Jaden McDaniels (born September 29, 2000) 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 court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player for the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...

of the

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

(NBA). He played

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for the

Washington Huskies The Washington Huskies are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Washington, located in Seattle. The school competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Pac-1 ...

. He attended

Federal Way High School Federal Way High School is a public high school located in Federal Way, Washington. It was originally built in 1938. A new campus opened in the fall of 2016. Academics * Advanced Placement courses: Calculus, Statistics, and Photography. * Pre-A ...

Federal Way, Washington Federal Way is a city in King County, Washington, United States. One of the most recently incorporated cities in the county, its population was 101,030 at the 2020 census. Federal Way is the tenth-largest city in Washington and the fifth-large ...

, where he was named a

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and Washington Gatorade Player of the Year as a senior. McDaniels was a five-star

recruit __NOTOC__ Recruit can refer to: Military * Military recruitment * Recruit training, in the military * '' Rekrut'' (English: Recruit), a military recruit or low rank in German-speaking countries * Seaman recruit Books *''Le Réquisitionnaire'' (E ...

and one of the top players in the 2019 class.

High school career

McDaniels played basketball for

. As a freshman, he was teammates with his older brother

Jalen Jalen is both a surname and given name. Notable people with the name include: Given name A *Jalen Adams (born 1995), American basketball player B *Jalen Beeks (born 1993), American baseball player * Jalen Billups (born 1992), American basketbal ...

and helped Federal Way win its second straight Class 4A state championship. McDaniels averaged 2.4 points and 1.8 rebounds per game on the

varsity team In most English-speaking countries, varsity is an abbreviation of the word ''university''. In the United States and Canada, the term is mostly used in relation to sports teams. Varsity in the United Kingdom In the United Kingdom, varsity team ...

and was forced to shoot with his left hand due to a right elbow injury. In his first two years, he helped his team win 63 consecutive games, the longest win streak in state history since 1977. As a junior, McDaniels guided Federal Way to a runner-up finish at the 4A state tournament. In the season, he averaged 21.3 points, 10 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 3.3 blocks per game and earned ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgi ...

'' All-USA Washington first team honors. In May 2018, McDaniels saw breakout success at the

Nike Elite Youth Basketball League The Nike Elite Youth Basketball League, also known as Nike EYBL, or simply EYBL, is a basketball circuit for teams of players aged 17 and under. The circuit was founded in 2010 and is composed of AAU travel teams. Both boys and girls play in the E ...

(EYBL) with Seattle Rotary, bolstering his position as a top recruit in the 2019 class. On January 25, 2019, as a senior, he recorded 51 points against

Todd Beamer High School Todd Beamer High School is a four-year secondary school located in Federal Way, Washington within the Federal Way School District. The school was built in 2003 and was named after Todd Morgan Beamer, a passenger aboard United Airlines Flight 9 ...

, breaking the school single-game scoring record held by NBA player

Donny Marshall Donny Marshall (born July 17, 1972) is an American former professional basketball player who played five seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Cleveland Cavaliers and New Jersey Nets. He is currently a college basketball te ...

. McDaniels averaged 23.3 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two blocks per game in his senior season, leading his team to third place at the 4A state tournament. He earned Class 4A Player of the Year and Washington Gatorade Player of the Year recognition. McDaniels played in the McDonald's All-American Game and

Jordan Brand Classic The Jordan Brand Classic is a high school All-Star basketball game played annually in April. The game's rosters feature the best and most highly recruited high school boys in the senior class including alumns like Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, Bl ...

Recruiting

By the end of his high school career, McDaniels was considered a consensus five-star recruit and the best

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to centers. When on offense, they typically play with their ba ...

in the 2019 class.

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and

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ranked him among the top 10 players in his class. On May 22, 2019, McDaniels committed to play college basketball for

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. He had also received strong interest from

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

during the recruiting process.

College career

Heading in to the college season McDaniels was considered a possible number one pick for the

2020 NBA draft The 2020 NBA draft was held on November 18, 2020. The draft was originally scheduled to be held at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on June 25, but due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it was instead conducted at ESPN's facilities in Bristol, Connecti ...

. In his collegiate debut, a 67–64 upset of Baylor, McDaniels had 18 points and seven rebounds. He had a season-high 22 points against Ball State. As a freshman, McDaniels averaged 13 points and 5.8 rebounds per game while starting 21 games but he began coming off the bench midway through conference play. Following the season, he declared for the

Professional career

Minnesota Timberwolves (2020–present)

In the

, he was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round with the 28th overall selection. He was then traded to the

Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team plays i ...

along with Danny Green for Dennis Schröder and later traded to the

, along with the draft rights of

Immanuel Quickley Immanuel Jaylen Quickley (born June 17, 1999) is an American professional basketball player for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats. High school career While a ...

, in exchange for Aleksej Pokuševski.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

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, 70 , , 31 , , 25.8 , , .460 , , .317 , , .803 , , 4.2 , , 1.1 , , .7 , , .8 , , 9.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 133 , , 58 , , 24.9 , , .455 , , .338 , , .724 , , 3.9 , , 1.1 , , .7 , , .9 , , 8.1

Playoffs

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, 6 , , 0 , , 21.7 , , .529 , , .500 , , .833 , , 2.8 , , .7 , , .3 , , 1.8 , , 9.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 6 , , 0 , , 21.7 , , .529 , , .500 , , .833 , , 2.8 , , .7 , , .3 , , 1.8 , , 9.3

College

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, 31 , , 21 , , 31.1 , , .405 , , .339 , , .763 , , 5.8 , , 2.1 , , .8 , , 1.4 , , 13.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 31 , , 21 , , 31.1 , , .405 , , .339 , , .763 , , 5.8 , , 2.1 , , .8 , , 1.4 , , 13.0

Personal life

McDaniels' older brother,

Jalen McDaniels Jalen Marquis McDaniels (born January 31, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the San Diego State Aztecs. High school c ...

, played basketball for Federal Way High School, where he was a four-star recruit, before joining

San Diego State San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...

at the college level. He was selected by the Charlotte Hornets in the second round of the

2019 NBA draft The 2019 NBA draft was held on June 20, 2019. It took place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur United States college basketball players and other eligible players, i ...

. McDaniels is a cousin of former NBA player

Juwan Howard Juwan Antonio Howard (born February 7, 1973) is an American former professional basketball player and current head coach of the Michigan Wolverines men's team. A one-time All-Star and one-time All-NBA power forward, he began his NBA career ...

. Both his father, Will McDaniels, and his mother, Angela Jackson, are originally from

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

References

External links

Washington Huskies bioUSA Basketball bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:McDaniels, Jaden 2000 births Living people African-American basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from Washington (state) Los Angeles Lakers draft picks McDonald's High School All-Americans Minnesota Timberwolves players People from Federal Way, Washington Power forwards (basketball) Sportspeople from King County, Washington Washington Huskies men's basketball players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople