Jalen Pickett facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Jalen Pickett

Pickett with Penn State in 2022
No. 24 – Denver Nuggets
Point guard
Personal information
Born	(1999-10-22) October 22, 1999 (age 25) Rochester, New York, U.S.
High school	Aquinas Institute (Rochester, New York) SPIRE Academy (Geneva, Ohio)
Listed height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight	202 lb (92 kg)
Career information
College	Siena (2018–2021) Penn State (2021–2023)
NBA Draft	2023 / Round: 2 / Pick: 32nd overall
Selected by the Indiana Pacers
Pro career	2023–present
League	NBA
Career history
2023–present	Denver Nuggets
2023–2024	→Grand Rapids Gold
Career highlights and awards
Consensus second-team All-American (2023) First-team All-Big Ten (2023) MAAC Player of the Year (2020) 3× First-team All-MAAC (2019–2021) MAAC Rookie of the Year (2019)

Jalen Pickett (born October 22, 1999) is an American professional basketball player. He plays for the Denver Nuggets in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Before joining the NBA, he played college basketball for the Siena Saints and the Penn State Nittany Lions. He also attended SPIRE Institute and Academy, which is an Olympic training center.

High School Basketball Journey

Jalen Pickett played high school basketball at the Aquinas Institute in Rochester, New York.

Winning a Championship

In his junior year, Jalen helped his team win the New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) Class AA championship. He was named the most valuable player (MVP) for his great performance.

Senior Year and AAU

As a senior, Pickett averaged 20 points and 10 rebounds per game. He helped his team reach the Class AA Federation Final. He also played for the City Rocks, a team from Albany, New York, in the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU). He was teammates with another talented player, Isaiah Stewart. Jalen was a top player in the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League.

SPIRE Institute and College Offers

After high school, Jalen spent an extra year at SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio. This helped him become eligible to play in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). At SPIRE, he averaged 14 points, 6.3 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 2.1 steals per game. He was considered a three-star recruit and chose to play for Siena.

College Basketball Career

Jalen Pickett playing for the Siena Saints in 2019

Jalen Pickett had a very successful college basketball career, playing for two different teams.

Siena Saints Highlights

In his first year at Siena, on February 17, 2019, Jalen scored an amazing 46 points. He also had 13 assists in a triple-overtime game against Quinnipiac. He was named the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Rookie of the Week 11 times, which was a record for the league.

As a freshman, he averaged 15.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.1 steals, and 6.7 assists per game. His assists ranked ninth in the country. He was named First-team All-MAAC and MAAC Rookie of the Year. After this great season, he thought about joining the 2019 NBA draft but decided to return to Siena.

In his second year (2019–20), Jalen was named the MAAC Player of the Year. He helped Siena win the MAAC regular-season championship. He averaged 15.1 points and 6 assists per game, leading the league in assists. He also shot 37.4 percent from three-point range.

During his junior year (2020–21), Jalen faced challenges like a hamstring injury and breaks due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Still, he averaged 12.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game. He earned First Team All-MAAC honors for the third year in a row.

Penn State Nittany Lions

On April 25, 2021, Jalen Pickett decided to transfer to Penn State. In his first season there, he averaged 13.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 1.1 steals per game. He then announced he would play one more season for Penn State.

On February 14, 2023, Jalen had a career-high game, scoring 41 points in a win against Illinois. This was the first time a Penn State player scored 40 points since 1961! He also became the fourth Penn State player to score 2,000 points in his college career. Just a few days later, on February 18, 2023, he scored 32 points against Minnesota.

His combined performance in these two games was incredible. He scored 73 points, had 16 assists, and 11 rebounds. This kind of performance is very rare in basketball. Only LeBron James (in 2017) and Stephen Curry (in 2022) had achieved similar stats in the last 25 years in NCAA Division I or the NBA.

Professional Basketball Career

Joining the NBA: Denver Nuggets

Jalen Pickett was chosen by the Indiana Pacers as the 32nd pick in the 2023 NBA draft. However, his draft rights were then traded to the Denver Nuggets. This made Jalen the highest-drafted player ever from Siena. He and Seth Lundy were also the first pair of Penn State teammates to be picked in the same NBA draft. On July 6, 2023, the Denver Nuggets officially signed Jalen Pickett.

First Triple-Double

On April 2, 2025, Jalen Pickett achieved his first career triple-double. A triple-double means a player gets double-digit numbers in three different stats, like points, rebounds, and assists. In this game against the San Antonio Spurs, he had 17 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists. This was only his second time starting a game in his NBA career.

Career Statistics

Here are Jalen Pickett's basketball statistics from his time in the NBA and college.

NBA Regular Season Stats

NBA Playoffs Stats

College Stats

See also

In Spanish: Jalen Pickett para niños