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Michigan State Basketball: No, Jaren Jackson Jr. isn’t Joakim Noah 2.0

By Connor Muldowney

NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 21: Jaren Jackson Jr. reacts after being drafted fourth overall by the Memphis Grizzlies during the 2018 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center on June 21, 2018 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 21: Jaren Jackson Jr. reacts after being drafted fourth overall by the Memphis Grizzlies during the 2018 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center on June 21, 2018 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /
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Pistons great Chauncey Billups gave one of the worst player comparisons in recent memory to Michigan State basketball’s Jaren Jackson Jr.

NBA draft night has come and gone and Jaren Jackson Jr. and Miles Bridges were both selected in the lottery. Jackson Jr. went No. 4 overall, Tom Izzo’s highest-selected player ever, to the Memphis Grizzlies and Bridges was picked at No. 12 by the Clippers and then traded to Charlotte.

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One of the more intriguing coverage storylines of the night was player comparisons by former Pistons legend Chauncey Billups.

For the most part, he did a decent job, although some of his comparisons were a little iffy, and lazy, such as comparing Trae Young to Stephen Curry, but the worst of all was Jackson Jr.’s player comparison.

Billups said Jackson Jr. reminds him a lot of Joakim Noah. Yes, that Joakim Noah who was a defensive-oriented player who has averaged 8.9 points, 9.3 rebounds and 1.3 blocks over his nine-year NBA career and has somewhat flamed out recently. He was a mediocre free throw shooter, attempted just 15 3-pointers in his entire career, making zero, and made less than 50 percent of his shots from the floor while being average athletically compared to other bigs.

For Billups to claim that Jackson Jr. reminds him of Noah, that must mean he hadn’t watched much film on the former Spartan and/or he doesn’t remember the latter’s game — at all.

Fans of the Grizzlies had to be sweating out the player comp when Billups revealed it, but it makes little to no sense. Like the tweet above says, the only thing the two have in common is they both are 6-11 and they were both drafted. That’s about it. Oh yeah, and they can both play elite defense.

Jackson Jr. is worlds ahead of Noah offensively and has a coveted inside-out game, making nearly 40 percent of his shots from long-range. Noah has never made a 3-pointer in his pro career.

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Billups is a smart guy and future NBA executive, but this player comparison was just awful.

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