Trayce Jackson-Davis (

né The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Davis; born February 22, 2000), more commonly referred to by his initials "TJD", is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player for the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA). He played college basketball for the

Indiana Hoosiers The Indiana Hoosiers are the intercollegiate sports teams and players of Indiana University Bloomington, named after the demonym for people from the state of Indiana. The Hoosiers participate in NCAA Division I, Division I of the National Coll ...

. He was selected 57th overall in the

2023 NBA draft The 2023 NBA draft, the 77th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual NBA draft, draft, was held on June 22, 2023, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The draft consisted of 58 picks instead of the typical 60 for the second ...

Early life

Jackson-Davis grew up in

Greenwood, Indiana Greenwood is a city in Johnson County, Indiana, United States. The population was 63,830 at the 2020 Census. Greenwood is located southeast of central Indianapolis between Interstate 65 and Interstate 69. It is the most populous suburban mu ...

. When he was four, he fractured his skull in a home accident with a

resistance band A resistance band is an rubber band, elastic band used for strength training. They are also commonly used in physical therapy, specifically by convalescents of muscular injuries, including Cardiopulmonary rehabilitation, cardiac rehab patients, t ...

; the surgery left him with scars above both ears. When he was six, an accident with a golf club fractured his cheekbone and eye socket, requiring placement of a titanium screw. In middle school, he played on the B team; his play greatly improved after a

growth spurt Human height or stature is the distance from the bottom of the feet to the top of the head in a human body, standing erect. It is measured using a stadiometer, in centimetres when using the metric system or SI system, or feet and inches when u ...

in the summer before he started 9th grade.

High school career

Trayce Jackson-Davis attended

Center Grove High School Center Grove High School is a high school located in Greenwood, Indiana. A part of Center Grove Community School Corporation, it serves western Greenwood and most of Bargersville. Founded in 1884, the high school has always been located at th ...

in Greenwood. As a junior in 2017–18, he averaged 21.9 points, 9.4 rebounds, 4.1 blocks, and 2.6 assists per game while shooting 67.0 percent from the field; he helped his team to a 20-win season, county and sectional titles, and the 4A regional final. In AAU basketball, on the Spiece Indy Heat, he averaged 19.1 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game while shooting 59.1% from the field. During his senior season, he led the Trojans to a 21–8 record and a berth in the Class 4A state tournament semifinals. He averaged 21.6 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.9 blocks, 1.7 assists, and one steal per game through 29 games. He entered the state semifinals with 1,768 career points. On January 24, 2019, Jackson-Davis was announced as a

McDonald's All-American McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American multinational fast food chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese chain Mixue Ice Cream & Tea. Brothers ...

to participate in the 2019 game, where he finished with 7 points, 5 rebounds, and 1 block in 14 minutes.

Recruiting

He was a highly touted recruit named a four-star by many of the main media outlets recruit by

Rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or Social group, groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each ...

247Sports 247Sports is an American network of websites that focus mainly on college recruiting, athletic recruitment in college football and college basketball, basketball. It is owned and operated by Paramount Global, Paramount. The website hosts a large ...

, and

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

. During his high school career Jackson-Davis was recruited by numerous high-profile schools, including

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the ...

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donat ...

, Xavier, among others. On November 30, 2018, Jackson-Davis committed to playing college basketball for Indiana after narrowing his choices down to Indiana, Michigan State, and UCLA.

College career

Jackson-Davis made his college debut for Indiana during the 2019–20 season with eight points and six rebounds in a 98–65 win over Western Illinois. Jackson-Davis was named

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives in 1 ...

co-freshman of the week on November 18, after contributing 20 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots against

North Alabama North Alabama is a region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Several geographic definitions for the area exist, with all descriptions including the nine counties of Alabama's Tennessee Valley region. The North Alabama Industrial Development Associ ...

. He was again named conference freshman of the week on December 2 after scoring 21 points and grabbing 11 rebounds in a victory over

Louisiana Tech Louisiana Tech University (Louisiana Tech, La. Tech, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Ruston, Louisiana, United States. It is part of the University of Louisiana System and classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – Hig ...

. On February 19, 2020, Jackson-Davis set career highs with 27 points and 16 rebounds in a 68–56 win over

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

. At the close of the regular season, Jackson-Davis was named to the Third Team All-Big Ten by the coaches and media as well as the All-Freshman Team. He averaged 13.5 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game as a freshman. He finished second in the league in field goal percentage (56.6%), and seventh in blocked shots (1.9) and rebounds (8.4). Jackson-Davis, who started in each game his freshman season, was one of only four freshman in the country to lead his team in scoring, rebounding, free throw percentage and blocks. As a sophomore during the 2020–21 season, Jackson-Davis averaged 19.1 points and 9.0 rebounds per game. Jackson-Davis garnered several awards at the close of the season. He was named a third team All-American by the Sporting News, NABC and USBWA; an honorable mention All-American (AP); All-Big Ten (First Team by media and AP; Second Team by coaches); and a Wooden Award Finalist. In the offseason prior to Jackson-Davis's junior year, the 2021–22 season,

Mike Woodson Michael Dean Woodson (born March 24, 1958) is an American professional basketball coach and former professional basketball player who is the associate head coach of the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA). With coach ...

was hired as head coach of the Hoosiers and Jackson-Davis announced he was returning for his junior season. On November 27, 2021, he scored a career-high 43 points in a 90–79 win over

Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia *Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria ** Marshall railway station Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Is ...

