GG Jackson Thread

[Catchall]

Gregory 'GG' Jackson has reclassified and will be eligible for the 2023 NBA Draft. It's early, but I think he looks like a potential franchise player and top-5 pick even in this loaded draft class. He lists at 6'9", 220-lbs and is developing a versatile inside-outside offensive game.

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[Duke4life831]

Still very far behind with his perimeter game. Right now he is mainly going to be an open court athlete. The handle is very high and not so tight and the jumper still doesnt have the consistency. To me the two big things I really like about him is the size/athleticism and the progression in his game. Like I said he is still pretty far behind when it comes to his perimeter game, but its come a pretty long way pretty quick. If he can keep up this progression rate then he for sure will be a top 5 pick.

[Upperclass]

Looks like College Marvin Williams

[Colbinii]

Looks like College Marvin Williams

Jabari Smith Jr?

GG moves more fluid than Jabari though.

[Hal14]

Looks like College Marvin Williams

Jabari Smith Jr?

GG moves more fluid than Jabari though.

GG is built more strong, bulky, rugged than Jabari.

GG is intriguing with the combination of being built strong/rugged, playing like a big with the way he blocks shots, finishes lobs and scores near the basket. But then he also has the finesse to his game with the handle, shooting, being able to lead the break and hit jumpers off the dribble.

I guess GG is more like Paolo than Jabari..

[Catchall]

The thing that gives him real upside is his ability to handle and create for himself on the ball. He has some real potential as an isolation scorer and has enough handle and passing to be a triple-threat big wing. In other words, he could be a #1 option. He also has potential to be an impact defender.

His ceiling is really, really high.

[Duke4life831]

Guess Im much lower on him than many on here. No doubt he has improved his on ball skills, but I still think that is the big weakness in his game. Im not seeing on ball skills anywhere close to the level of guys like Paolo or Barnes. Or anywhere close to the shooting ability of guys like Marvin Williams or Jabari.

If he had those skills he would be talked about like Andrew Wiggins was coming out of high school. He is much closer to being a rim running big than some dynamic on ball guy in my opinion. Watched every game for him on team USA and they played him like a rim running big. Watched a good amount of his high school stuff as well when Duke was kicking the tires on him as well. Again I think he's a good prospect but watching his games against legit competition, I just havent seen the on ball dynamic ability like some on here are talking about. To me he is closer to a guy like Bam (not quite as explosive as high school Bam), than he is to the other names that have been tossed around on here.

[babyjax13]

Guess Im much lower on him than many on here. No doubt he has improved his on ball skills, but I still think that is the big weakness in his game. Im not seeing on ball skills anywhere close to the level of guys like Paolo or Barnes. Or anywhere close to the shooting ability of guys like Marvin Williams or Jabari.

If he had those skills he would be talked about like Andrew Wiggins was coming out of high school. He is much closer to being a rim running big than some dynamic on ball guy in my opinion. Watched every game for him on team USA and they played him like a rim running big. Watched a good amount of his high school stuff as well when Duke was kicking the tires on him as well. Again I think he's a good prospect but watching his games against legit competition, I just havent seen the on ball dynamic ability like some on here are talking about. To me he is closer to a guy like Bam (not quite as explosive as high school Bam), than he is to the other names that have been tossed around on here.

I think we have to remember that he is a year younger going into college than a lot of these guys, and what perimeter skills he does have have developed pretty fast. He's also stretchier than Bam on offense (but I doubt nearly the same defender) but obviously not elite as a shooter. For some reason the way he moves kind of reminds me of Lamar Odom. If the perimeter skills come along I wonder if he can become something similarish (probably not capable of running an offense, but still able to create some pressure with the threat to drive and reasonably good passing). We will see, next season is going to be really exciting. I think he is the biggest wildcard in the draft outside of the Thompson twins developing jumpers or one of the Arkansas kids going nuts.

