Jaylen Bryce Clark (born October 13, 2001) 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 (appr ...

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 S ...

(NBA), on a

two-way contract A two-way contract is a professional sports contract that stipulates that an athlete's salary is dependent upon the league in which the athlete is assigned to play. This is opposed to a one-way contract that would pay the same salary regardless of ...

with the

Iowa Wolves The Iowa Wolves are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Des Moines, Iowa, and are affiliated with the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Wolves play their home games at the Wells Fargo Arena and compete in the Western ...

of the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official List of developmental and minor sports leagues, minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development ...

. He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Pac-12 Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF). ...

of the

Pac-12 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its College football, football teams compete in the NCAA D ...

, earning national honors as both the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year and

NABC Defensive Player of the Year The NABC Defensive Player of the Year is an award given annually by the National Association of Basketball Coaches to recognize the top defensive player in United States college basketball. The award has been given since 1987 and was previously kn ...

as a

junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959 * ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009 * ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010 * ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019 Films * ''Junior'' (1994 ...

in 2023, when he was also voted the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year. A two-time Pac-12 All-Defensive Team selection, Clark was named second-team All-Pac-12 as well that year. He was selected by the Timberwolves in the second round of the 2023 NBA draft.

Early life and high school career

Clark was born in

Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States, in the Inland Empire metropolitan area. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. It is the most populous city in the Inland Empire an ...

. His father, who played one season of basketball at

Modesto Junior College Modesto Junior College (MJC) is a public community college in Modesto, California. It is part of Yosemite Community College District along with Columbia College. MJC, and Columbia College, belong to the California Community College system al ...

, was an elite perimeter defender. Clark attended Centennial High School in

Corona Corona (from the Latin for 'crown') most commonly refers to: * Stellar corona, the outer atmosphere of the Sun or another star * Corona (beer), a Mexican beer * Corona, informal term for the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which causes the COVID-19 di ...

for three years before transferring to Etiwanda High in

Rancho Cucamonga Rancho Cucamonga was a Mexican land grant in present-day San Bernardino County, California, given in 1839 to the dedicated soldier, smuggler and politician Tiburcio Tapia by Mexican governor Juan Bautista Alvarado. The grant formed parts of pr ...

for his

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

year. Under Etiwanda coach David Kleckner, a defensive specialist, he developed into a

two-way player In sports that require a player to play on offense and defense (such as basketball and ice hockey), a two-way player refers to a player who excels at both. In sports where a player typically specializes on offense or defense (like American footb ...

who played unselfishly. Clark averaged 18.5 points, 6.4

rebounds 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

and 2.7 assists per game at Etiwanda, and led the Eagles to the

CIF Southern Section The California Interscholastic Federation-Southern Section (CIF-SS) is the governing body for high school athletics in most of Southern California and is the largest of the ten sections that comprise the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF ...

Open Division regional finals. He signed a

national letter of intent National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

to play with UCLA in 2020.

College career

In his

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. Ara ...

year at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

, in

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 b ...

, Clark was a

reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US vi ...

and averaged 2.5 points and 2.4 rebounds in nine minutes per game for the Bruins. He made the game-winning

free throw In basketball, free throws or foul shots are unopposed attempts to score points by shooting from behind the free-throw line (informally known as the foul line or the charity stripe), a line situated at the end of the Key (basketball), restricted ...

in an 80–79 win over

Arizona State Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

at home in

Pauley Pavilion Edwin W. Pauley Pavilion, commonly known as Pauley Pavilion, is an indoor arena located in the Westwood Village district of Los Angeles, California, on the campus of UCLA. It is home to the UCLA Bruins men's and women's basketball teams. The men ...

. In the 2021 NCAA tournament, UCLA unexpectedly advanced to the Final Four. Clark helped lead a 14-point comeback in the

First Four The First Four is a play-in round of the NCAA Division I men's and women's basketball tournaments. It consists of two games contested between the four lowest-ranked teams in the field, and two games contested between the four lowest-seeded "a ...

with a

layup A layup in basketball is a two-point shot attempt made by leaping from below, laying the ball up near the basket, and using one hand to bounce it off the backboard and into the basket. The motion and one-handed reach distinguish it from a Jump sh ...

