Michigan State big man Jaxon Kohler looks to be going against my fifth-year wishes, taking steps in his NBA pursuit. After partaking in the Portsmouth Invitational with fellow Spartan big man Carson Cooper, Kohler has received his next professional opportunity.
On Monday, the Utah native was invited to the G-League Elite camp in Chicago which will take place this upcoming weekend. Last year, there were 45 attendees at the G-League Elite camp, so I’d expect around the same number this year. That’s a fairly exclusive club.
This annual camp is an opportunity for aspiring NBA rookies to compete in scrimmages and drills in front of NBA scouts and executives. It gives these organizations a chance to scout maybe some guys that didn’t get invited to the NBA Combine like Kohler. This is also a great opportunity for him to show that he does belong in the NBA and that there’s a reason Spartan fans loved him.
Kohler averaged a solid 12.5 points and 8.9 rebounds per game in 2025-26 and showed improvement in essentially every aspect of his game from defense to 3-point shooting.
This weekend, he’s going to get a chance to show NBA scouts that he’s not done getting better.
Jaxon Kohler isn’t done growing as a player
When Kohler came to Michigan State four years ago, the nickname “Baby Jokic” was thrown around because he could do a little of everything and was smooth with it like Nikola Jokic. Kohler had the footwork, the touch, the passing ability, the mid-to-long range ability, and he was just a high IQ player.
Obviously that nickname comes with some pressure.
Kohler played in 34 games as a freshman and everyone, including myself, was excited for his sophomore year breakout. Unfortunately, a foot injury sidelined him and he missed almost half the season and when he came back, he didn’t see the floor much and was pretty rusty when he did.
He finally broke out as a junior, but the delay in this breakout was more due to an injury than him not being ready. That foot injury sidelined him for months and when he came back, he didn’t have enough time to really gel and develop with his team which was already in the swing of things. Plus, that was a forgettable season altogether and it felt like everything about the team was disjointed.
As a junior, Kohler put up 7.8 points and 7.5 rebounds and added a 3-point shot to his arsenal. He built on that as a senior with a nearly five-point bump in average and 2.4-rebound per game bump.
That makes you wonder what he could do if he did apply for a fifth year, starting alongside Anton Bonke or, heck, even Cooper again. Obviously that’s a pipe dream, but a third straight healthy offseason would make him an All-Big Ten first-teamer.
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