Jaren Jackson Jr. playing at elite level, named NBA All-Star again

Michigan State basketball has plenty to be proud of regarding one of its former players. Jaren Jackson Jr. was destined for greatness in the NBA, and he's definitely living up to it.

The former NBA Defensive Player of the Year was tabbed for his second career All-Star Game.

Jackson last played in the All-Star Game in 2023, and this season has been arguably the best of his young career. Now in his seventh season in the league, Jaren is scoring the ball at the highest clip of his career.

He's averaging nearly 23 points per game along with 6.2 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game. The blocking ability has always been there, proven by what he was able to accomplish in his one season in East Lansing, blocking 106 shots, a mark that probably won't be matched by another Spartan in one season.

Jackson is clearly on pace this season to be in consideration for All-NBA honors, and that would be huge given how important he has been to the Memphis Grizzlies' success this season. With teammate and All-Star caliber guard Ja Morant in and out of the lineup, Jaren has thrived.

He's currently on a seven-game streak of 20-plus points and the effort he put up in the Grizzlies' recent win against the Houston Rockets was huge.

This is just the next step in Jaren's journey and he's only going to keep getting better and better. It's great to see him living up to expectations, especially when he truthfully admitted he wanted to return to East Lansing when he came out in the 2018 NBA Draft.

Tom Izzo said he was crazy for wanting to stay, and it turns out that Izzo was right that Jackson was ready for the NBA.

Good luck at the All-Star Game Jaren, Spartan Nation is proud of you.