The upperclassmen of this year’s draft are a talented group, but few have seen as much success despite their massive role shift as Marquette guard Kam Jones. While he played without the ball for the majority of his college career, he has certainly succeeded in playing with the ball. In particular, his ability to be a relatively efficient three-level scorer and an improved passer helped him lead Marquette as the primary option. Despite his older age, NBA teams will definitely be interested in drafting a scorer like him. Let’s delve into an evaluation of Kam Jones in this 2025 NBA Draft profile.
Kam Jones 2025 NBA Draft Profile
College Career
Jones played his entire collegiate career with Marquette, becoming increasingly important each season. For his freshman season, Jones found an immediate role on the team as a scorer off the bench. Jones found early success with the Golden Eagles, earning a Big East All-Freshman selection in 2022. Moving into his sophomore year, Jones saw a major jump in production, and he became the full-time starter. For his efforts, Jones earned an All-Big East second-team selection and an All-Big East Tournament selection. Jones saw another jump in his scoring average going into his third year, earning him an All-Big East Tournament selection in 2024.
This past season, Jones saw his role radically shift after the departure of Tyler Kolek and Oso Ighodaro to the NBA. Specifically, Jones became the primary offensive option for his team, taking on far more on-ball responsibilities. He showcased his three-level scoring ability and his improved playmaking as the first option. Jones averaged 19.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists, and 1.4 steals in 33.8 minutes per game. Furthermore, he shot 48.3% from the field, 31.1% from three, and 64.8% from the line. Jones was able to lead his team to the NCAA Tournament, though they were eliminated in the first round. For his incredible efforts on the season, Jones earned All-Big East first-team honors, All-Big East Tournament honors, and was named to the Consensus All-America second team.
Strengths
The best aspect of Jones is his ability to score the basketball on all three levels. He combines finesse, ball-handling, and advanced footwork to find lanes to score at the basket. Despite a lack of quickness, Jones moves with great fluidity and balance. While Jones is streaky as a shooter, he has generally been an efficient scorer and has shown an elevation in his game consistently over the years. Plus, Jones has shown in previous seasons that he can be an efficient three-point shooter, with much of his efficiency issues this season being his increased responsibilities on the ball. He possesses excellent touch around the rim and has a bevy of different finishing moves in the paint, demonstrating a diverse offensive bag. Specifically, Jones possesses a solid floater, hook shots, and hesitations in his arsenal.
Jones has also shown an improvement as a passer, operating well in the role that Kolek once filled for Marquette. While not the most impressive playmaker in the world, Jones has developed into a solid playmaker who can usually be counted on to make the right read. He only averaged 1.9 turnovers compared to 5.9 assists, which speaks to his ability to take care of the ball and not throw bad passes. Jones has shown himself to be a solid ball-handler in the pick-and-roll. Additionally, Jones has shown that he can scale his role up and down if the need arises. Having played off the ball in his first three years, Jones has demonstrated that he can serve as an off-ball spacer.
Weaknesses
One of the biggest weaknesses with Jones is that he is a player with below-average athleticism. That negatively affects him on both ends of the floor, and the athletic struggle he already had in college will be exacerbated against NBA-level athletes. In particular, Jones already struggles with separating from college defenders, and that issue will only increase in the league. He lacks the burst to blow by opponents on offense or keep up with opposing guards on defense. Speaking of defense, Jones isn’t the biggest guard at 6-foot-3 barefoot. Bigger and more physical players will take advantage of Jones. Moreover, while Jones isn’t the worst defensively guarding the ball, he isn’t that good either.
Offensively, Jones can be streaky as a shooter despite being generally solid at knocking down shots. Specifically, Jones struggled with taking pull-up shots this year, and he was generally less efficient as a shooter. Plus, Jones has strangely never been a great free-throw shooter despite his three-point shooting ability. Both factor into whether Jones can be a more dynamic shooter in the league.
NBA Comparison
The player that Jones shares the most similarities with is current Los Angeles Lakers guard Shake Milton. The two are three-level scorers who use their finesse and ball-handling to break down defenses. Both are below-average athletes with similar size at around 6-foot-3 barefoot who rely on those aforementioned skills to gain separation from defenders. Plus, they are solid shooters who can be inconsistent on that end. Additionally, neither player is known for their defensive capabilities, given their lack of athleticism. They aren’t the worst defensively, but neither are they great on that end.
2025 NBA Draft Projection
Early-to-mid second-round pick.
Featured image: © Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images
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