On Saturday night, former Duke basketball treasure Tre Jones had a career-high 23 points for the San Antonio Spurs (6-15). A career high 13 assists. Eight rebounds, tying a season high. Two interceptions. Only one turnover in 36 minutes on the floor.
Yes, even though Jones’ impressive numbers came in a 143-138 home loss to the Los Angeles Lakers (7-11), there’s no doubt that the individual stat line marks the best of the game. 22-year-old former second-round pick through his three-year NBA career.
And it’s by far Jones’ best season as a professional.
Not only has he played in all but one of Spurs’ 21 games so far, but he’s also been the frontline playmaker in every game he’s played.
Although Jones started a dozen games between the two previous campaigns, this is the first year he’s started full-time since becoming Duke Basketball’s 2019-20 ACC Player and Defensive Player of the Year. .
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He is averaging 12.2 points, 7.1 assists, 3.4 rebounds, 1.5 steals and just 2.1 turnovers in 30.0 minutes per game.
His 600 total minutes for that lap is just small forward Keldon Johnson’s 606 for the most on the team. Meanwhile, his 141 assists tie him with Denver Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic for third most in the league.
Tre Jones and the San Antonio Spurs, who haven’t reached the NBA Playoffs since 2019, now have a few days off before hitting the road again to face the Oklahoma City Thunder (8-12) at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday.
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