.jpg) Pickett withPenn State in 2022 | |
| No. 24 – Denver Nuggets | |
|---|---|
| Position | Point guard |
| League | NBA |
| Personal information | |
| Born | (1999-10-22)October 22, 1999 (age 26) Rochester, New York, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Listed weight | 202 lb (92 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school |
|
| College |
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| NBA draft | 2023: 2nd round, 32nd overall pick |
| Drafted by | Indiana Pacers |
| Playing career | 2023–present |
| Career history | |
| 2023–present | Denver Nuggets |
| 2023–2024 | →Grand Rapids Gold |
| Career highlights | |
| |
Stats at NBA.com  | |
| Stats atBasketball Reference | |
Jalen Maurice Pickett (born October 22, 1999) is an American professionalbasketball player for theDenver Nuggets of theNational Basketball Association (NBA). He playedcollege basketball for theSiena Saints and thePenn State Nittany Lions. He is a graduate of SPIRE Institute and Academy, anOlympic training center inGeneva, Ohio.
Pickett played high school basketball for theAquinas Institute inRochester, New York. In his junior season, he led his team to aNew York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) Class AA championship while earningmost valuable player (MVP) honors. As a senior, Pickett averaged 20 points and 10 rebounds per game, reaching the Class AA Federation Final.[1][2] He played for theAlbany-based program City Rocks on theAmateur Athletic Union (AAU) circuit and was teammates with five-star recruitIsaiah Stewart.[3] Playing for the City Rocks, Pickett led theNike Elite Youth Basketball League inplayer efficiency.[4] For academic reasons, he completed apostgraduate year, during which he played for SPIRE Institute inGeneva, Ohio. Pickett averaged 14 points, 6.3 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 2.1 steals per game. He became academically eligible to play in theNational Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).[2] Pickett was considered a three-starrecruit byRivals and received few offers fromNCAA Division I programs. He committed toSiena to play for first-year head coachJamion Christian.[5]
On February 17, 2019, Pickett, in his first year at Siena, had a career-high 46 points and 13 assists in a 107–100 triple-overtime loss toQuinnipiac.[6] He was namedMetro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Rookie of the Week 11 times, a league record.[7] As a freshman, Pickett averaged 15.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.1 steals and 6.7 assists per game, which ranked ninth nationally.[8] Pickett was named First-team All-MAAC and MAAC Rookie of the Year. After the season he declared for the2019 NBA draft and participated in theG League Elite Camp but ultimately decided to return to Siena.[9]
Pickett missed a game againstColgate on November 30, 2019, for a violation of team rules.[10] On February 14, 2020, he scored a season-high 27 points in a 73–64 win overRider.[11] At the close of the 2019–20 regular season, Pickett was named theMAAC Player of the Year.[12] He helped the team win the MAAC regular-season championship, averaging 15.1 points and a league-leading 6 assists per game while shooting 37.4 percent from three-point range.[13] As a junior, Pickett was limited by a hamstring injury and multipleCOVID-19 pauses, averaging 12.9 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game.[14] He earned First Team All-MAAC honors for his third consecutive season.[15]
On April 25, 2021, Pickett announced that he would transfer toPenn State, choosing the Nittany Lions overOregon State.[14] He averaged 13.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Pickett announced he would return for his final season of eligibility.[16]
On February 14, 2023, Pickett scored a career-high 41 points in a 93–81 victory overIllinois, becoming Penn State's first 40-point scorer since 1961 and setting aBryce Jordan Center record.[17] He also became the fourth Penn State player to score 2,000 points.[18] Pickett followed up his historic performance with a 32-point performance againstMinnesota on February 18, 2023. His combined two-game totals of 73 points, 16 assists and 11 rebounds earned him multiple national player-of-the-week honors. The two-game stat line was also only the third time over the last 25 seasons in NCAA Division I basketball or the NBA where a player scored 70-plus points, had 15-plus assists and 10-plus rebounds with a 65% field goal accuracy and 90% free-throw rate. The other two players to accomplish this feat wereLeBron James (2017) andStephen Curry (2022).[19]
TheIndiana Pacers selected Pickett with the 32nd overall pick in the2023 NBA draft and subsequently traded his draft rights to theDenver Nuggets.[20][21] With the selection, Pickett became the highest-drafted former Siena Saint,[20] and he andSeth Lundy were the first pair of Penn State Nittany Lions teammates to be selected in the same NBA draft.[22][23] On July 6, 2023, the Denver Nuggets announced that they had signed with Pickett.[24]
On April 2, 2025, Pickett recorded his first careertriple-double, with 17 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in a 113–106 loss against theSan Antonio Spurs in his second career start.[25]
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023–24 | Denver | 27 | 0 | 4.5 | .429 | .360 | .750 | .5 | .8 | .1 | .0 | 1.6 |
| 2024–25 | Denver | 49 | 4 | 13.6 | .428 | .396 | .750 | 1.4 | 2.2 | .4 | .1 | 4.1 |
| Career | 76 | 4 | 10.4 | .428 | .389 | .750 | 1.1 | 1.7 | .3 | .1 | 3.2 | |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Denver | 3 | 0 | 3.6 | .667 | .000 | — | .3 | .3 | .0 | .3 | 1.3 |
| 2025 | Denver | 8 | 0 | 7.1 | .333 | .333 | — | .9 | .6 | .0 | .1 | 1.6 |
| Career | 11 | 0 | 6.2 | .389 | .300 | — | .7 | .5 | .0 | .2 | 1.5 | |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018–19 | Siena | 33 | 32 | 37.1 | .436 | .348 | .746 | 4.6 | 6.7 | 2.0 | 0.9 | 15.8 |
| 2019–20 | Siena | 29 | 28 | 37.0 | .458 | .374 | .689 | 4.6 | 6.0 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 15.1 |
| 2020–21 | Siena | 14 | 14 | 36.1 | .403 | .359 | .750 | 6.3 | 4.8 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 12.9 |
| Career (Siena) | 76 | 74 | 36.9 | .439 | .360 | .730 | 4.9 | 6.1 | 1.4 | 1.0 | 15.0 | |
| 2021–22 | Penn State | 31 | 31 | 37.2 | .420 | .320 | .746 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 13.3 |
| 2022–23 | Penn State | 36 | 36 | 36.5 | .511 | .385 | .774 | 7.3 | 6.7 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 17.9 |
| Career (Penn State) | 67 | 67 | 36.9 | .466 | .353 | .760 | 5.8 | 5.6 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 15.6 | |