Jaden Ivey’s breakout show glimpses of Ja Morant
Ivey hit NBA scouts’ radars the very last game of his freshman season; he was relatively quiet until the 2021 NCAA men’s tournament. In the first round of the tournament in Indianapolis, No. 4 seed Purdue lost to No. 13 North Texas in overtime. Ivey, for his part, was phenomenal and netted 26 points, the most points scored in an NCAA tournament by any Big Ten freshman.
“That first round of games in Indy, he was one of the most impressive players on the court in terms of NBA upside,” an NBA scout told Yahoo Sports after seeing Ivey play. “After we all started going to practices at Purdue last fall, it was clear he was a top-five lock.”
Ivey’s competitive nature shines through in his play. He loves to get out and go in transition and changes speeds better than any player projected in the lottery. His decision-making downhill improved throughout the season, and he has great body control at the rim while creating contact with other players.
Glimpses of Ja Morant seep from Ivey’s game. The pair worked out together last summer heading into Ivey’s sophomore season and Morant’s breakout year.
Ja Morant and Jaden Ivey look like twins 🤯🔥 @JaMorant @IveyJaden 🗣 @JordanRichardSC pic.twitter.com/Wkr5PBeaom
— Swish Cultures (@swishcultures_) May 12, 2022
Jaden Ivey’s breakout show glimpses of Ja Morant
Rumblings of the Thunder’s interest in Ivey at No. 2 started at the NBA draft combine in Chicago at the end of May. General manager Sam Presti has three first-round picks this year and 34 remaining draft picks in the next six years. OKC fans have been patient with the rebuild and trust Presti, who is credited for drafting Kevin Durant, James Harden and Russell Westbrook.
The Thunder are already building a strong core with Josh Giddey, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Lu Dort. They also have a Holmgren-like center in Aleksej Pokusevski (7-foot, 190 pounds) and drafted Jeremiah Robinson-Earl last year. By no means are the two bigs they drafted last year any reason to pass on the top three projected in this year’s draft, but the Thunder have options if they want to try to secure Morant 2.0 with the second pick.
Giddey is a budding star in the making and showcased his incredible passing and vision in the first half of his first season, leading all rookies in assists before being sidelined with a hip injury in February. It’s clear he’ll have the ball in his hands with Gilgeous-Alexander also getting plenty of touches.
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It’s not necessarily who fits right now with the team. The Thunder are still a few years and a handful of draft picks shy of finally putting a playoff-caliber team on the court.
Let’s say OKC takes Ivey at No. 2. There are still plenty of options at picks 12 and 30 to add some size to the roster. Duke forward A.J. Griffin (6-foot-6, 222 pounds), Memphis center Jalen Duren (6-11, 250 pounds) and Duke center Mark Williams (7-0, 242 pounds) are all options at pick 12, and 7-1, 245-pound Walker Kessler (who led the country in blocks and is a projected late first-rounder) could still be there at pick 30 or the Thunder could move up for him.
On paper, it doesn’t make sense for the Thunder to take Ivey at No. 2, especially with either Holmgren or Banchero on the board. Presti doesn’t necessarily go by the books, and Ivey could potentially be a piece to a much bigger picture.
