With the 19th pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, Wake Forest’s Jake LaRavia has been selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves but will be traded to the Memphis Grizzlies. Initially projecting as a mid-late first-round grade according to ESPN, LaRavia goes off the board just as expected now joining head coach Taylor Jenkins for the 2022-23 season.
LaRavia had initially announced his intentions to enter the draft process while maintaining his collegiate eligibility on March 29 but just days later would officially declare for the NBA Draft with a March 31 tweet.
During his junior season, LaRavia averaged 14.6 PPG, 6.6 RPG, and 3.7 APG on his way to earning 2021-22 All-ACC honors as a 33-game starter for the Deamon Deacons. However, the Indiana native spent his first two seasons with Indiana State managing 12.3 PPG, 6.3 RPG, and 2.3 APG as a sophomore before seeing an uptick in production when moving to the ACC under head coach Steve Forbes.
A 6-foot-8 forward, LaRavia brings to the Grizzlies a mixed skillset able to do a variety of things on the court including shooting and offensive production (37% from three), defending (1 BKPG and 1.2 STPG), and with great court awareness to tie it all together.
LaRavia maybe struggles with athleticism as he works well off the catch and shoot or in a transition-style offense but isn’t elite at creating shots for himself and defensively can seem undisciplined and sluggish against quicker offensive schemes.
At just 20 years old (not 22) LaRavia offers the Grizzlies lots of potential given his perimeter shooting, unselfish ball movement, and defensive versatility and could prove an absolute steal in the middle of the first round for Memphis.
