Brooklyn Nets rookie Jalen Wilson came into the 2023-24 season as one of Brooklyn’s Two-Way players potentially destined to spend the rest of the season in the G League. One of the adjustments that Wilson had to make at the next level was how many more games he was playing in compared to his college days at Kansas University.
“I think when you say 82 games like you don’t really realize like 82 games,” Wilson said during a portion of the Nets’ “Year 1” series when talking about how much more basketball he was playing. Wilson, 23, played in 43 games for Brooklyn this season, but the most that he played in one season as a Kansas Jayhawk was 37 games during the 2021-22 season when Kansas won the National Championship.
“Like, (in) college, you’re lucky to play like 30, 35 games. Like, you’re lucky that (you’re) one of the teams that go on and play March Madness and stuff like that,” Wilson explained. “So being able to play like almost every single other day, it’s cool.”
While Wilson was the 51st overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, he played in his first game for the Nets in a 109-105 win at the Miami Heat. Wilson played just over five minutes and did not put much in the stat sheet, but he showed everyone who watched that he could do some of the little things to make an impact for Brooklyn.
Wilson started seeing more action for the Nets in the middle of December when the franchise was looking for a spark from someone amidst a bout of losing that was frustrating for everyone on the team. Wilson really showed the total package of what he could in April when he averaged 7.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game while shooting 41.3% from the field and 28.6% from three-point range.
While Wilson played in more games than he probably expected coming into his rookie season as a late second-round pick, Wilson showed that he was ready to go from the moment that he stepped on the floor. He had the kind of rookie campaign that the franchise and the fanbase is hoping he can build upon for next season.
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