Jalen Pickett
Pickett with Penn State in 2022
No. 24 – Denver Nuggets
PositionShooting guard
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (1999-10-22) October 22, 1999 (age 24)
Rochester, New York, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight202 lb (92 kg)
Career information
High school
College
NBA draft2023: 2nd round, 32nd overall pick
Selected by the Indiana Pacers
Playing career2023–present
Career history
2023–presentDenver Nuggets
2023–2024→Grand Rapids Gold
Career highlights and awards
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at NBA.com
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at Basketball-Reference.com

Jalen Pickett (born October 22, 1999) is an American professional basketball player for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Siena Saints and the Penn State Nittany Lions of the Big Ten Conference. He is a graduate of SPIRE Institute and Academy, an Olympic training center in Geneva, Ohio.

High school career

Pickett played high school basketball for the Aquinas Institute in Rochester, New York. In his junior season, he led his team to a New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) Class AA championship while earning most valuable player (MVP) honors. As a senior, Pickett averaged 20 points and 10 rebounds per game, reaching the Class AA Federation Final.[1][2] He played for the Albany-based program City Rocks on the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) circuit and was teammates with five-star recruit Isaiah Stewart.[3] Playing for the City Rocks, Pickett led the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League in player efficiency.[4] For academic reasons, he completed a postgraduate year, during which he played for SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio. Pickett averaged 14 points, 6.3 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 2.1 steals per game. He became academically eligible to play in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).[2] Pickett was considered a three-star recruit by Rivals and received few offers from NCAA Division I programs. He committed to Siena to play for first-year head coach Jamion Christian.[5]

College career

Jalen Pickett with the Siena Saints in 2019

On February 17, 2019, Pickett, in his first year at Siena, had a career-high 46 points and 13 assists in a 107–100 triple-overtime loss to Quinnipiac.[6] He was named Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Rookie of the Week 11 times, a league record.[7] As a freshman, Pickett averaged 15.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.1 steals and 6.7 assists per game, which ranked ninth nationally.[8] Pickett was named First-team All-MAAC and MAAC Rookie of the Year. After the season he declared for the 2019 NBA draft and participated in the G League Elite Camp but ultimately decided to return to Siena.[9]

Pickett missed a game against Colgate on November 30, 2019 for a violation of team rules.[10] On February 14, 2020, he scored a season-high 27 points in a 73–64 win over Rider.[11] At the close of the 2019–20 regular season, Pickett was named the MAAC Player of the Year.[12] He helped the team win the MAAC regular-season championship, averaging 15.1 points and a league-leading 6 assists per game while shooting 37.4 percent from three-point range.[13] As a junior, Pickett was limited by a hamstring injury and multiple COVID-19 pauses, averaging 12.9 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game.[14] He earned First Team All-MAAC honors for his third consecutive season.[15]

On April 25, 2021, Pickett announced that he would transfer to Penn State, choosing the Nittany Lions over Oregon State.[14] He averaged 13.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 1.1 steals per game. Pickett announced he would return for his final season of eligibility.[16]

On February 14, 2023, Pickett scored a career-high 41 points in a 93–81 victory over Illinois, becoming Penn State's first 40-point scorer since 1961 and setting a Bryce Jordan Center record.[17] He also became the fourth Penn State player to score 2,000 points.[18] Pickett followed up his historic performance with a 32-point performance against Minnesota on February 18, 2023. His combined two-game totals of 73 points, 16 assists and 11 rebounds earned him multiple national player-of-the-week honors. The two-game stat line was also only the third time over the last 25 seasons in NCAA Division I basketball or the NBA where a player scored 70-plus points, had 15-plus assists and 10-plus rebounds with a 65% field goal accuracy and 90% free-throw rate. The other two players to accomplish this feat were LeBron James (2017) and Stephen Curry (2022).[19]

Professional career

Denver Nuggets (2023–present)

The Indiana Pacers selected Pickett with the 32nd overall pick in the 2023 NBA draft and subsequently traded his draft rights to the Denver Nuggets.[20][21] With the selection, Pickett became the highest-drafted former Siena Saint,[20] and he and Seth Lundy were the first pair of Penn State Nittany Lions teammates to be selected in the same NBA draft.[22][23]

Career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

NBA

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2023–24 Denver 27 0 4.5 .429 .360 .750 .5 .8 .1 .0 1.6
Career 27 0 4.5 .429 .360 .750 .5 .8 .1 .0 1.6

