Jackson-Davis Misses Warriors' 1st Summer League Game With Mild Hamstring Injury

Former Indiana star Trayce Jackson-Davis was unable to see action Monday night when the Golden State Warriors started their summer league work with a game against the Sacramento Kings. He's got a mild hamstring injury and is day-to-day.

Trayce Jackson-Davis' pro career started on Monday night when the Golden State Warriors, his new NBA team, played a game in the California Classic summer league in Sacramento. But all the 6-foot-9 Indiana graduate could to was watch during the Warriors' 100-94 loss to the Kings.

Jackson-Davis has a mild hamstring injury, and the Warriors didn't want to force anything. There's no need, with another game in Sacramento on Wednesday and then five more games — at least — in the much more important Las Vegas Summer League that starts Friday. So Jackson-Davis sat this one out, watching in street clothes.

After the game, Warriors summer league coach Jacob Rubin told reporters that he doesn't think the hamstring injury is serious, but also didn't mention a timetable for Jackson-Davis' return.

Jackson-Davis has had a busy summer, training for the draft in Los Angeles and then working out and/or visiting with 15 teams prior to the draft, where he was taken with the 57th pick.

He's been doing a lot of running in the Warriors' post-draft practices too, playing at a much faster pace than he's used to. All that running and sprinting may have led to the mild hamstring strain.

Jackson-Davis told the San Francisco Chronicle that he's happy to be getting settled in San Francisco after a couple of months in hotels, and he's quickly adapting to Golden State’s up-tempo style,

It is a big adjustment, he said.  

“The offense that I was in (at Indiana), we kind of played it slow, methodical, and this is upbeat, push the ball, push the pace,” Jackson-Davis said. “Yeah, the speed surprised me … watch it on TV and then you get out there and do it, it’s just something that you’ve got to get used to.”

Jackson-Davis averaged 20.9 points and 10.8 rebounds per game during his senior season at Indiana, but what the Warriors liked most about him is his improvement as a passer. He averaged 4.0 assists per game after averaging just 1.5 assists per game in his first three years.

Golden State’s motion offense requires its big men to find open shooters and make quick decisions with the ball. It's a Jackson-Davis strength, which makes him a candidate for regular-season minutes for Warriors head coach Steve Kerr behind big men Draymond Green and Kevon Looney.

“He’s (Jackson-Davis) been a four-year college player, proven player, skilled player who can do a lot of things, defend, rebound, finish and his passing really improved over the last year or two in college,” said new Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy, who expects Jackson-Davis to be on their 15-man roster in the fall. 

“Having been around the league a long time, I would never draft someone and expect them to play right away. Coming in as a rookie in the NBA, there’s too many challenges. If you find a way to play, great it’s a cherry on top.”

The Warriors play one more game in Sacramento on Wednesday night before shifting to Las Vegas from July 7-17. They will play a minimum of five games there. Wednesday's game against the Charlotte Hornets starts at 6 p.m. ET and will be televised on ESPN2. 

Related stories on Trayce Jackson-Davis

• JACKSON-DAVIS FALLS TO WARRIORS: After a first-team All-American senior season at Indiana, Trayce Jackson-Davis will play alongside Steph Curry next season. The Washington Wizards selected Jackson-Davis with the No. 57 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, then traded his draft rights to the Warriors. CLICK HERE
• PACERS EXPLAIN PASSING ON JACKSON-DAVIS: The Indiana Pacers had multiple opportunities to draft former Indiana Hoosier Trayce Jackson-Davis, but Pacers GM Chad Buchanan said both sides felt the fit was not right. CLICK HERE
• TOM BREW COLUMN: Trayce Jackson-Davis had to wait a long time to hear his name called in the 2023 NBA Draft Thursday night, but this morning that doesn't matter at all. He's got a good fit in Golden State, and it's up to him to prove he can help them win games — and titles — right away. CLICK HERE
• WOODSON ON NBA POTENTIAL: Following his second season at Indiana, coach Mike Woodson sent two players to the 2023 NBA Draft. The Los Angeles Lakers took Jalen Hood-Schifino at No. 17, and the Golden State Warriors traded for Jackson-Davis at No. 57. Woodson envisions a bright future for both. CLICK HERE