NBA Future Watch: Tre Jones Basketball Cards, San Antonio Spurs – Tre Jones is living the path of so many players who have come into the NBA. He’s pushed past the limited opportunity of his early days and earned greater opportunity as his team decided to go young. The quest for Victor Wembanyama is really animating San Antonio this season. However, they surely won’t mind seeing Jones emerge as a strong point guard for the future.
Born eight days into the millennium, Jones’s path to becoming a five-star prospect demonstrated his potential as a quintessential 21st Century point guard. As a two-time Minnesota Gatorade Player of the Year, McDonald’s All-American and Minnesota Mr. Basketball, Jones led Apple Valley to two state championships. Jones also won a gold medal with Team USA at the 2015 FIBA Americas Under-16 Championship.
The younger brother of Tyus Jones, hero of the 2015 Blue Devil national champions, Tre also selected Duke. He emerged from a crowded recruiting process that also included Ohio State, UCLA, USC, Oregon and Minnesota. In his freshman year, Jones was workmanlike in some areas (9.4 PPG) and better in others (5.3 APG and 1.9 SPG). As a national semifinalist for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year award, Jones established strong bona fides as a shutdown force.
With .262 3%, Jones knew that he needed work at a defining skill in today’s pro game, and so he returned to Durham for a second season. En route to an ACC Player of the Year campaign in 2019-20, Jones succeeded in polishing his skills for the pro game. 16.2 PPG, 6.4 APG, 1.8 SPG, .771 FT% and .361 3%. Defining moments in a Duke jersey tend to come disproportionately against North Carolina and Jones posted a few. 28 points on February 8, 2020 and 21 points and 10 rebounds on March 7, 2020. Not long thereafter, COVID-19 shut down the hardcourt for Jones and everyone else.
Ready for the pros, Jones declared for the 2020 NBA Draft. Surprisingly he tumbled to San Antonio with the 41st pick. Minutes were hard to come by in the Spur rotation for two seasons. With San Antonio going with the young hands in 2022-23, Jones has seen his opportunities expand. With 12.3 PPG, 6.6 APG and even 3.2 RPG, it’s tempting to say Jones is resembling the player he was at Duke. But his .917 FT% and .412 3% far surpass anything that Jones tallied in college, indicating the progress made. Jones is showing signs of being the latest success story in San Antonio’s vaunted player development program. Whether or not the Spurs meet their goal of reeling in Wembanyama, Jones has become part of a coveted core. A core with Devin Vassall and Keldon Johnson that will attract great acclaim in the years to come.
NBA Future Watch: Tre Jones Basketball Cards, San Antonio Spurs – Stats
Statistical image generated on Sports Reference 11/23/2022.
NBA Future Watch: Tre Jones Basketball Cards, San Antonio Spurs – More Resources
- 2020-21 Panini Flawless NBA Basketball Cards Checklist
- 2020-21 Panini Immaculate NBA Basketball Cards Checklist
- 2021-22 Panini Select NBA Basketball Cards Checklist
- Beckett Card Catalog
- Secondary Market Pricing
- NBA.com Player Profile
- Tre Jones on Twitter
- Tre Jones on Instagram
NBA Future Watch: Tre Jones Basketball Cards, San Antonio Spurs – Image Gallery
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