Jaden Ivey Scouting Report

Jaden Ivey, Guard, Purdue

Basic Information:

Role: Wing G

Conference: Big 10

Class: Sophomore

Age: 20.1

Height: 6’4

Weight: 195 lbs.

Wingspan: 6’9

Strengths:

- Pretty young for a sophomore

- Elite free-throw generator for a guard; 46.9% free throw rate in 2021

- Has a good three-point projection and was effective as a shooter off the catch in college

- Elite athlete who gets to the rim with ease

- Has fantastic verticality that reminds me of Ja Morant in some ways

- Very effective transition player

- Has the potential to be a good cutter when playing off the ball

- 80th percentile in block rate among guards

- 88th percentile in OBPM among guards

- Strong collegiate scorer in terms of volume and efficiency with a fairly high usage rate while playing in the Big 10

- Has a high floor on offense due to his ability to handle the ball, attack the rim, and shoot off the catch

- 2nd in RAPM among players in my database in 2021

- Top 10 in BPM among players in my database over the last two seasons

Weaknesses:

- Pretty underwhelming passing productivity; 19.2% assist rate, which ranks 19th among guards and lands just behind Caleb Love, who isn’t known for his playmaking

- Has really nice length, but his lacking steal numbers lead me to believe that he probably won’t be a strong perimeter defender

- Isn’t a good enough passer or ball handler to be a ball-dominant point guard who excels at running pick and rolls

- Can’t shoot off the dribble at a high level right now, which may lead to teams sagging off of him in the NBA

- Doesn’t score much from the mid-range, which will limit his effectiveness as a scorer in the NBA

Statistical Profile:

Overview:

Jaden Ivey is a 6’4 guard out of Purdue who has excellent length and a very diverse skill set on offense. He can play on or off the ball, and he projects to be a strong rim finisher and a very solid shooter at the next level. He has a projected NBA 3PT% of 35.9%, which is good considering he’ll likely take a good number of threes at the next level. I like his ability to shoot off the catch at his size because this will allow him to play on the wing when necessary in the NBA.

His best skill is his ability to put pressure on the rim. He is a tremendous athlete, and his ability to beat opponents off the dribble is awesome. There’s a reason why he put up a free throw rate of 46.9% in 2021.

One of his most underrated traits is his ability to protect the rim. He had a block rate of 2% in 2021, and he ranks in the 70th percentile among guards in my rim protection metric due to his length and block numbers. I don’t think he’ll be an elite shot-blocker, but his athleticism and long wingspan could allow him to be a decent weakside rim protector as an off-ball defender at the next level.

My biggest concern with Ivey is he isn’t a great passer. He had an assist rate of 19.2% in 2021, which ranks 19th among guards in my database. That’s extremely low for a guard that most people have in their top five players in the class. This, along with his underwhelming ball handling and decision making, lead me to believe he won’t be a ball-dominant point guard.

I also worry about his perimeter defense. He has good height and length and is a fantastic athlete, but his steal numbers were very poor in 2021. This is why he ranks in the 22nd percentile among guards in my perimeter defense metric. His underwhelming perimeter defense is concerning because he will likely spend a decent amount of time off the ball in the NBA, especially if he goes to a team like the Orlando Magic, who already has a million guards on their roster.

Jaden Ivey is an interesting evaluation because he’s young, has good size, can shoot threes, gets to the rim at will, and was very impactful for one of the best teams in the country. However, he can’t shoot off the dribble consistently, he doesn’t score much from mid-range, and he is a lackluster playmaker. I do not see Ivey becoming an all-star caliber player unless his passing improves drastically and he develops a decent mid-range game.

Although I don’t think Jaden Ivey has the scoring or playmaking ability to be an elite high usage creator in the NBA, I think he has a high floor because he broke out at a young age, his impact metrics are pretty strong, and he has the skillset to be a very good connecting piece due to his rim finishing and three-point shooting.