Trayce Jackson-Davis finishes just shy of landing on All-Rookie teams following terrific first season with Warriors

Trayce Jackson-Davis is coming off of his first season in the NBA, one that went more successful than most people thought. After being selected 57th overall by the Golden State Warriors, the former Indiana star took time to adjust to the NBA game but then flourished in the second half of the season.

For the year, Trayce Jackson-Davis averaged 7.9 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.1 blocks per game. He appeared in 68 games and had 16 starts, averaging 16.6 minutes per game. He also 70.2 percent from the floor. Jackson-Davis also had six double-doubles.

That play gave Jackson-Davis 42 votes for the NBA All-Rookie teams, one vote shy of landing on the Second Team. Overall Jackson-Davis was ‘ranked’ the 11th best rookie this season based on the voting.

“I thought overall I had a pretty solid rookie season,” Jackson-Davis said in his exit interview last month. “Obviously there’s always room for growth. But just kind of just going through the ups and downs and embracing the struggle, embracing the success not getting too high or too low, but just trying to stay even.”

Jackson-Davis started the final 11 games of the season for the Warriors, playing 25.3 minutes per game. He saw his averages increase to 10.5 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.6 blocks per game.

“I feel like even from the beginning of the year to now I’ve definitely grown in confidence,” Jackson-Davis said in his exit interview following the Warriors loss this week. “I’m just being put in position. Coach trusting me to guard some of these guards and not always relying on playing roamer a little bit more than guarding just the big. I just feel like it’s going to continue to grow with repetition, but obviously I think I’m starting to get more confident.”

Overall, Jackson-Davis had 27 games in double-figures with a season-high 20 points coming against Houston in April.

Brandin Podziemski, a fellow rookie and teammate of Trayce Jackson-Davis with the Warriors, was selected to the First Team.

It’s clear following the second-half of the season that Jackson-Davis is going to be a key cog in the Warriors future.

“I do have a lot of faith in Trayce,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said. “I think he can get a lot better. I think the guy he played against in Sacramento, Sabonis, is somebody he should emulate. Just the aggressiveness, the ability to score around the basket, the left-handed, the DHO game, the ability to handle the ball. Trayce has a lot of those attributes. So I’m excited about his potential and what he can become, but too early to decide who is going to start and what, whether that combination will be the one we go to.”

SEE ALSO: ‘I’m excited about his potential and what he can become’: Successful rookie season for Trayce Jackson-Davis opens door to enhanced role in year two

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