, becoming the first Indiana player to score at least 40 points in 27 years. On November 30, 2021, he had 31 points, 16 rebounds and three blocks in a 112–110 double-overtime loss to

Syracuse Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

. Jackson-Davis was named to the Second Team All-Big Ten and Big Ten All-Defensive Team. As a junior, he averaged 18.3 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game. He became the second player in Indiana history (with

Alan Henderson Alan Lybrooks Henderson (born December 2, 1972) is an American former professional basketball player of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He stands tall. Born in Morgantown, West Virginia, Henderson attended Brebeuf Jesuit Preparator ...

with 1,500 points, 750 rebounds, and 150 blocks, and ranked 15th on Indiana's all-time scoring list with 1,588 points, ninth in rebounds (797), seventh in blocked shots (178), and seventh in field-goal percentage (55.8%). On April 9, 2022, Jackson-Davis declared for the

2022 NBA draft The 2022 NBA draft (branded as the 2022 NBA Draft presented by State Farm for sponsorship reasons), the 76th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual NBA draft, draft, was held on June 23, 2022, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New ...

while maintaining his college eligibility. On May 20, 2022, Jackson-Davis announced his withdrawal from the draft and his return to Indiana. Heading in Jackson-Davis's senior year, the 2022–23 season, he garnered substantial national recognition. He was named, among other things, a ''Blue Ribbon'' Preseason First Team All-American, Associated Press Preseason All-American, Almanac Preseason Second Team All-American, CBS Sports Preseason Second Team All-American, Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year, Preseason All-Big Ten Team, and The Athletic Preseason Second Team All-American. His January averages of 23 points, over 14 rebounds and over three blocked shots, was one of only 3 (

Shaquille O'Neal Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal ( ; born March 6, 1972), commonly known as Shaq ( ), is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program ''Inside the NBA''. He is a and Center (basketball), center ...

and

Tim Duncan Timothy Theodore Duncan (born April 25, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He List of NBA players who have spent their entire career with one franchise, spent his entire 19-year career with the San Antonio Sp ...

) such months in the last 25 years. On February 7, 2023, Jackson-Davis scored 20 points and posted 18 rebounds in a 66–60 win against

Rutgers Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College and was aff ...

, in the process surpassing the 2,000-point mark. He became the first person to win four consecutive Big Ten Player of the Week awards since the award's inception in 1981–82. In his senior season, Jackson-Davis averaged career bests in points (20.9), rebounds (10.8), assists (4.0), and blocked shots (2.9), helping to lead Indiana to a second-straight NCAA Tournament appearance. His scoring average marked the highest for a Hoosier since Eric Gordon (in 2007–08), his rebounding figure was the highest since Steve Downing (in 1972–73), and his block number was the most since Dean Garrett (in 1987–88). Jackson-Davis was awarded the Karl Malone Award for the nation's top power forward, along with being named to the Oscar Robertson Trophy Late Season Watch List, the John R. Wooden Men's National Ballot, and the Naismith Trophy Defensive Player of the Year semifinalist list. TJD was also a unanimous choice for the All-Big Ten First Team by the coaches, media, and Associated Press while also collecting All-Big Ten Defensive Team honors. Jackson-Davis finished his Indiana career as the program's all-time leader in rebounds (1,143) and blocked shots (270), third on the all-time scoring list (2,258), and third in double-doubles (50).

National team career

Jackson-Davis played for the United States under-18 basketball team at the

2018 FIBA Under-18 Americas Championship The 2018 FIBA Under-18 Americas Championship was an international under-18 basketball tournament that was held from 10 to 16 June 2018 in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. The eleventh edition of the biennial competition, this is also the qualify ...

. He helped his team win the gold medal.

Professional career

Jackson-Davis was drafted 57th overall by the

in the second round in the

. The pick was initially held by the

Washington Wizards The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team plays i ...

, who traded the rights to Jackson-Davis for cash considerations on draft night. Jackson-Davis made his regular-season debut against the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Confere ...

on October 27, 2023, where he only played 5 minutes and recorded one rebound. Against the

New Orleans Pelicans The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Confere ...

on October 30, Jackson-Davis recorded 13 points, 9 rebounds and 4 blocks in a 130–102 win. On December 19, Jackson-Davis achieved his first double-double, recording 10 points, 13 rebounds and 3 blocks in a 132–126 overtime win against the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), ...