[Catchall]

Guess Im much lower on him than many on here. No doubt he has improved his on ball skills, but I still think that is the big weakness in his game. Im not seeing on ball skills anywhere close to the level of guys like Paolo or Barnes. Or anywhere close to the shooting ability of guys like Marvin Williams or Jabari.

If he had those skills he would be talked about like Andrew Wiggins was coming out of high school. He is much closer to being a rim running big than some dynamic on ball guy in my opinion. Watched every game for him on team USA and they played him like a rim running big. Watched a good amount of his high school stuff as well when Duke was kicking the tires on him as well. Again I think he's a good prospect but watching his games against legit competition, I just havent seen the on ball dynamic ability like some on here are talking about. To me he is closer to a guy like Bam (not quite as explosive as high school Bam), than he is to the other names that have been tossed around on here.

I think we have to remember that he is a year younger going into college than a lot of these guys, and what perimeter skills he does have have developed pretty fast. He's also stretchier than Bam on offense (but I doubt nearly the same defender) but obviously not elite as a shooter. For some reason the way he moves kind of reminds me of Lamar Odom. If the perimeter skills come along I wonder if he can become something similarish (probably not capable of running an offense, but still able to create some pressure with the threat to drive and reasonably good passing). We will see, next season is going to be really exciting. I think he is the biggest wildcard in the draft outside of the Thompson twins developing jumpers or one of the Arkansas kids going nuts.

GG was considered by many as the #1 prospect in his HS class. Right now, I see some Siakam and also see a bit of young Anthony Davis. He's very young and raw, as you noted, but the ceiling is very high.

I have him ahead of Cam Whitmore, whom I see as more of a 2nd option type with limited self-creation (like Jaylen Brown or Miles Bridges).

[Hal14]

Guess Im much lower on him than many on here. No doubt he has improved his on ball skills, but I still think that is the big weakness in his game. Im not seeing on ball skills anywhere close to the level of guys like Paolo or Barnes. Or anywhere close to the shooting ability of guys like Marvin Williams or Jabari.

If he had those skills he would be talked about like Andrew Wiggins was coming out of high school. He is much closer to being a rim running big than some dynamic on ball guy in my opinion. Watched every game for him on team USA and they played him like a rim running big. Watched a good amount of his high school stuff as well when Duke was kicking the tires on him as well. Again I think he's a good prospect but watching his games against legit competition, I just havent seen the on ball dynamic ability like some on here are talking about. To me he is closer to a guy like Bam (not quite as explosive as high school Bam), than he is to the other names that have been tossed around on here.

have you seen this yet?

Watch on YouTube

43 seconds in and he is looking like a potential top 5 pick.
1:18 through the legs, crossover dribble, drives, 1 dribble, throws down the dunk
2:21 through the legs, step back 3 from the corner
3:12 heck of a pass
7:36 the shot making ability is nuts, so effortless

Who else in the class is 6'9" or taller with a strong/sturdy frame, can dribble, pass, shoot, block shots and is the youngest player in the class?

[Duke4life831]

Guess Im much lower on him than many on here. No doubt he has improved his on ball skills, but I still think that is the big weakness in his game. Im not seeing on ball skills anywhere close to the level of guys like Paolo or Barnes. Or anywhere close to the shooting ability of guys like Marvin Williams or Jabari.

If he had those skills he would be talked about like Andrew Wiggins was coming out of high school. He is much closer to being a rim running big than some dynamic on ball guy in my opinion. Watched every game for him on team USA and they played him like a rim running big. Watched a good amount of his high school stuff as well when Duke was kicking the tires on him as well. Again I think he's a good prospect but watching his games against legit competition, I just havent seen the on ball dynamic ability like some on here are talking about. To me he is closer to a guy like Bam (not quite as explosive as high school Bam), than he is to the other names that have been tossed around on here.

have you seen this yet?