College

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2018–19 Siena 33 32 37.1 .436 .348 .746 4.6 6.7 2.0 0.9 15.8
2019–20 Siena 29 28 37.0 .458 .374 .689 4.6 6.0 1.0 1.1 15.1
2020–21 Siena 14 14 36.1 .403 .359 .750 6.3 4.8 0.9 1.1 12.9
Career (Siena) 76 74 36.9 .439 .360 .730 4.9 6.1 1.4 1.0 15.0
2021–22 Penn State 31 31 37.2 .420 .320 .746 4.3 4.4 1.1 0.6 13.3
2022–23 Penn State 36 36 36.5 .511 .385 .774 7.3 6.7 0.9 0.5 17.9
Career (Penn State) 67 67 36.9 .466 .353 .760 5.8 5.6 1.0 0.6 15.6

References

  1. ^ Memmott, Zachary (March 8, 2019). "Aquinas graduate Jalen Pickett takes his game to next level at Siena College". Democrat and Chronicle. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  2. ^ a b Singelais, Mark (May 11, 2018). "Jalen Pickett couldn't wait to join Siena basketball". Times Union. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  3. ^ Singelais, Mark (October 22, 2018). "Siena basketball's Jalen Pickett feels at home in TU Center". The Hour. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  4. ^ Singelais, Mark (January 27, 2019). "Siena basketball's Jalen Pickett overlooked no longer". Times Union. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  5. ^ Kelly, Michael (March 7, 2019). "How Siena College men's basketball landed Jalen Pickett". The Daily Gazette. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  6. ^ "Young scores 55 in Quinnipiac's 107–100 3OT win over Siena". ESPN. Associated Press. February 17, 2019. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
  7. ^ Singelais, Mark (October 16, 2019). "Siena basketball's Jalen Pickett sets sights on MAAC title". Times Union. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
  8. ^ "Siena guard Jalen Pickett pulls out of NBA draft". WTOP. Associated Press. May 29, 2019. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
  9. ^ Singelais, Mark (May 29, 2019). "Siena's Jalen Pickett withdrawing from NBA draft". Times Union. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
  10. ^ Fishbin, Eric (November 30, 2019). "Siena men's basketball loses to Colgate as Pickett sits". Times Union. Retrieved December 23, 2019.
  11. ^ "Pickett scores 27 to lift Siena past Rider 73–64". ESPN. Associated Press. February 14, 2020. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  12. ^ "Siena's Jalen Pickett Named Player of the Year, Saint Peter's Sweeps Remaining Major Awards" (Press release). Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. March 11, 2020. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
  13. ^ Singelais, Mark (March 19, 2020). "Siena's Jalen Pickett undecided on testing NBA draft waters again". Times Union. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  14. ^ a b Borzello, Jeff (April 25, 2021). "Penn State Nittany Lions land point guard transfer Jalen Pickett". ESPN. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
  15. ^ Singelais, Mark (March 8, 2021). "Siena basketball's Manny Camper, Jalen Pickett named to all-MAAC first team". Times Union. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
  16. ^ "Gotta Run It Back: Jalen Pickett To Return For His Final Season". Black Shoe Diaries. SB Nation. March 12, 2022. Retrieved March 2, 2023.
  17. ^ Wogenrich, Mark (February 2023). "Jalen Pickett Leads Penn State Out of the Wilderness". msn.com. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
  18. ^ Ripchik, Spencer (February 14, 2023). "Penn State men's basketball guard Jalen Pickett scores his 2,000th career point against Illinois". Daily Collegian. Retrieved March 2, 2023.
  19. ^ Wogenrich, Mark (19 February 2023). "Can Jalen Pickett Will Penn State to the NCAA Tournament?". si.com. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
  20. ^ a b Singlelais, Mark (June 23, 2023). "Former Siena guard Jalen Pickett headed to Nuggets with 32nd pick". Times Union. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  21. ^ "THE DENVER NUGGETS ACQUIRE THE DRAFT RIGHTS TO JULIAN STRAWTHER, JALEN PICKETT AND HUNTER TYSON IN DRAFT NIGHT TRADE". NBA.com. June 23, 2023. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  22. ^ DiPaola, Jerry (June 23, 2023). "Penn State pair Jalen Pickett, Seth Lundy picked in 2nd round of NBA Draft by Nuggets, Hawks". Pittsburgh Tribune Review. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  23. ^ Hymowitz, Matt (June 23, 2023). "Jalen Pickett, Seth Lundy chosen in NBA Draft in historic night for Penn State basketball". Centre Daily Times. Retrieved June 23, 2023.

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