Jordan Hawkins has had a shaky start to his NBA career for the New Orleans Pelicans. The 6’5” 22-year-old shooting guard from the University of Connecticut has proven he can be a lethal shooter in the league, but he lacks consistency, something that is needed to be a successful player throughout an NBA career. For example, Hawkins scored 24 points in a February 28 contest against the Phoenix Suns, but scored 0 points in 18 minutes in a February 8 game against the Sacramento Kings. He is currently averaging 10.8 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 1.1 assists off the bench this season, but he is shooting just 37.2 percent from the field and 32.9 percent from deep. Despite all this, Pelicans fans should look on the bright side with Hawkins, because he has shown more good than bad.
Throughout his first two NBA seasons, Hawkins has made it known that he is an elite shooter and can finish at the rim. Easily his best trait, though, is his confidence. Hawkins is never afraid to call for the ball, go up strong through contact, or take one more shot even if he isn’t having his best night. That quality is something that can’t be taught, and it’s a great sign that he doesn’t dwell on misses.
This is a strength akin to NBA legends like Kobe Bryant. Clearly, Hawkins is no Bryant, but Kobe had the most missed shots in the history of the league, and that still didn’t stop him from becoming one of the best basketball players of all time. Obviously, the hope is that Hawkins's shooting percentages will climb in the future, but watching some of his better performances gives the impression that they will over time. All the potential is there for JHawk — it just has to be shaped.
Jordan Hawkins has all the tools to be a perennial Sixth Man of the Year candidate
This season clearly hasn’t gone the way New Orleans would’ve liked it to, as they find themselves sitting at 14th in the Western Conference with just 21 games remaining. Keeping this in mind, it would be wise for the Pelicans to give Hawkins as much run as possible in these remaining games. This would give him more of a chance to prove himself, not only to the Pelicans coaching staff and front office but to the rest of the league as well.
He's tallied double-digit points in three of his last four outings, and, with players like Dejounte Murray and Brandon Boston Jr. still out, there’s no reason Hawk shouldn’t be getting as much playing time as possible. When the season does come to an end, Hawkins will get a chance to work with Pelicans staff and trainers the entire offseason to lock in on his 3-pointers and get more accustomed to his teammates and how they want him to play, such as where to be when a player like Zion Williamson needs to kick out for three. These remaining games will be invaluable for him to accumulate reps at real game speed against opposing NBA defenses though.
Due to the other players the Pelicans have when healthy — like CJ McCollum, Trey Murphy, Zion Williamson, Yves Missi, Herb Jones, Dejounte Murray — it would be foolish to think that Hawkins will find himself in the starting lineup anytime soon. However, he possesses more skill than most other bench players in the league and is a starting caliber player.
Luckily for Hawkins, we’ve seen a healthy amount of players just like him be very successful in sixth man roles in recent years, including newly minted Miami Heat All-Star Tyler Herro and Boston Celtics point guard Payton Pritchard. With enough training and practice during the offseason and enough playing time the rest of this season, it's easy to think that Jordan Hawkins will be the NBA’s next great bench player. Scoring has never been an issue for Hawk, but if he can continue showing improvement on defense, as well as increases in shooting percentage and assists/rebounding numbers, he will have a great chance of winning the Sixth Man of the Year award next season and being the bench player of the future that the New Orleans Pelicans so desperately need.