'Reset and refocused': Trayce Jackson-Davis ready for pivotal third season with Golden State Warriors

Trayce Jackson-Davis called his second season in the NBA a ‘rollercoaster’. In fact, that’s how his first two seasons with the Golden State Warriors could be described. He’s seen it all — from starting in the regular and postseason, to barely seeing the floor in blowouts, to even being sent back down to the G-League in his second year.

After starting the first 17 games of his sophomore season — which resulted in a 12-5 record for the Warriors — he split 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 during his exit interview this summer. “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.”

While Trayce Jackson-Davis didn’t play a significant role in the Warriors’ first round win over the Houston Rockets in the playoffs, 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 boost gave Jackson-Davis even more of a fire to improve this summer and enter his third season with a new level of skill and progression.

“I had a great summer. Reset and refocused,” Jackson-Davis said last week during media day. “But yeah, conditioning was the main thing and my exit meeting, me and Coach (Steve Kerr) talked about that. I ended the season probably around 265 and I was heavier and now I’m probably down to between 245, 250. So just getting a lot of running.”

Conditioning is a major part of a potential breakthrough for Jackson-Davis. His asset — and a reason for his minutes on the Warriors roster — is his athleticism. Whether its rim protection on one end, or his lob threat and offensive rebounding on the other, it starts and ends with his athletic ability. But, if he’s not on the floor and can’t maintain a consistent level of production, his asset is diminished.

“Got to play above the rim,” he said. “Got to be ready to go.”

Being ready to go is something he’s learned along the way through the ups and downs of his first two NBA seasons. And he knows now that opportunities will arise when least expected, but also can be taken away without any notice.

“It’s always being ready,” Jackson-Davis said. “It’s the same thing that happened my rookie season. I didn’t play a lot to start the year. Went to the G-League; came back up; started some games. Draymond came back. Was out of the rotation and then the end of the season started again.

“At the end of the day, Coach is going to throw you in at any given moment, so you just have to always be ready and rely on your craft.”

That ‘craft’ is pivotal for the Warriors this season. As part of the next generation group of players, his continued progression — along with others — is one of the points of emphasis of the front office this offseason.

“It’s about internal improvement, how can we improve some of these younger players, whether it’s Brandon, Moses, JK, QP, Trayce,” Warriors GM Mike Dunleavy said. “All these guys, if half of them can take a step, you’re really in business.”

The importance is well documented as the core of the Warriors is entering the back half of their careers, if not the final steps. Al Horford (39), Steph Curry (37), Jimmy Butler (36) and Draymond Green (35) are as experienced as they come — but, need help. The Warriors haven’t made it back to a conference finals since they won the NBA Championship in 2022. They’ve also missed the playoff in three of the last six seasons after their stretch of five straight NBA Finals appearances.

Jackson-Davis is ready to change the narrative around the recent Warriors struggles. He knows what needs to be done, and knows he teammates do too.

“The playoffs are a different beast. It’s a lot of fun. Both teams bring a lot of energy. It’s a different style of basketball. Every possession matters. Every play matters,” Jackson-Davis said. “We’re eager to get back there. I know everyone is hungry.”

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