Detailing Jett's game, how it compares to former Michigan prospects Franz Wagner and Jordan Poole, how the value of proprioception was a common denominator between those two outperforming predraft expectations and how it could apply to Jett himself.
Proprioception – defined in the dictionary as the perception governed by proprioceptors, as awareness of the position of one’s body – often relates to basketball. Whether it be looking at the utility of one’s handle in how they weaponize it to attack gaps or their feel for the game in how they perceive those gaps in the first place, an understanding of the position/movement of the body and how to navigate through space is essential for creators. How this relates to Jordan Poole-Franz Wagner and Jett Howard, I’ll touch on in a bit, but we first have to get an understanding of who Jett is as an NBA draft prospect; specifically on the offensive end of the floor.
Jett is one of my favorite prospects in the 2023 cycle. At 6’8/215 lbs, the IMG product has the positional size, shooting, creativity, and handle that is ever so valuable on the wing – and a D/P/S combination that allows an array of offensive outcomes ranging from 3D+ wing to secondary ballhandler.
Jett ‘the second-side creator’ is likely how he’ll be deployed as most often in the NBA. While his handle isn’t yet advanced enough to combine and keep up with his East-West wiggle, burst, and downhill speed to consistently create advantages from a standstill (there have been flashes), it is functional enough for him to make plays with created advantages and against tilted defenses. From attacking closeouts to curling off pindowns, his threat to dribble, shoot, pass once he catches the ball is deadly; and it begins with his shooting.
Looking at his shooting priors, Jett was a career 34.3% 3PT (60/175) and 81.7% FT (49/60) in the Cerebro Sports database prior to Michigan, a 3PT number that jumps up to 37.3% (47/126) when excluding a 13/49 showing at 2021 EYBL and closer replicates his current 36.8% on 13.6 3s/100 possessions. This sets up an impressive baseline blend of volume and efficiency from behind the arc. But what makes Jett’s shooting truly elite is his shot versatility, both in the traditional and micro sense.
Traditionally speaking, Jett is comfortable shooting out of a number of situations. Whether it’s at a standstill, coming off movement, off the dribble, as a transition ballhandler, leak out, or trailer – contested or not – he gets set up and shoots it well regardless. The movement shooting is especially tantalizing when looking at him as a second-side creator; he shot 36.8% (14/38) from three out of off screen/handoffs, via Synergy, a number higher than fellow freshman Gradey Dick.
And when looking at his shot versatility through a micro lens, his adaptability sticks out in the ability to vary/adjust releases and arcs on jumpers depending on the situation – a very strong indicator of elite shooters.
Volume and shot versatility put together with exquisite touch (40.6% on 32 runners, 48.8% on 41 midrange jumpers, 80.0% FT on 75 attempts), and you have yourself Jett Howard and one of the 5 best shooters in virtually any draft class. Even one with the likes of Gradey Dick, Jordan Hawkins, and Brandon Miller leading the pack of snipers. In fact, Dick, Miller, and Howard are the only three 6’8+ high major freshman since 2008 who meet the following minimum: 10.0 3PA/100, 80% FT, 25 Far 2s made. The combination of size-shotmaking is one that is highly valued in the NBA, and Jett is among the top of this class when it comes to that.
This perimeter dribble/shoot prowess at 6’8 is the engine powering his offensive game, and it opens up downhill opportunities that he’s well capable of attacking coming off screens, handoffs, and spot up closeouts. Defenders are forced to go over screens – often multiple – when chasing Jett off the ball due to his shooting threat, which creates micro-advantages for him to attack an open driving lane that may present itself once he gets the ball.
He likes instinctively curling/angling the screen and starting his drive before the catch to gain momentum; a driving trait that could serve as another measure of his feel and sure to translate to the next level.
This off screen proficiency is reminiscent of, you guessed it, fellow Michigan products Jordan Poole and Franz Wagner. Jett Howard scored 0.92 PPP on 2.0 off screen possessions/game according to Synergy, with the playtype taking up 14.9% of his possessions. In the regular season, Jordan Poole averaged 0.99 PPP on 2.0 off screen possessions/game (144 total possessions, ranks 5th in the NBA), and at a 9.5% frequency. When looking at the film, you can instantly see some of the similarities in how they operate coming off screens.
While Franz hasn’t been utilized at the volume Jett or Poole have been at the college or NBA levels, his off screen utility is just as impressive. In his sophomore year at Michigan and 2 seasons with the Orlando Magic, he’s scoring a combined 1.17 PPP on 113 possessions. His D/P/S combination going into the NBA and how he stylistically weaponizes it is also similar to Jett, and is why he’s drawn comps to him during this draft cycle.
Michigan’s utilization of ballhandler prospects in second-side actions is something that’s been potent for their successes at the next level. Between Poole and Franz, an ability to work off of other creators has allowed for a greater versatility and lineup malleability with their respective teams, and in turn, has led to them flourishing more seamlessly in the NBA.
