As Jalen Hood-Schifino heads into his second year, he’s not the most talked-about Laker on the roster. Drafted 17th overall in the 2023 Draft, the 21-year-old initially captured fans’ attention. However, his rookie season was marred by injuries, making it a year to forget. Now, the 6’6″ guard has a chance to redeem himself and prove his worth in the big league, competing against rising talents like Dalton Knecht and Quincy Olivari. Let’s take a closer look at Hood-Schifino as he prepares for the upcoming season.

Under Darvin Ham’s coaching stint, the Lakers selected the promising guard with the 17th pick. He is someone whom the LA side threw all their bets on because Schifino barely had a game experience before lacing up for the legendary NBA side. The guard played 32 games for the Indiana Hoosiers, averaging 13.5 ppg, before starting the game for the Lakers in the 2023 Summer League.

Even though Jalen found it difficult to sink his buckets, the rising star indeed had a promising outing playing alongside Max Christie. Speaking about the 2023 Summer League action, he added, “Max and I, we’re both one-and-done and he was a Big Ten player as well, so we kind of have that connection, too… I think we’re getting better every single game.” Notably, in a game against the Warriors, he recorded 5 steals and 5 rebounds but wasn’t a big impact on the offensive end, going 3-11 from the field.

However, this was enough for the Lakers’ front office to ink the deal. Around July 2023, the team signed a four-year rookie contract with their 17th pick for $17.8 million. Above all, Jalen promised to improve on his game, saying, “Once I get to play a little bit, get my feet under me out there, kind of take a deep breath, kind of relax a little bit, now I feel like I’m playing more at my pace.” 

How did Jalen Hood-Schifino’s rookie season turn out?

Looking at the hype and Summer League performances, Schifino’s rookie season didn’t go as planned. The rising star barely made any appearances on the floor. Importantly, the Lakers’ core team had their own struggles, trying to figure out a working starting line-up. It was already halfway down before Darvin Ham locked his best 5 for the job.

On the other hand, no one paid attention to this promising talent. Above all, Jalen suffered a back injury, which kept him out of action for a long time. In total, he made only 22 appearances in the season, out of which, he played for only 109 minutes. Moreover, he certainly didn’t create an impact in that short stint, as the rising star’s underdeveloped offense game and shooting got exposed. Jalen held a poor shooting percentage of 22.2 FG and 13.3 from the arc.

In March, a 21-year-old underwent a lumbar microdiscectomy surgery to fix his bulging disk. And it kept him out of action for the 2024 Summer League, further dampening his chances for improving his offense game. However, in an interview during Media Day, Jalen revealed that he had a great summer, saying, “It’s great off-season. Long off-season. Feeling healthy now and obviously being in the gym with Coach JJ and the rest of the staff has been great.” Nevertheless, the important question is, did the off-season efforts translate into his game?

Heading into the fresh season, how does Jalen Hood-Schifino look now?

The fans had a glimpse of Jalen in the preseason. If not for the sophomore star, the Lakers itself had a shaky stint. The team lost four of its six games, raising questions about the JJ Redick era. However, there were definitely positive takeaways from these games. Especially, the youth movement. The Lakers’ 17th pick from the 2024 Draft, Dalton Knecht, turned out to be a real deal.

The shooting guard from Tennessee showed his class from the arc. Notably, in a nail-biting overtime thriller against the Suns, Knecht came out of nowhere, scoring 20 straight points for the team, and secured a famous win in the preseason. Apart from him, Redick got a good look at the Lakers’ starting lineup comprising LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Rui Hachimura, D’Angelo Russell, and Austin Reaves. Above all, some role players like Jaxon Hayes, Max Christie, and Cam Reddish turned out to be a huge positive in the preseason.

However, things didn’t really go well for Jalen, as he continued to struggle with his shooting. He averaged 4.5 ppg in his 6 games, highly disappointing the Lakers fans. In fact, after the last game where Bronny James scored 17 points, the Lakers Nation was all over Jalen, trashing him in the comments and requesting the team to trade him. So, as of the preseason campaign, Jalen isn’t in the best of touch. Will he turn things around in the regular season? Let us know in the comments.

Before leaving, do watch the Dual Threat Show hosted by BG12 where Bulldogs’ Asia Avinger details her experience with Kobe Bryant, her WNBA ROTY picks, and more in the video below.