. Jackson-Davis recorded a second straight double-double against the Washington Wizards on December 22, having 10 points and 15 rebounds in a 129–118 victory. Jackson-Davis recorded 15 points, 6 rebounds and 4 blocks in a blowout 125–90 win against the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

on March 6, with three of those blocks being against

Giannis Antetokounmpo Giannis Sina Ugo Antetokounmpo ( Adetokunbo; born December 6, 1994) is a Nigerian-Greek professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). His size, speed, and strength have earned him the nick ...

. On April 4, Jackson-Davis recorded a career-high 20 points, combined with 5 rebounds and 4 assists in a 133–110 blowout win against the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA) ...

. During the 2023–2024 season, Jackson-Davis averaged 1.1 blocks per game, which was 4th among rookies. On March 9, 2025, Jackson-Davis was sent back to the Santa Cruz Warriors. Jackson-Davis says this is not some sort of punishment or demotion, but more so an opportunity as he has not been getting consistent minutes.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2023–24 , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 68 , , 16 , , 16.6 , , .702 , , .000 , , .561 , , 5.0 , , 1.2 , , .4 , , 1.1 , , 7.9 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2024–25 , style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 62 , , 37 , , 15.6 , , .576 , , .000 , , .578 , , 5.0 , , 1.7 , , .4 , , .6 , , 6.6 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 130 , , 53 , , 16.1 , , .642 , , .000 , , .568 , , 5.0 , , 1.4 , , .4 , , .9 , , 7.3

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;",

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

, style="text-align:left;", Golden State , 9 , , 3 , , 8.9 , , .889 , , — , , .385 , , 2.3 , , .2 , , .3 , , .2 , , 4.1 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 9 , , 3 , , 8.9 , , .889 , , — , , .385 , , 2.3 , , .2 , , .3 , , .2 , , 4.1

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2019–20 , style="text-align:left;",

, 32 , , 32 , , 29.3 , , .566 , , , , .685 , , 8.4 , , 1.2 , , .7 , , 1.8 , , 13.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 27 , , 27 , , 34.3 , , .517 , , , , .655 , , 9.0 , , 1.4 , , .7 , , 1.4 , , 19.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2021–22 , style="text-align:left;",

, 35 , , 35 , , 32.3 , , .589 , , .000 , , .674 , , 8.1 , , 1.9 , , .6 , , 2.3 , , 18.3 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 32 , , 32 , , 34.5 , , .581 , , , , .695 , , 10.8 , , 4.0 , , .8 , , 2.9 , , 20.9 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 126 , , 126 , , 32.5 , , .565 , , .000 , , .676 , , 9.1 , , 2.2 , , .7 , , 2.1 , , 17.9

Personal life

Jackson-Davis is the biological son of Dale Davis (former

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers and are typi ...

/ center). However, he was raised by his mother and his stepfather, former

Washington State Cougars football The Washington State Cougars football program is the intercollegiate American football team for Washington State University, located in Pullman, Washington. The team competes at the NCAA Division I level in the FBS and is a member of the Pac-12 ...

player Ray Jackson. Originally, Jackson-Davis just went by the last name of Davis; however, entering his freshman year of high school, he decided to hyphenate his last name and add "Jackson". He stated, "When I got to high school, I didn't think it was fair. Ray raised me my whole life, so I did Jackson-Davis. They both want the best out of me, but I would say they do it at different angles." Jackson-Davis has a sister, Arielle Bellian (née Jackson), and two brothers. His brother Shaun played basketball in Europe and for the

Harlem Globetrotters The Harlem Globetrotters is an American Exhibition game, exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, entertainment, and comedy in their style of play. Over the years, they have played more than 26,000 exhibition games in 124 ...

; his younger brother

Tayven Jackson Tayven Jackson (born January 5, 2004) is an American football quarterback for the UCF Knights. High school career Jackson attended Center Grove High School in Greenwood, Indiana. During his career, he passed for 4,813 yards and 47 touchdowns. He ...

was a high school teammate at Center Grove, and went on to play quarterback in college for the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...

for one year before transferring to

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

, and then to UCF. On March 15, 2019, Jackson-Davis was honored as the Indiana Gatorade Player of the Year. He received the award not only for his athletic abilities, but also for his academic discipline in maintaining a B average, and his exemplary character in which he volunteered locally as a youth basketball coach and at the Wheeler Mission Center in

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

, serving the homeless and those in need.

References

External links

Indiana Hoosiers bioUSA Basketball bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson-Davis, Trayce 2000 births Living people 21st-century American sportsmen All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from Indiana Golden State Warriors players Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball players McDonald's High School All-Americans People from Greenwood, Indiana Basketball players from Franklin, Indiana Power forwards Santa Cruz Warriors players Washington Wizards draft picks