Watch on YouTube

43 seconds in and he is looking like a potential top 5 pick.
1:18 through the legs, crossover dribble, drives, 1 dribble, throws down the dunk
2:21 through the legs, step back 3 from the corner
3:12 heck of a pass
7:36 the shot making ability is nuts, so effortless

Who else in the class is 6'9" or taller with a strong/sturdy frame, can dribble, pass, shoot, block shots and is the youngest player in the class?

I’ve seen plenty of GG. Trust me when there is talk of Duke getting involved with a top 10 guy, I go overboard with how much stuff I watch of them.

Watching highlights of high school players can paint a very bad picture of a player (especially bigger guys). I mean there is a high school highlight of Kevon Looney calling him the next KD… They can do this with pretty much anyone above 6’8. Basically everyone in the Maker family has high school mixtapes where it looks like they have elite perimeter skills. All it takes is a few plays throughout an entire season and many of these kinds of plays come against normal high school players who won’t even be playing college ball.

Again GG is progressing at a very good rate at this stuff, I’ve said that many times. This is also not me saying I’m not a fan of GG. I really like the kid.

But I’ve seen plenty of full games against legit competition, I’ve seen him when playing on team USA and when he’s playing against legit competition his offensive game becomes much more limited. He becomes more of an athletic rim running guy. Even in these highlights it’s easy to tell his handle is still pretty slow, high, and loose. Again it’s great to see him starting to do this more often against lesser talent, but ya I don’t see it as a strong point in his game yet.

[zimpy27]

so "good game" is the obviously nickname here right?

[cms11]

His *potential* is Giannis.

[babyjax13]

His *potential* is Giannis.

I like him, but I don't think his potential is close to Giannis.

[Catchall]

His *potential* is Giannis.

I like him, but I don't think his potential is close to Giannis.

Giannis' development curve is a bit of an outlier. I don't mind projecting GG to be potentially better than Siakam. He looks to have a bit more offensive versatility and better balance than Siakam. The guy I wanted to compare GG to was pre-injury Harry Giles, but I went back and looked at some of Giles' tape and man, he was a monster before his injuries.

[babyjax13]

His *potential* is Giannis.

I like him, but I don't think his potential is close to Giannis.

Giannis' development curve is a bit of an outlier. I don't mind projecting GG to be potentially better than Siakam. He looks to have a bit more offensive versatility and better balance than Siakam. The guy I wanted to compare GG to was pre-injury Harry Giles, but I went back and looked at some of Giles' tape and man, he was a monster before his injuries.

Siakam isn't the worst comp. I am most interested to see how Jackson's defense is, not sure it will be as good as Siakam.

[EvanZ]

Of course he's going to get Giannis comps lol. He literally looks like Giannis. What I like is how freaking young he is. December birthdays represent incredible value.

6'10" wingspan sucks though.

[SeattleJazzFan]

Of course he's going to get Giannis comps lol. He literally looks like Giannis. What I like is how freaking young he is. December birthdays represent incredible value.

6'10" wingspan sucks though.

yikes. dude has the same wingspan as donovan mitchell.

[Catchall]

Of course he's going to get Giannis comps lol. He literally looks like Giannis. What I like is how freaking young he is. December birthdays represent incredible value.

6'10" wingspan sucks though.

Do you have a source on that? I heard 7' ws. The good news is that he was probably measured when he just turned 18. He may have some room to grow. If not, then he's about the same size as Jayson Tatum.

[Duke4life831]

Of course he's going to get Giannis comps lol. He literally looks like Giannis. What I like is how freaking young he is. December birthdays represent incredible value.

6'10" wingspan sucks though.

Do you have a source on that? I heard 7' ws. The good news is that he was probably measured when he just turned 18. He may have some room to grow. If not, then he's about the same size as Jayson Tatum.

I cant find where the actually measurement was taken, but NBAdraft.net has it at 6'10, SI references his lack of length when it comes to wingspan, and multiple other places reference only a +1 wingspan.