Prospect Scouting Report: Jalen Bridges – At The Hive

There are a couple of schools of thought when picking prospects in the second round. You can either take a swing on a young prospect that was a big time high school recruit that didn’t work out in the collegiate level, or you can take an older player with a lower ceiling but a more clearly defined NBA role. Jalen Bridges fits the latter.

Measurements

Height: 6’6.75″
Wingspan: 6’10”
Standing reach: 8’9″
Weight: 214 pounds
Standing vertical: 25″
Max vertical: 32″

Strengths

3-point shooting, positional size, defined 3&D role

There isn’t a long list of strengths here, but what Bridges has is a very clearly defined skill set that is highly coveted in the NBA. He has the size of a prototypical wing with long arms and a stout frame, though his athletic testing was rather underwhelming. He has a quick, effortless release with little elevation. He gets a lot of arc on his shots and has confidence from deep and when relocating. Baylor had a couple of plays to get him looks off screens, which shows you the confidence they had in him as a shooter. He shot over 41% from three as a senior and was a career 80% free throw shooter in college.

I’m surprised that I don’t see Baylor’s Jalen Bridges on more boards.

Has good size at about 6’8, 225. Shot 41% from three this year, shooting off the catch, off movement, etc. Nothing “too crazy” but has a defined role as a shooting forward/nice defender.pic.twitter.com/wqacW8aqFm

— Lucas 🦦 (@redcooteay) May 1, 2024

He occasionally shows flashes of more advanced offensive weaponry, particularly attacking downhill against space. It’s not something teams will rely on, but it gives him a counter if teams run him off the line. He’s an unselfish player that plays to his role.

He didn’t generate a ton of stocks as a defender, but he gives good effort on that end and plays good positional defense. He fits nicely into the role of a Torrey Craig, Royce O’Neale, etc. type of player. With how easily players like that fit into rotations, I’m surprised more people aren’t higher on Bridges.

Question Marks

Ceiling, offensive upside

There aren’t glaring weaknesses in Bridges’ game so much as there are things he just won’t be asked to do. He fits into a simple role, and that’s where he’ll thrive. He’s not an advanced ball handler or shot creator, so that limits the ceiling, but that’s okay. Any team that picks him is doing so with the expectation that he’ll try hard on defense and knock down the open shots that are fed to him.

His athletic testing numbers at the combine were pretty poor, but that didn’t show up as a major liability on the floor in college. It may be something to keep an eye on though.

Overall Outlook

Jalen Bridges isn’t a flashy prospect by any means. If the Charlotte Hornets take him, it’s to fit into the rotation as a cog in the machine. It’s not with any sort of expectation that he’s going to pop off and be a star. Still, the Hornets (like every team) need a 3&D players to complement their creators.