Nets’ Jalen Wilson ready for summer-league encore after Vegas success as rookie

As a second-round draft pick who was a bit older than the usual NBA rookie, 23-year-old University of Kansas graduate Jalen Wilson entered the 2023-24 season with one major goal in mind.

“I just wanted to get the most experience, the most time playing in high-stakes games,” said Wilson, who after earning second-team all-NBA 2K25 Summer League honors emerged as an immediate factor in his initial campaign with the Brooklyn Nets.

Wilson spoke with reporters after a 2024 summer-league practice on Tuesday in Brooklyn, New York.

“One of the first games we had ... we had the Mavericks and Boston the same week,” he recalled. “Both were close games. I just wanted to get the experience to play against those superstars of the league.”

The 6-foot-6, 220-pound native of Denton, Texas scored 10 points in 18 minutes against the Western Conference champion Dallas Mavericks on Feb. 6, then went for nine points and four rebounds in 23 minutes against the world champion Boston Celtics on Feb. 13.

The next night, against the same Celtics team, Wilson had four points and two assists in 19 minutes. The Nets lost all three games.

“I feel I was able to get out there, get minutes and I feel that’s the main thing with young players coming in,” Wilson said. “You just want to be able to play against those guys.”

Wilson was a starter on KU’s 2022 NCAA title team. He was selected 51st overall by Brooklyn in the 2023 Draft.

“I’m on the same court as them now, playing against them now,” Wilson said of the likes of Luka Doncic of the Mavs and Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Jrue Holiday, Derrick White and Al Horford of the Celtics.

“(Against elite players) I’ve got to rebound,” he said. “I’ve got to get a bucket to build that confidence. If I can do that with them on the court I should be able to play (against others in the league). That’s the biggest thing for me, to get experience and be able to play.”

Wilson started 11 games in 2023-24 for the Long Island Nets of the NBA G League. He also played in 43 games — making three starts — for the parent club Nets.

Now he is gearing up for his second go-round in summer-league ball, which starts with a game against former KU wing Johnny Furphy’s Indiana Pacers on Friday night in Las Vegas.

Wilson made good use of his extensive playing time in 2023-24, averaging 35 minutes per game in the G League and 15.4 in the NBA games in which he participated.

In March, the Nets tore up Wilson’s two-way contract and signed him to a three-year deal worth $4,963,534, including $925,000 guaranteed and an average annual salary of $1,654,511. In 2024-25, Wilson will earn a base salary of $1,891,857 while carrying a cap hit of $1,891,857 and a dead cap value of $75,000.

This season he’ll make $1,891,857, the contract becoming fully guaranteed if he’s still with the team on Jan 10, 2025.

Suffice to say Wilson is totally satisfied with the way things have gone for him in the pros so far. As a rookie, he averaged 5.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 15.4 minutes per game for the Nets. He hit 79 of 179 shots for 42.5% including 24 of 74 from 3-point range for 32.4%.

In the 11 G League games he averaged 19.1 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 35.0 minutes per outing. He hit 70 of 140 shots for 50%. He was 23 of 51 from 3-point range for 45.1%.

Wilson had a lot of momentum entering the regular season after averaging 17.6 points and 7.8 rebounds in five 2023 summer-league games. The Nets went 3-2 in summer league, tying for sixth-best record.

Now he’s returning to Vegas to play for a Nets team that’s rebuilding after the recent trade of Mikal Bridges. Wilson will be a summer teammate of fellow second-year players Noah Clowney and Dariq Whitehead plus Jaylen Martin, Zylanb Cheatham and others.

“You always want to come out and show you are ready to play,” Wilson said. “Summer league’s going to be ups and downs as well. It’s not going to be perfect. You need to show you are mentally locked in and ready for the season.”

Wilson realizes he hasn’t yet locked up a spot in the Nets’ regular rotation.

“I have had people hate on me or whatever you want to call it my entire life, so I just go out and block out the noise and play my game,” he said. “I feel when it’s time to play, you’ve got to play.

“I feel I’m able to go out there, play hard and show what I can do every single time. I feel like someone’s always going to have something to say so it doesn’t really matter.”

Of his summer-league goals, Wilson said: “I definitely want to win. We were so close to winning it last time. That’s the definite priority.”

Also … “just being a leader,” he said. “I felt we all got to do it last year, growing from that and showing we’ve gotten better from last summer and we’re ready to play.

“I feel like with time, confidence grows from being in the gym. We got good reps last year. Now this year we have another opportunity to play and get to prove ourselves. It’s a good summer to get better, to gain confidence mentally and on the court.”

Evan Barnes of Newsday wrote Wednesday what fans should watch for from Wilson in the Nets’ five summer-league games.

“Wilson made the all-Summer League second-team last year. At the time, he looked the most NBA-ready of the Nets’ three rookies and it paid off as he was the first of the trio to start games and earn rotation minutes,” Barnes wrote. “For Wilson, summer league should be about showing leadership and proving he’s too good for the competition. He should continue to be assertive not just on the court but as a rebounder and taking charge of situations. Last summer also showed Wilson’s improved jump shot. Fans should keep an eye on that this summer since that’ll help Wilson stay on the floor next season besides his IQ and rebounding. Wilson could be the classic second-year guy who looks too good for summer league. That’ll be a plus for him and Nets fans who hope that he can compete for a bigger role.”

Wilson is hoping he becomes a fixture in Brooklyn. He likes everything about his NBA home.

“I’ve grown to love it every single day,” he said. “Coming from Texas, New York is always a new awakening to everybody.

“I love going out, enjoying the views, enjoying the city. (There’s) great food all over the place. Just being able to work out here, then be able to go out and enjoy one of the most — if not the most — populated and go-to city. … It’s fun every single day.”

And Wilson once again showed his KU loyalty during Tuesday’s interview. Asked if he watched some of his new Nets teammates play in college, he smiled and said: “If it ain’t KU; I ain’t really watching. I can’t lie.”