Nets' Jalen Wilson has scaled the rookie wall, earning respect of his teammates and coaches
Nets' Jalen Wilson passes around Milwaukee Bucks' Pat Connaughton during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, March 21, 2024, in Milwaukee. Credit: AP/Morry Gash
WASHINGTON — It didn’t take long for Nets rookie Jalen Wilson to earn praise with his play earlier this season - and the last half of his first year has gone even better for him.
Wilson’s played in all but one of the Nets’ last 23 games entering Wednesday night's tilt with the Wizards. This month, his two-way contract was converted into a standard, three-year contract and he earned his second start Monday, scoring 12 points in a Nets win over the Raptors.
It’s created more learning opportunities for the second-round pick from Kansas and Wilson is soaking it in as his first year in the NBA comes to a close.
“The biggest thing I've learned is probably just pacing and the style of play. Obviously, it's tremendously different from college,” Wilson said at shootaround Wednesday. “So being able to transition from that and just being able to find different moments on when to cut and do different things. But I feel like pacing and just my speed of the game has slowed down for me.”
Like most first-year players, Wilson hit the “rookie wall”, a point in the season where players struggle with a heavier game load than a college season. Yet he dealt with it by following a mantra that interim coach Kevin Ollie preached- do simple better.
It means keep things basic and don’t complicate things by doing more than what’s needed. Ollie used the term to praise both Wilson and Noah Clowney on Monday.
For Wilson, it’s been helpful in figuring out his role without worrying about mistakes.
“Just understanding the gameplay, where guys want to be. You know, setting screens, not over thinking anything, just playing the right way,” Wilson said. “Just come in and know there’s no pressure on us if we just come in, play hard and do our thing.”
It’s a process Mikal Bridges remembers well from his first year. He started 56 games with the Suns in 2018-19 and recalled how the second half of the season took a toll on him.
Like Wilson, Bridges played multiple seasons in college. He also had two deep championship runs with Villanova that he thought would prepare for him for a long NBA grind. It didn’t.
“I thought I could beat it but it's not possible,” Bridges recalled of the rookie wall. “But I think [you] just adapt to the NBA game a little bit better because you just understand the details and all that when you’re in college for a while."
For Bridges, he noticed how much more comfortable he was by the end of his first year than in the beginning. He sees that same growth in Wilson as the rookie spends more time on the court.
Instead of feeling overwhelmed, Wilson’s earned trust to play clutch-time minutes in fourth quarters. Like Clowney, he said the G League prepared him for playing in close NBA games and understanding what to do.
Now, he’s just using more playing time to soak in some final lessons in what’s been a promising first year.
“I'm getting to gradually just get a better feel of the game-by-game, and it's been very beneficial,” Wilson said.
Claxton racks up the rebounds
Nic Claxton’s 16 rebounds on Monday gave him 34 games this season with at least 10 rebounds. That surpassed a career-high of 33 such games last season.
It was also his sixth game with at least 15 rebounds, which came after only three such games in his first four seasons combined.
Claxton is averaging a career-high 9.8 rebounds.
Bates-Diop out for rest of season
Keita Bates-Diop was ruled out for the remainder of the season after the Nets said he had a procedure to address a stress fracture in his right tibia.
Bates-Diop, who was acquired in a deadline-day trade with the Suns, missed Monday’s game in Toronto with a right shin stress reaction and was already ruled out for Wednesday's game against the Wizards.
He averaged just 4.9 minutes in 14 games and has a $2.65 million player option for next season. Bates-Diop is expected to resume on-court activity in approximately one month, the Nets said.
Evan Barnes covers the Nets for Newsday. He previously covered Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.
