KU basketball’s Jalen Wilson hits game-winner for Brooklyn Nets in NBA Summer League

Former Kansas men’s basketball forward Jalen Wilson scored in double figures for the fourth consecutive game, pacing the Brooklyn Nets to a 99-94 overtime victory over the Toronto Raptors on Thursday in NBA 2K24 Summer League action in Las Vegas.

Wilson, 6-8 from Denton, Texas, cashed a team-leading 17 points on 5-of-12 shooting. He was 2 of 5 from three and 5 of 6 from the line. Wilson also grabbed seven rebounds in 33 minutes.

Wilson accounted for the game-winning basket in overtime. The NBA, which uses the Elam Ending for overtime games in summer league, had a target score of first team to reach 98 points. Up 97-94, Brooklyn passed the target score on a putback basket (of a Kennedy Chandler miss) by Wilson.

“In long games you’ve got to make hustle plays. You’ve got to make the plays that not a lot of people want to do,” Wilson told netsdaily.com after the game.

Former KU guard Gradey Dick of the Raptors was rested and did not get to play against his KU teammate, Wilson, on Thursday. Former KU forward David McCormack and former Kansas State guard Markquis Nowell, both with the Raptors, also did not play (coach’s decision).

Wilson’s effort impressed Nets general manager Sean Marks, who told ESPN the Nets were “ecstatic” to be able to draft the Big 12 Player of the Year and first-team All-American.

“His IQ is off the charts,” Marks stated, indicating he could see Wilson, who has signed a two-way contract, playing meaningful minutes as a rookie with the NBA’s Nets and not just the organization’s G League team based in Long Island, New York.

“He’s a champion. He’s won before, so he’s seen what it takes,” Marks said, per clutchpoints.com. “Being coached really hard, being coached well.”

Wilson was a starter on KU’s 2022 NCAA title team.

“He just brings a bunch of energy,” Nets summer league coach Trevor Hendry said, per clutchpoints.com. “Whether it’s on the offensive glass or they’re just trying to drive it to get to the rim. Defensively, he can guard essentially every position. He’s not scared of the moment.”

Wilson in the Nets’ previous three summer league games scored 17, 18 and 14 points. He grabbed five, eight and eight rebounds in those initial three contests. He’s now 9 for 18 from three in Vegas.

“I’ve just been working on it all summer,” Wilson said of his three-point shot. He hit 33.7% percent of his threes in 2022-23 at KU. For his entire college career he hit 31.6% from three.

“Since I got out of school, through the entire draft process, I just wanted to be the best shooter I could be,” said Wilson. He averaged 20.1 points and 8.3 rebounds a game at KU last season. “Just show my confidence and be able to take the shots when they come to me, not have to force anything. Just creating those game situations in my workouts and practice so when they do come in the game, it’s all in rhythm.”

“When he shoots with confidence, I have confidence it’s going to go in,” Nets summer coach Hendry said. “Whenever he hesitates or has a little doubt in his mind, that’s when he gets in trouble. When he shoots it with confidence, I have the utmost positivity that it’s going in.”

Wilson is definitely playing with confidence.

“I just think my time at school gave me a lot of different experiences, taught me a lot of different things,” Wilson said, per clutchpoints.com Thursday after emerging as the player of the game.

“Being able to come in and play a specific role, I was able to do that on a championship team. I was able to do it last year with a different role, being the older guy on the team. I just look at this opportunity to come in and be able to do whatever I’m asked to do. I was asked to do a lot of different things in my career at Kansas, so I’ll be well prepared.”

Meanwhile, Dick, a 6-8 guard from Wichita, after his team’s first four games has averaged 14.3 points and 6.3 rebounds (in three appearances). At KU in his one-and-done season he averaged 14.1 points and 5.1 rebounds.

Dick was selected No. 13 overall by Toronto in the 2023 Draft; Wilson No. 51 overall by the Nets. McCormack, 6-11 from Norfolk, Virginia, is a free agent who played in Turkey during the 2022-23 season. Nowell, undrafted, has signed a two-way contract with Brooklyn.