Between coming off screens, handoffs, cutting, and driving spot ups, these playtypes take up nearly 30% (28.3%) of Jett’s offensive possessions, and he scored an efficient 1.11 PPP through these actions. This all leads to a very projectable role for Jett in the league as an elite complementary offensive piece.
None of this includes Jett’s passing either, which is what makes him really deadly creating against tilted defenses. He makes quick decisions and can access a number of different passing windows at 6’8, and while he’s definitely more of a reactionary passer to this point and the accuracy isn’t always pinpoint, the vision, processing, and willingness as a passer is very good for a primarily off-ball wing. It also enables a pathway to secondary creator as his off-the-dribble shot creation progresses.
Jett’s bread and butter may be his second-side creation, but he’s also shown the ability to create offense off-the-dribble. This is where the proprioception comes into play that’s a key element of Poole’s game and why Franz has been able to outlier-ishly succeed on the ball in the league so quickly.
Defining proprioception as it relates to basketball first is important. Proprioception is the understanding of the positioning/movement on the body and of space, and how you can move through that space. Further simplified, it’s understanding where the gaps are in the defense and when/how to attack those gaps. This is a key skill in weaponizing a handle.
Jordan Poole is among the best in the NBA when it comes to proprioception. His one ability to recognize and attack an advantage blends his flexibility, change of speed, and change of direction to make the best of his handle despite a loose ball control. The amount of pull this skill can have – proprioception brings together multiple aspects of a handle to weaponize it - is why it’s so vital for creators.
This skill was apparent for Poole in college as well; here contorting through the ballscreen and splitting the PnR to get downhill, before throwing up a hesitation and double clutch to get free for the layup.
While not quite on the level of Poole’s, Franz has solid proprioception for his size as well. At 6’9 without shoes on, Franz often handles like a guard and has a good understanding of space.
Jett’s proprioception is incredible and likely lies somewhere between Poole and Franz on a scale. He much too often splits PnRs for someone of his size; routinely slicing through multiple layers of the defense to find a quality look for either himself or one of his teammates. Despite burst and halfcourt speed limitations, Jett’s proprioception helps weaponize his handle to a functional level at his size to where he can make plays happen off the dribble.
A high level of proprioception can also act as a proxy for a high feel for the game, which often correlates to future success. Being able to kill gaps is a key skill, but recognizing gaps or advantages that can be attacked in the first place is not something everyone can naturally do at a high level. The ability to do so and then kill those gaps displays great feel; a known strong indicator for success at the highest levels and even potential outlier development.
This is why I believe proprioception is an underrated, or underdiscussed trait that’s important when evaluating and separating ballhandling prospects, partly because it isn’t a commonly known term (at the moment).
Take a look at Franz Wagner and Jordan Poole. Both have succeeded much more as creators than anyone would’ve thought, especially this early on in their careers. Whether it was their college system holding them back or outlier development – or both – flashes of their understanding of space and how to navigate through that space in college has undoubtedly translated and helped them as ballhandlers at the NBA level.
Particularly looking at Franz’s notable outlier development between his sophomore college and rookie NBA seasons, he’s succeeded much more as a ballhandler than projected in the NBA; going from a likely elite ancillary option to a potential future 2nd option. His feel – also proprioception – and passing touch/vision combined with his movement skills at his size were probably overlooked when evaluating his upside due to his limitations at the time. Fast forward to today, though, and you could make the case for Franz being a top 4 pick in a 2021 redraft, with both his offensive floor and ceiling being much higher than anticipated as a prospect.
An example of Franz’s feel for the game and movement skills combining is how he’s leveraged his stride lengths when driving to and finishing at the rim. Utilizing massive strides along with some stop-and-start changes of pace, he’s used these in tandem to consistently get downhill past the first layer of the defense and finish around the second layer. His understanding of and ability to navigate space, proprioception, once again shows itself on these drives, and has helped weaponize his handle much further. This is one of the ways Franz has been able to exceed expectations as a creator so early on in the league, with his high feel relative to size and role playing a massive contributor to this success.
Applying all this to Jett is why I have more confidence in him as a creator at the next level than most. His level of proprioception at 6’8 makes his handle much more weaponizable – combined with knowing where and how to kill gaps that also showcases his high feel – makes me confident in his long-term development as a shot creator in the NBA. His passing also notably raises his ceiling if he’s able to consistently break down the first levels of the defense, as was the case with Franz.
This realistic on-ball creation upside, that I buy, as a 6’8 wing on top of the near surefire second-side value he adds is why I have Jett high on my board. Guys with the positional size and shooting Jett adds as an ancillary along with the pathways he possesses to go beyond that aren’t lying around in bunches every draft. Throw in what I think is non-liability defense to go along with all that, and you have someone who shouldn’t fall out of the top-ten on draft day.