Jameer Nelson Jr Scouting Report
More than just an NBA Legacy, Nelson offers high-level defense
Name: Jameer Nelson Jr
Birth date: August 7, 2001
Height/Weight: 6’1/204
Wingspan/ standing reach: 6’6/7’11.5
Hand size: 9.5
Position: Guard
Pre-Draft Team: TCU
Tools: Active hands, defense, feel for the game
Background: Son of former NBA all star and current GM of the Delaware Blue Coats, Jameer Nelson. Started his career at George Washington, transferred to Delaware and thrived there, then played his final year of eligibility at TCU. Played baseball growing up as well. Was an honoree of CAA All-Defense and a two time All-CAA at Delaware.
2023-24 Stats: 11.2 PPG 2.6 RPG 3.3 APG 2.1 SPG 0.4 BPG 2.3 TOPG 2 FPG on 43/30.6/74 in 25 MPG.
Career Stats: 13.5 PPG 4 RPG 2.8 APG 2 SPG 0.4 BPG 2.7 TOPG 2.3 FPG on 43.5/31/73
Pros:
Great feel for the game; rotates well defensively, plays hard, and clearly thinks the game through.
Strong defensive feel for the game; creates many plays that don’t show up in the stat sheet
Fundamental defender. Traps well with high hands and proper footwork. Reads plays off-ball and reacts & moves in proper time
Extremely active hands and forces tons of deflections each game
Capable at creating space and scoring off the dribble in spurts
Good athlete that can rise up well
Cons:
Heavy push shot and inconsistent in aiming his shot at times
Forces shots in bad spots too often and is prone to making poor decisions off the dribble
Undersized and not a true point guard
Swing Skills:
Herky-jerky ball-handler. How will that translate?
How will he translate to quicker offense?
Can he be more than a defensive pest?
How will his shot translate?
Summary:
Jameer Nelson Jr is a pesky defender that has a fantastic feel for the game and defensive fundamentals. While his jump shooting leaves a lot to be desired, Nelson’s game likely scales up to an NBA-type environment due to the fast pace and the fact that more talent around Nelson makes his job as a scoring point guard easier.
Offensively, how Nelson scores will be the number one swing skill for his game. With a herky-jerky play style, along with an unorthodox jump shot that can be outright inaccurate at times with an off-balance base, his shot mechanics need significant overhauling. His push shot will be easily defended by NBA length, and his elbow is often not straight on shots. With good touch, there could be promise to him turning his shot around the way several guards of his archetype in the past have. Take Ashton Hagans of Portland as an example: Poor shooter in college with a shot that doesn’t have consistent, or clean, mechanics at Kentucky. In the G League, he reworked his form to keep his elbow more fluid and pointed to the rim with a square base, changing his shot from aiming to the rim to softly shooting with a good arc. They are similar players too, being defense-first guards that can make others around them better as playmakers. While Nelson is more score-first than Hagans, and also two years older at the time of the draft, Hagans could be a model for teams to look at for Nelson’s development.
While not a true point guard like his dad was, Nelson does a good job of using eye deception to look defenders off of teammates. While his reads are rarely advanced in finding and executing tight windows, he is generally a good decision-maker out of the pick & roll. Jameer’s growth as a P&R playmaker in his final two years in college, both at Delaware and TCU, was a clear jump, and also a large part of why he had 100+ assists with a positive assist:turnover ratio. I went through all of his pick & rolls in the final 3 games of the season (2 Big 12 Tournament games and 1 NCAA Tournament game), and he generally made the right decision each time. The one thing that stood out as an area of improvement was that, while he read and took what the defense gave him, he forced some bad shots too much. With NBA spacing, the paint won’t be as crowded, but he will need to make better decisions at the same speed, which is the next jump for him to take as a playmaker.
Nelson makes his presence known best on the defensive end, being able to make ball-handlers uncomfortable and by constantly being able to see the play before it happens, making it hard to sneak plays past him. Evidenced by a career two steals per game, Nelson’s ability to be a disruptor and defensive playmaker are impressive, and show how his defensive instincts can create positive plays. More impressive is the fact that Nelson does this without dangerously gambling, which makes him a good team defender. Beyond reading the plays before they happen, his defensive fundamentals are quite apparent: high hands, vocal leadership, natural rotations, and playing hard every possession. Ball-handlers have to be careful about making lazy passes, because any pass in Nelson’s direction is in danger of being intercepted. Nelson’s ability to capitalize on opposing players’ bad decisions with the ball in their hands is a key trait that played a part in him having the second best steal percentage in the Big 12. He also is outstanding at digging as the helper on drives, forcing several turnovers that way against unexpecting ball-handlers.
Look for Philadelphia to take a chance on Nelson Jr, as Jameer Nelson senior is the GM of the Delaware Blue Coats in the G League.
Projected draft range: Undrafted
Expected role: Defensive pest with some shot creation ability offensively
Unplayable if: Jump shooting doesn’t improve, combined with his PG abilities not scaling up with NBA spacing and roster construction.
Exceeds expectations if: Jumper comes along with more consistency, and he continues to refine his point guard skills
Videos:
Shot chart:
