What comes to mind when you think of Jaren Jackson Jr.? If you haven’t paid much attention to the Memphis Grizzlies over the past few seasons, it’s possible to conceive of Jackson as a rangy stretch big who struggles on the interior.
That’s a fairly accurate representation of Jackson throughout parts of his career. As a sophomore, Jackson bombed away from deep en route to 39.4 percent on 6.5 attempts per game. Since 2020, Jackson’s three-point shooting has fluctuated.
In 2024, he’s evolved into a bruising, physical interior scorer. It’s a significant departure from his early career playstyle predicated on high-volume spacing. Despite the lowest three-point volume of his career (3.2 per game) since his rookie season, Jackson’s 65.1 percent true shooting marks a career-best, and he’s doing so while averaging the second-most points of his career at 20.4 per game.
According to Synergy, a staggering 24.4 percent (90th percentile) of his possessions come via post-ups, converting an efficient 1.14 points per possession on those chances. Through his first five games, his post-up frequency has hit career-high marks. His 66 percent clip on twos is a career-best mark by almost eight percent.
jaren jackson jr’s post up frequency over the last four seasons has gone from 12.2%->16.1%->13.8%->22.1% (SSS)
very cool to see him evolve into a back to the basket bruiser. another example of star development on an unexpected path pic.twitter.com/BdpeQ3aYby
— ben pfeifer (@bjpf_) November 1, 2024
Jackson’s efficiency on the interior will likely drop. His process is encouraging, as Jackson’s added strength lets him bludgeon smaller defenders on switches. He’ll feather in hook shots, and work towards his strong shoulder to drop step into buckets and fouls.
As a whole, Memphis has shifted its offensive philosophy this season, helping fuel Jackson’s growth. It’s adopted some of new assistant coach Noah LaRoche’s offensive pillars, focusing on connected movement and passing instead of pick-and-rolls and set plays. The Grizzlies rank fifth in post-up possessions per game and third to last in pick-and-roll ball-handler possessions. Last season, they placed in the bottom half in post-up possessions per game.
It would be easy to consider last year a season lost to injuries for Memphis. Jackson eclipsed a 30 usage rate, accepting a true primary creation role. His inefficiency struggles last season — adapting as a driver and a contact absorber — are paying dividends now. With his usage rate dropped back to earth (26.6 percent), his efficiency spike makes sense, given an entire season of live game development reps.
His metamorphosis into a consistent, efficient volume scorer will help the Grizzlies ascend to title contention. They shouldn’t have to rely as heavily on Ja Morant and Desmond Bane to create efficient offense. Jackson may not be the Defensive Player of the Year defender he once was, but he’s still an impactful interior defender with the potential to return to elite form with less offensive responsibility.
Through the season’s early hours, the 4-3 Grizzlies have a top-eight offense. Just like 2022, they have the potential to become an elite offensive unit as they continue to gel and become healthier. Jackson’s development is as critical to that success as anything else.
