NBA Future Watch: Jett Howard Basketball Cards, Orlando Magic – Jett Howard carries a Fab Five legacy into the NBA as the son of Juwan Howard. Born at about the midpoint of his father’s NBA career, Howard grew up observing the game closely. Unsurprisingly, he developed into the quintessential coach’s son. He is a brilliant on-court player adept at creating his own offense. Serving as a secondary facilitator for his teammates is another of his skills.
As Howard grew into his prep years, his reputation placed him in many top-notch developmental situations. He took part in the Jordan Brand Classic, the Allen Iverson Roundball Classic, three USA Basketball Junior National Team minicamps, a USA U16 National Team training camp and the IMG Academy. He won a Florida Class 5A State championship as a freshman at NSU University School. That was followed by two high school national final four berths at IMG. Consequently, Howard was a very decorated recruit. Opting for strong due diligence among the many schools pursuing Howard, the consensus four-star recruit ended up playing for his dad at Michigan.
Arriving in Ann Arbor with the reputation for being a varied offensive creator, Howard posted 21 in his initial outing. That made him the first freshman to debut with at least 20 points since Jamal Crawford in November 1999. As the season unfolded, Howard’s production locked him in as an immediate pro prospect with 14.2 PPG behind .800 FT% and .368 3%.
Orlando grabbed Howard with the 11th pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. They provided immediate opportunities to him in Summer League play, where his defense, previously a work in progress, was encouraging. With Jalen Suggs and Franz Wagner as the starters and Gary Harris, Joe Ingles, and Anthony Black jockeying for playing time at the wing spots, Howard is playing the long game as he builds his arsenal of capabilities. But Howard’s ability to convert his skills to tangible offensive production in the pros will force the hands of the Magic in terms of playing time – exactly as they are counting on him doing.
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