NBA legend Kevin Garnett compared 2026 New Orleans Pelicans pick Jaron Pierre Jr. to some serious talents prior to the draft.
Fans of the New Orleans Pelicans are excited about their No. 58 overall draft pick, Jaron Pierre Jr., mostly because it's a feel-good story of a player coming home. One NBA legend, however, thinks they could have just gotten the steal of the year.
A couple of months ago, on an episode of the "KG Certified" podcast, 15-time All-Star Kevin Garnett had some interesting thoughts on Pierre (H/T to @ProPelsTalk for sharing the clip.)
"It's two kids at SMU I love. A kid named Boob, who's a guard, and then it's another kid. Pierre Jr. plays like [LeBron James], plays like Anthony Edwards. Downhill, electrifying. I think that if you get him to the pros, he's gonna be a really good pro," said Garnett.
Those are strong comparisons to make for someone who was just taken with the No. 58 pick in the draft. Though, when looking at the best of what Pierre put on tape during his college career, it's not that far-fetched of a comparison. Is that to say that he will develop into an All-NBA star or Hall of Famer? No. He does have that downhill attacking skillset, and is explosive off the floor. He pulls off some dunks that players like James or Edwards would pull off.
The offensive skillset that Pierre brings to the table is nothing to be discounted. He was the definition of a "bucket-getter" in college. He could crash the rim or pull the ball from extended range. He's a fun player to watch. Pierre put up 17.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists on 46.2/37.0/75.8 shooting splits last season.
Still, there's a reason that Pierre dipped in the draft. He's an older rookie, as he's about to turn 24 years old in the middle of July. Players who come into the league that late don't have a huge success rate. It is different nowadays, though, as NIL will keep players in college longer.
Pierre was a slow developer in college, though. He was pretty inefficient to start his career, though he did show flashes of what he could become. The offensive bag is league-ready in certain situations, which does help his age.
Why he will probably start the season in the G-League, which will be fun to watch with him back in Kenner, is that his defense has a long way to go before being ready for the lineup. Putting both he and Jeremiah Fears in the backcourt together could be fun in the future, but would lead to free buckets for the opponents right now.
The potential is there for sure, though, which will make this even more fun of a story for fans to watch out for this season.
