Jalen Bridges 2024 NBA Draft Profile
We are nearly one week away from the 2024 NBA Draft. Today, we will be continuing our draft profile series with Baylor wing Jalen Bridges, one of the best 3-point shooters in the Big 12 last season. What does his draft profile look like? Let’s examine!
Height: 6’6.75″ (6’10 wingspan, 8’9.00″ standing reach)
Weight: 213.4 lbs
Draft Age: 23.1
Position: Wing
Bridges was the No. 1 player out of West Virginia — No. 84 overall — out of Fairmont High School in Fairmont, W.V., according to 247Sports. He elected to stay close to home, going roughly 20 miles Northeast to play for Bob Huggins at West Virginia, choosing the Mountaineers over Penn State, Indiana, Marquette, Temple, Ohio State, Miami (FL), Oklahoma State and Alabama, among others.
Bridges redshirted his first season in Morgantown and had a limited role as a redshirt freshman, only appearing in 18.1 minutes per night. He elevated into the starting 5 full-time as a sophomore, where he averaged 8.4 points and 4.8 rebounds before transferring to play under Scott Drew at Baylor his final two seasons.
He struggled shooting rock in his first season but then became one of the Big 12’s most deadeye shooters in 2023-24 alongside Ja’Kobe Walter, Rayj Dennis and Jayden Nunn. He averaged 12.2 points and 5.7 rebounds on 41.2 percent shooting from 3-point range, earning third-team All-Big 12 honors.
Let’s dive into some of his strengths and weaknesses, shall we?
Strengths:
For one, Bridges has the ideal frame for a potential 3-and-D wing in today’s day and age. Speaking of his 3-and-D potential … Bridges’ best skill is his 3-point shooting.
His shooting form in shooting drills at the combine and combine scrimmages was more viable than during games this last season. He doesn’t have much lift on his shot, but it was very quick and effective last year, knocking down north of 40 percent of his long-range jumpers.
Bridges was one of Baylor’s most efficient 3-point specialists and looked very comfortable on spot-up and pull-up attempts from that range. He did a good job setting his feet and remaining on balance whether it was on the move or stand-still from beyond the arc. He had no wasted movement
He leveraged his 3-point shooting and strength at the rim, where he netted 72.2 percent of his shots. Bridges’ handle wasn’t always the tightest, but he made sound, quick decisions when to attack closeouts on second- and third-side actions.
The 6-foot-7 wing moved pretty well laterally for his size and was one of the better defensive players for a Baylor team that occasionally struggled on defense. There were times when he got beat off the bounce, but had decent dexterity and was always attentive on- and off-ball, where he was at his best.
Bridges was also an above-average rebounder for his position, corralling 14.8 percent of misses on the defensive end of the floor and 11.3 percent of opponents’ total misses.
Weaknesses:
Bridges played below the rim more often than not and is vertically challenged athletically; he posted a 25″ standing vertical and a 32″ max vert at the NBA Combine, which aren’t great marks.
He’s not a great ballhandler or creator, which could limit his offensive upside. He also didn’t have great touch on non-rim 2s, where he made barely 30 percent of his attempts. Even though he’s got the lightning-quick release, he didn’t specialize as a pull-up shooter, thus suggesting his ceiling may be a 2-2.5-level scorer at the NBA level.
He may need to improve defensively if he wants to crack an NBA rotation as a 3-and-D player, depending on where he falls on draft boards. He’s going to need to do a better job containing ballhandlers–even though he was never completely out of a play due to his multiple efforts.
Projection: Mid-Second Round
It’s hard to find legit 3-and-D wings at the NBA level with great size and strength. Bridges has the potential to be the perfect blend as a complementary piece–depending on his future context. He was a low-usage wing, but was still productive in a limited role and was smart off-ball (on both ends) at Baylor. He’s an older player, so he may not have crazy upside. But you’re getting a player with a good 3-and-D floor that could be beneficial to an NBA rotation.
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