Warriors’ Trayce Jackson-Davis holds his own against Team USA’s big guys – NBC Sports Bay Area and California

LAS VEGAS – There was a sequence during Team USA’s second and final battle against USA Select Team on Monday that highlights several valuable lessons that Trace Jackson-Davis can take back home to San Francisco.

The second-year Warriors center set a high screen on Steph Curry above the 3-point line for USA Select teammate Jaime Jaquez Jr., rolled to the basket and the lefty finished with his off-hand over Joel Embiid. LeBron James’ driving ability then forced Jackson-Davis to sink deep into the defense, leaving Embiid wide open at the top of the arc.

And just like that, Jackson-Davis recovered too late.

His hand went up, but due to enough space, Embiid had no problem and drilled a three on Jackson-Davis. A teaching moment that was certainly reviewed from the film later that day.

“It’s that good,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr, who is currently coaching Team USA for the last time, told NBC Sports Bay Area.

Earlier in the scrimmage, Jackson-Davis began setting a screen for Brandon Miller to his left near halfcourt, adjusted his body to the right, rolled and came down with a high pass over Embiid. The Warriors stole a second-round pick a year ago, then he settled down, jumped two feet and was fouled by Anthony Edwards on the way back.

The same scrimmage also featured Jackson-Davis being pushed back to the hoop by Embiid before the 2022-23 NBA MVP made a twisting layup over him, and Jackson-Davis losing Curry on a backdoor cut, but Were lucky enough to see Steph. Miss his reverse layup attempt.

Another mental note, another lesson worth learning.

Price tracking was evident in the ups and downs throughout the day. The hustle and agility of Golden State’s late-season starting center forced Kevon Looney to the bench, which also allowed Jayson Tatum to give the ball away when Jackson-Davis swiped at Tatum, leaving the ball exposed downfield. happened.

But Jackson-Davis’ best game on Monday may have been a missed shot.

After guarding Curry at the 3-point line and using his length to hand the ball off to Anthony Edwards, Jackson-Davis moved back to the other side when the Minnesota Timberwolves star missed and saw a mismatch match up to defend Curry. . Post it in. Jackson-Davis took a powerful dribble that left Edwards with Brandon Miller wide open in the left corner.

That’s when Jackson-Davis found Miller without hesitation, but the No. 2 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft blocked the corner three. The result doesn’t matter. It was Warriors basketball on UNLV’s practice court.

“I just think about my experience,” Jackson-Davis says when I ask where his game has grown the most since the beginning of his rookie year. “I’ve grown up a little this year. Started the year in the G League and then got some playing time here and there, got spot minutes, and then towards the end of the year – I feel like I’m developing, I just need to keep improving. Need to keep improving, what I need to do as a player is to get my players open shots and then finish.”

There was to be more excitement and butterflies for the youth select team in Sunday’s first scrimmage. It was hard to ignore the glimpses of Jackson-Davis’ success over some of the game’s biggest and best legends like Davis and Bam Adebayo. So were they expressing their desire for Jackson-Davis as well.

Invaluable lessons have increased day by day.

Embiid didn’t specifically mention any one select team player who stands out for him, but after a day of fighting Jackson-Davis, he emphasized how he has them preparing for the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics. Have prepared.

“They gave us a challenge,” Embiid said. “It is very good for us. They work hard, they play fast. They drive a lot of the action that we can see, especially at the level of some of those Olympic teams. He has done a great job.”

A four-year college career at Indiana was not enough for Jackson-Davis to become a top draft pick. His first NBA start did not come until the Warriors’ final game of the 2023 calendar year, in which he dropped 17 points on 8-of-11 shooting against the Dallas Mavericks.

Now, a little more than a year after slipping to the second round of the draft, Jackson-Davis and his rookie class Warriors teammate Brandin Podziemski find themselves in the same situation that started Curry’s path to stardom.

“I wasn’t on the select team, but my freshman year I was on the 2010 World Championship team,” Curry said. “You have to expand your game, test a bit, work on some things and make the most of the summer. It’s cool to see them go through the same process.”

Each step of Jackson-Davis’ journey has seen him thrive with great opportunities. Brick by brick, step by step, the big man with a fresh buzz cut and a tightly shaved chin knows he’s coming out better after battling Embiid, Davis, Adebayo and others twice in a row.

“At the end of the day, it was a blessing to be on the court with these guys,” Jackson-Davis said.

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