, a pair of assists, and an offensive rebound in an 86–80 overtime win over

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

. He had a season-high nine rebounds in 18 minutes in an overtime victory over second-seeded

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

in the Sweet Sixteen. As a

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. In ...

in 2021–22, Clark missed six games in January and February due to multiple

concussion A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include loss of consciousness (LOC); memory loss; headaches; difficulty with thinking, concentration, ...

s. Playing off the bench, he was named to the Pac-12 All-Defensive Team. He averaged 6.7 points and 3.8 rebounds in 18.1 minutes per game. In the nine games in which he played 20 or more minutes, Clark averaged 11.4 points and 5.6 rebounds. In February, during a three-game span versus

Washington State Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...

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 ...

, and Arizona State, he averaged 19.7 points, making 3 of 8 on 3-pointers, and added 8.3 rebounds and 2.7 steals. According to UCLA head coach Mick Cronin, "With consistent minutes, you’re going to see him produce a lot more on the offensive end". Clark became a full-time starter in his

year in

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 b ...

after

Johnny Juzang Jonathan Anh Juzang (; born March 17, 2001) is an American professional basketball player for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract for the Salt Lake City Stars of the NBA G League. He began his college ...

and

Jules Bernard Jules Liam Bernard (born January 21, 2000) is an American professional basketball player for the Capital City Go-Go of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins. High school career Bernard played basketball for Windward S ...

departed. In the Bruins' season opener, he scored 17 points on 7-of-7 shooting and had seven steals in a win over

Sacramento State California State University, Sacramento (CSUS, Sacramento State, or informally Sac State) is a public university in Sacramento, California. Founded in 1947 as Sacramento State College, it is the eleventh oldest school in the 23-campus California ...

. In the regular season finale against

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

, he suffered a right

Achilles tendon rupture Achilles tendon rupture is when the Achilles tendon, at the back of the ankle, breaks. Symptoms include the sudden onset of sharp pain in the heel. A snapping sound may be heard as the tendon breaks and walking becomes difficult. Rupture typica ...

and was ruled out for the 2023 Pac-12 tournament. The top-seeded Bruins advanced to the tournament finals, before losing 61–59 to No. 2-seed Arizona. UCLA, who was vying for a No. 1 seed in the 2023 NCAA tournament, received a No. 2 seed in the West Region, but Clark was ruled out for the season. He underwent surgery three days after the injury. The Bruins lost in the Sweet Sixteen to Gonzaga, with an injured Adem Bona also missing the game for UCLA. Clark averaged 2.6 steals per game during the season, which led the Pac-12 and ranked fourth in the nation. One of the top defensive players in the country, he won the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Award, and the

National Association of Basketball Coaches The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, is an American organization of men's college basketball coaches. It was founded in 1927 by Phog Allen, head men's basketball coach at the University o ...

named him their defensive player of the year. Voted the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, he was selected again to the conference's all-defensive team, and was also named second-team All-Pac-12. Clark significantly improved on offense and became UCLA's second-leading scorer. He nearly doubled his scoring from the previous season, averaging 13.0 points, six rebounds and 1.9 assists in 30.5 minutes over 30 games. After the season, he declared for the NBA draft. The timetable for his recovery was estimated to be 8–10 months.

Professional career

Minnesota Timberwolves (2023–present)

Clark was selected by the

in the second round of the 2023 NBA draft with the 53rd overall pick. On July 7, 2023, he signed a

with the Timberwolves, and aimed to return to play around the middle or late in the season. On March 28, 2024, he was transferred to the

of the

G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA Dev ...

for rehab.

Career statistics

College

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

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

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

, 31 , , 0 , , 9.0 , , .500 , , .200 , , .750 , , 2.4 , , .2 , , .1 , , .2 , , 2.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2021–22 , style="text-align:left;",

, 29 , , 6 , , 18.1 , , .506 , , .259 , , .542 , , 3.8 , , 1.0 , , 1.1 , , .2 , , 6.7 , - , style="text-align:left;",

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

, 30 , , 29 , , 30.5 , , .481 , , .329 , , .698 , , 6.0 , , 1.9 , , 2.6 , , .3 , , 13.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 90 , , 35 , , 19.1 , , .490 , , .302 , , .661 , , 4.1 , , 1.0 , , 1.3 , , .2 , , 7.4 Source:

References

External links

UCLA Bruins bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Jaylen 2001 births Living people American men's basketball players Basketball players from Riverside, California Centennial High School (Corona, California) alumni Etiwanda High School alumni Minnesota Timberwolves draft picks Shooting guards UCLA Bruins men's basketball players