Trey Jemison filled the role as backup center for the Lakers in the regular season, giving them an archetype clearly missing from their postseason run.
Following the swift exit from the playoffs at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Lakers find themselves in deep self-reflection. The main blemish in that reflection is the center position, a spot of clear need heading into the summer.
By the conclusion of the series, the Lakers benched their starting center, Jaxson Hayes, and never introduced a backup. In the regular season, the Lakers filled the backup center role by committee, with one being NBA journeyman Trey Jemison, who flashed a player archetype missing from the playoff roster.
For their second units, he filled a role used by many other contenders around the league. A rugged, hard-nosed workhorse who fought on the offensive glass, set hard screens, and battled in the paint, all missing in the Lakers’ short playoff stint.
Appearing in 22 games with a small sample size of 226 minutes, he averaged 2.6 points and 2.8 rebounds per game. He also appeared in four games for South Bay, the Lakers’ G League affiliate, putting up 10.5 points and 7.8 rebounds.
Jemison doesn’t just crash the offensive glass; he creates multi-car pile-up collisions. According to the NBA’s tracking data, he finished second on the team in offensive rebound percentage behind Jarred Vanderbilt. He quickly earned a reputation as someone you need to put a body on.
Watch the clip below as LeBron James misses the pull-up jump shot, Nicolas Batum chooses to give Jemison a full-on bear hug, but still is unable to impede the progress of this offensive rebound and finish.
Jemison is listed at 6’11 with 270 pounds, and leverages every bit of it on the boards. LA lost the rebounding battle 219-195 against Minnesota across the whole series, including 65-48 on the offensive glass in five games.
Another area Jemison contributed to was as a strong presence in the paint, demonstrating the ability to finish in crowded areas. He finished second on the team in field goal percentage, behind only Jaxson Hayes.
Watch below as he flashes middle against the Knicks, bodying up against Mitchell Robinson for the bank shot.
In the Game 3 and Game 4 losses that put LA down 3-1, the team lost the points in the paint battle 104-56, clearly in need of an inside presence to shift the tide in some capacity. During the regular season, while not serving as a pick-and-roll partner, Jemison provided a release valve with size down low, acting as an easy target for LeBron and Luka Dončić to find.
On the defensive end, it was a mixed bag. Jemison got an opportunity to showcase his impressive physical tools as a big man defender, as demonstrated in the clip below. Watch as he moves his feet to stay with James Harden off the ball screen, absorbing the contact while getting the block and stop to go the other way.
Being agile on your feet is an essential trait for a big man in today’s NBA, and he flashed some of that lateral quickness needed to stay with the quick guards.
He also showed potential as a shot blocker from the weak side, coming over with a 7’2 wingspan as shown in the clip below.
Among players on the team who averaged at least ten minutes, Jemison finished second on the team in block percentage. With that being said, as most players in limited-sized roles, his eagerness and lack of discipline became silly fouls, leading to the coaching staff losing trust in him.
He also assumed the role of enforcer on the team — becoming a fan favorite by picking up technicals and saying he’s willing to fight opponents — a role that can swing from helpful to harmful depending on the game. One could argue that physicality and toughness were missing from the overall character of the team in the postseason.
The Lakers decided it was not worth converting his two-way contract into a standard regular deal, leaving him off the postseason roster. Teams around the league are sporting two big looks, with multiple big men in their rotation.
It’s unlikely Jemison is that guy and whether he finds himself in the Lakers’ lineup or any NBA rotation, but it’s apparent that LA desperately needs this type of player to contend next season.