Overview
Ja’Kobi Gillespie was named Tennessee 3A Mr. Basketball as a senior at Greeneville High School. He led his school to back-to-back state championships and earned TSSAA state tournament MVP honors twice, wrapping up a prep career with 2,129 points. He picked Belmont to begin his college career, then landed on the MVC All-Freshman Team in his first season. A sophomore breakout pushed him to Second-Team All-MVC and MVC All-Defensive Team honors before he transferred to Maryland, where he earned Third-Team All-Big Ten recognition. He capped his college run at Tennessee, averaging 18.4 points, 2.8 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 2.1 steals in 34.8 minutes per game on 41%/34%/81% shooting. He was named First-Team All-SEC by the coaches and SEC Newcomer of the Year, set Tennessee’s single-season steals record with 79 and powered the Volunteers to the Elite Eight while earning NCAA Midwest Region All-Tournament Team honors.
Career Highlights
- 2025‑26 SEC Newcomer of the Year; All‑SEC First Team selection by coaches and Second Team by media.
- Ranked seventh in the SEC in PPG (18.4), second in APG (5.4) and third in SPG (2.1) this past season.
- Third SEC player in the last 40 years to average at least 18.0 points, 5.0 assists and 2.0 steals in a season.
- 2024-25 All-Big Ten Third Team pick and conference leader in three-pointers (87) as a junior at Maryland.
- In 2023-24, ranked 20th nationally in steals (2.2 spg) in the second of his two seasons at Belmont.
Analysis
Gillespie’s shooting volume and deep range are what NBA teams will look at first. He fired 14 threes per 100 possessions. His release gets the ball up quickly from far beyond the arc, and he carries the kind of shooting gravity that bends defenses even in stretches where the ball isn’t dropping. Gillespie compensates for his lack of height through a shifty handle, craft at the rim and body control to finish through traffic. His assist rate and assist-to-turnover ratio are both excellent. Defensively, his plus-wingspan pairs with quick hands and full-court intensity to produce a great steal rate.
Projection
Gillespie projects as a microwave scoring guard who can initiate offense in second units and inject defensive energy into any rotation he joins. His deep range, playmaking feel and steal generation give him three distinct ways to influence an NBA game. He can draw NBA comparisons to players like Fred VanVleet, Payton Pritchard and Davion Mitchell. He’ll likely land somewhere in the second round and carve out a roster spot as a connector guard who spaces the floor, pushes the ball in transition and pesters opposing point guards from baseline to baseline.
— Profile by RotoWire.com with additional info from the official NBA Draft Media Guide