Trayce Jackson-Davis finished 'roller coaster' season 'playing with confidence'. Now he must evolve entering critical year three

‘The NBA is a roller coaster’. Those were the words of former Indiana star Trayce Jackson-Davis after he finished his second season in the NBA with the Golden State Warriors. After a rookie season that saw him emerge as an important piece to the Warriors rotation, his second year was met with many speed bumps.

Trayce Jackson-Davis was selected 57th overall in the 2023 NBA Draft but almost immediately worked his way into the Warriors rotation. After a little over a month of play, Jackson-Davis was not only in the rotation, but quickly found himself in the starting lineup, albeit not consistently.

Through the ups and downs of a rookie season, Jackson-Davis ended on a high note, starting the final 11 games for the Warriors — and helping them end the season 9-2 in that span. He averaged 10.5 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.6 blocks a game as he wrapped up his first year — bringing his total averages to 7.9 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.1 blocks in 16.6 minutes a game.

So entering year two, the expectation was for Jackson-Davis to not just be a rotational player, rather a starter.

He started the first 17 games — which resulted in a 12-5 record — before splitting time as a reserve for the next few weeks.

Then it was another string of starts over a 20 games period. This time, his play slipped. He went from shooting 62.3 percent to start the season to then 54.2 percent in that 20 game span, resulting in a 9-11 stretch for the Warriors.

Not only did Jackson-Davis then slip out of the starting lineup — he found himself back in the G-League and barely sniffing court time in any Warriors game to end the season.

“You’ve got to take the good and the bad,” Jackson-Davis said last month during his exit interview. “Coach said at the beginning of the year that the NBA is a roller coaster, so I felt like me individually, I started the year decently. Obviously we weren’t winning games and we had to make a few trades. We found something that worked, and that kind of pushed me to the side.”

The Warriors would finish the regular season as the 7-seed, following a spurt of terrific play after acquiring Jimmy Butler from the Heat. But, as they entered the postseason, Jackson-Davis knew to stay ready — much like he had for the short year and a half up to this point.

And in the playoffs, he didn’t disappoint.

“We were winning (when I wasn’t playing) and I’m a team player and that’s just how I am, so just being able to work on my game and staying ready and then getting the ability to play in the Playoffs I thought was a really cool experience,” Jackson-Davis said. “I played with confidence, and so I’ve just got to continue to take that into next year.”

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While Trayce Jackson-Davis didn’t play a significant role in the Warriors’ first round win over the Houston Rockets, he got his chance in the second round against the Minnesota Timberwolves. He started three of the final four games and shot 92.3 percent from the floor — going 12-of-13 combined.

That type of confidence gives him and the Warriors extra excitement going into a critical summer of development.

“It’s just the confidence. I felt like I gained a lot of confidence from that series,” Jackson-Davis said. “I finished at a high level. It wasn’t that much, but just being able to go out there with the minutes that I was given and just trying to play hard and play at a high level.”

“I Thought Trayce had — he had an interesting season,” GM Mike Dunleavy said. “He started off, he was our starting center. He did some pretty good stuff. He was out of the rotation after the trade, and bounced back and did some really good things in the playoffs. He’s a good, solid player, fits in a lot of ways.”

His fit, however, will revolve around his ability to play off of the evolving Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler. Trayce Jackson-Davis is focused on two areas.

“I really think that the biggest thing for me is just working on my body, being that vertical threat that I know I am,” he said. “I felt like I was still athletic (this year) but maybe shedding a few pounds and being leaner, being quicker.

“They told me that Jimmy and Draymond need someone that can finish at a high level, finish above the rim or someone that can shoot, and I know I can fill that role finishing at a high level. So just getting back to the things that I do and playing with confidence.”

In 62 games and 37 starts this year, the former Indiana standout finished with averages of 6.6 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 0.6 blocks a game in 15.6 minutes a game.

So despite the ups and downs of his first two seasons, Trayce Jackson-Davis remains a pivotal part of the short term for the Warriors and his ability to evolve as a player and continue to progress is critical entering year three.

“Trayce has grown a lot over the past two years,” Draymond Green said. “Was he the 52nd pick or something like that, 57th? The strides that he’s made has been incredible.”

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