slid into the lineup well. 

Mike Woodson, a long-time NBA player and coach who raised Jackson-Davis' game during his two years as Indiana's head coach, was in Las Vegas to watch the game. He speaks glowingly of his first-team All-American, of course.

“He has the size, the body, the smartness — there isn’t anything he can’t do on the basketball court,” Woodson told the San Francisco Chronicle.  “These scouts, these coaches in the NBA, they ask me what’s the best part about him. The best part is that he can do a little bit of everything.

“He will learn to make shots in the league. Right now he will finish at the rim with both hands. He can handle the ball. He sees people when they’re open. He rebounds. He blocks shots. What more can you want?

Woodson knows the NBA well, of course, so he knows the situation that Jackson-Davis is walking into. This is a perfect fit for him, and the Warriors want him to learn and grow at the NBA level.

“I couldn’t be more happy about the organization giving him an opportunity to play. All (Trayce) has to do is come in and be a sponge, work his (butt) off and see what happens,'' Woodson said. "The way (Steve) Kerr coaches, it’s a very unselfish team. I mean, you think about Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, the greatness around him is there. He just has to learn the NBA game and I think he’s going to fit right in.”

The Warriors have one more game on Saturday, taking on the Toronto Raptors at 3 p.m. ET. The game will be televised on ESPN.

Related stories on Las Vegas Summer League

  • SUMMER LEAGUE SCHEDULE: Here is the complete schedule for the NBA's Las Vegas Summer League. There is a full day of games on Friday and Saturday, with the semifinals on Sunday, and the championship game on Monday. CLICK HERE
  • HOOD-SCHIFINO GETS 15: Former Indiana guard Jalen Hood-Schifino scored 15 points for the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night, and continues to impress as a floor leader and defender. Here's the game story live from Las Vegas. The Lakers play again on Friday night. CLICK HERE
  • JACKSON-DAVIS CONTRACT BREAKDOWN: The contract terms for former Indiana star Trayce Jackson-Davis has been revealed, and he can make as much as $7.6 million over the four-year deal if all goes well with the Golden State Warriors. Jackson-Davis, a first-team All-American, was the No. 57 overall pick. CLICK HERE
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Tom Brew
TOM BREW

Tom Brew is an award-winning journalist who has worked at some of America's finest newspapers as a reporter and editor, including the Tampa Bay (Fla.) Times, the Indianapolis Star and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He has covered college sports in the digital platform for the past six years, including the last five years as publisher of HoosiersNow on the FanNation/Sports Illustrated network.

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