Jaden Akins leaving lasting legacy with Michigan State basketball

Michigan State basketball in 2024-25 might not have one guy that's going to go out and get 20 points a night. The Spartans certainly don't need that given how well they play together as a team.

Senior guard Jaden Akins had a lot to live up to when he first arrived in East Lansing before the 2021-22 season in a class that also included Pierre Brooks (transferred) and Max Christie (NBA). In reality, that class didn't live up to its billing.

In Akins' case, however, he's stayed all these years and appears to be leaving a legacy that won't be forgotten. In the midst of the now nine-game winning streak, Akins has quietly been the most consistent scorer, leading the team in that regard.

They need him to continue to give the team everything he's got. The Spartans sweated out a tough game at Northwestern to get a 78-68 win. Sure, while that game got a little ugly in the second half, a moment that may have gone unnoticed at first, was that Akins crossed the 1,000-point mark for his career.

For a player that many have been critical of because of his early years of disappearing in a game in which he was most needed, getting to that 1,000-point mark is a huge accomplishment. I'm sure there are some who thought that it would never happen.

His teammates knew exactly what was at stake in Sunday's game. They celebrated the accomplishment in the locker room postgame, including Akins who recreated the famous Wilt Chamberlain 100-point game photo.

It wasn't an easy journey to this point, but all the trials and tribulations for Jaden certainly have made it worth it. Not bad for a kid who had a dream when he was little, and famously wrote that he would someday play basketball for Michigan State.

Congratulations on reaching 1,000 points, Jaden. Your legacy is far from complete.