Jaren Jackson Jr.'s case for All-NBA
Grizzlies All-Star forward Jaren Jackson Jr. has reached the 65-game eligibility for post-season awards. He has a strong case to add to his résumé with an All-NBA bid.
Jaren Jackson Jr. is eligible for the All-NBA team this season. If voted onto an All-NBA team, he will join Ja Morant, Zach Randolph, and Marc Gasol as the only players to achieve this milestone in the Memphis Grizzlies’ franchise history.
Jackson’s potential inclusion on an All-NBA team signifies his growth over his tenure in Memphis as one of the best two-way big men in the game — pairing his “All-Defense” level impact with his scoring arsenal that’s rapidly evolved into a walking mismatch nowadays. It would also lead to a massive payday for the All-Star big man, as he’d be eligible for an extension worth $345 million over five years. Otherwise, they’d have to look into a renegotiation of an extension to pay him market command.
But let’s save the financial discussion for another day.
Jackson warrants legitimate consideration for an All-NBA bid this season. How does he stack up with the rest of his competition?
Let’s start by naming the 2025 All-Stars:
West: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nikola Jokic, Stephen Curry, Anthony Edwards, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, James Harden, Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis, Jalen Williams, Alperen Sengun, Victor Wembanyama, and Jaren Jackson Jr.
East: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jayson Tatum, Donovan Mitchell, Cade Cunningham, Jaylen Brown, Damian Lillard, Jalen Brunson, Darius Garland, Tyler Herro, Tyrese Haliburton, Evan Mobley, Pascal Siakam, Karl-Anthony Towns, Trae Young
The following players are ineligible for the awards due to the 65-game rule: Irving, Lillard, Davis, Wembanyama. Brunson could be a potential late omission depending on when he returns from injury.
That’s now 22 players competing for 15 spots. If I had to predict any locks, I’d go:
1st team: Gilgeous-Alexander, Mitchell, Giannis, Tatum, Jokic
2nd team: Curry, Cunningham, LeBron
(edited from initial publishing)
So now that leaves eight spots between 14 players. I’m fairly intrigued by how the voters roll this year. While it's technically position-less All-NBA teams now, it seems likely to see voters lean towards traditionalism with their squads, while media members will pick who they think were the 15 best players this year regardless of position.
How does Jaren Jackson Jr. stand out amongst the league’s elite in this All-NBA race?
There are four players I see as potential competition for Jackson: Karl-Anthony Towns, Evan Mobley, Alperen Sengun, and Pascal Siakam.
Towns and Mobley seem likely to get an All-NBA nod. Towns has been a 25-12-3 big man on one of its largest markets. Sengun’s case is interesting with team success. For Siakam, voters may roll with his teammate, Tyrese Haliburton, over him. With counting stats, Jackson is a bit behind this crew in several, a bit due to his minutes per game. The other players are more proficient rebounders and playmakers than Jackson. However, his defensive playmaking clears the company with both blocks and steals.
When expanding beyond the counting stats, Jackson blows away the rest of the competition in points on a per-minute and per-possession basis. Obviously, voters won’t account for that in their selections, but it’s at least noteworthy for why he’s much lower in that department.
Jackson’s impact also makes for a pretty undeniable case. He’s currently 11th in estimated plus/minus (+3.9), which is also 9th among players on track to be eligible for All-NBA. This ranking is typically ballpark for players to make All-NBA. Over the past few years, the highest EPM for players that didn’t make All-NBA — for non-injury reasons:
2024: DeAaron Fox, 17th
2023: Kristaps Porzingis, 12th
2022: Rudy Gobert, 6th
No idea why it wasn’t the case for Gobert. However, Fox and Porzingis both played for teams that didn’t make the playoffs, so team success is a factor there.
Leading to the next argument, Jackson has been on a great team this season. Again, Mobley and Towns will likely be on it for their combination of individual and team success. I’m curious to see if voters have the same mindset for Alperen Sengun — a “well somebody has to make it from the second seed out West” type deal.
Jackson has been the best player on a team that’s currently 4th in net rating and tied for 7th in winning percentage. Voters may look at Jackson, the Grizzlies’ record, and games lost due to injury — mainly with Ja Morant — and deem Jackson as the catalyst for this season.
Finally, Jackson has entered himself into special company this season.
He’s 10 stocks away from joining Victor Wembanyama for the only players with 200 or more stocks this season.
Only him, Wembanyama, and Anthony Davis have averaged at least 1 steal and 1.5 blocks per game. Wembanyama and Davis are currently ineligible due to injury.
He’s third in NBA history for scoring average while playing fewer than 30 minutes per game (22.5).
He’s one of four players this season with 100+ blocks and 100+ three’s made — along with Wembanyama, Myles Turner, and Brook Lopez. Only Jackson and Wembanyama have done it while averaging 20 or more points per game.
He’s one of 5 players with an offensive EPM >= +2 and a defensive EPM >= +1.5 — joining Gilgeous-Alexander, Mobley, Davis, and (again) Wembanyama — per dunksandthrees.
Jaren Jackson Jr. has been the driving force behind the Grizzlies’ success this season — elevating his game to carry heavy responsibilities on both the offensive and defensive side on the floor. When accounting for his impact on both sides of the floor, and his team success, Jackson’s case becomes undeniable.
Jaren Jackson Jr. should be named to an All-NBA team for his performance this season.
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