2023 NBA Draft: Evaluating Passing Upside of G.G. Jackson

Exploring passing development in wing-sized NBA prospects like G.G. Jackson.

In basketball, offensive creators are tasked with balancing two major options: scoring and passing. They must be able to create advantages with their scoring threat while continuously diagnosing the defense to make the right read.

Many NBA players today can provide situational creation. For example, they may thrive at punishing mismatches or flowing downhill off of pin-downs. However, there is quite a contrast between situational creators and significant creators. In the graphic below, notice that the top two or three creators on a team typically generate the majority of a team’s advantages.

How does your favorite team split its offensive responsibilities? Here’s a look at how advantage creation duties are divided among the top 15 teams in the standings: pic.twitter.com/vrwwLUIOPU

— SIS Hoops (@SIS_Hoops) January 12, 2023

Sometimes, the scoring ability of wing-sized playmakers is questioned, such as with Josh Giddey and Lonzo Ball. However, more commonly, the passing ability of wing-sized scorers is questioned à la Jaylen Brown.

Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports

Take South Carolina’s G.G. Jackson, for example. From his shot-making to his handle to his bag of counters, the 6-foot-9 forward is an intriguing scoring prospect. However, he averages less than an assist per game. The 18-year-old’s passing deficiencies have many questioning whether he’ll ever develop into a good enough distributor to shoulder a significant creation load at the next level. This thought process is simply not backed up by modern NBA history. Maybe Jackson never gets to that point as a creator, but that would primarily be a result of his scoring ability not progressing enough.

Projecting facilitating development for wing-sized players is very different than with shorter guards. Shorter guards need to have a foundation of court mapping to see the floor,as well as extra craft to forge passing angles while amongst the trees. Wings typically have the height and length to see and pass over the defense without much difficulty.

For wing creators, scoring excellence is the ticket to offensive stardom. Advanced passing chops can always add value, but they’re not a necessity to be an effective volume creator. With the height to see and pass over defenses, they just need to master common binary reads, which can be though of as “if-then-else” commands. 

For example, if a defender helps off the corner to tag an open roller, the ball-handler should pass to the corner. Else, he should hit the roller. These reads typically become routine with enough reps. Regarding craft, vision, and processing, the bar for passing is low enough for virtually every wing-sized productive scorer to reach easily. This bar is raised significantly for primary initiators, but championship-caliber wing initiators have been a scarcity in the history of the league. Only the most special prospects should have these types of expectations.

Jaylen Brown has never been a gifted passer. Still, he uses the massive windows his scoring ability creates to make easy, functional, passes. As a result, he’s averaging nearly 27 points per game as one of the best wing creators in the league.

Amongst wing-sized players, there aren’t really any star on-ball scorers who aren’t also effective creators. Any wing who really pops as a self-creating scorer is going to be a very valuable offensive creator in the league. The inability to make the passes to capitalize on the massive windows they generate is frankly unprecedented. It’s wise to bet on these players to promptly develop into at least “good enough” passers to thrive in a legitimate creation role should they progress far enough as a scorer.

So for G.G. Jackson, if you believe in his scoring ability, I wouldn’t worry much about his lack of passing being an inhibitor.

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