Jaxson Hayes

Jaxson Reed Hayes (born May 23, 2000) is an American professional basketball player for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Texas Longhorns.

High school career

Hayes attended Moeller High School in Cincinnati, Ohio. He grew from six feet as a freshman to 6'11" as a senior. In 2018 he took part in the Junior International Tournament (JIT), in Lissone (Milan), leading Team Ohio to the win of its fifth title. As a senior, he averaged 12 points, seven rebounds and four blocks per game. He committed to the University of Texas to play college basketball.

College career

As a freshman at Texas, Hayes averaged 10.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per game while shooting 72.8% from the field. He scored a career-high 19 points along with seven boards, two steals and a block in a 69–56 loss to TCU. Hayes injured his left knee in a loss to Kansas in the Big 12 Tournament. He was named Big 12 Freshman of the Year. On April 11, 2019, Hayes declared for the NBA draft, forfeiting his remaining three years of eligibility.

Professional career

New Orleans Pelicans (2019–present)

On June 20, 2019, the Atlanta Hawks selected Hayes with the 8th overall pick of the 2019 NBA draft and then had his draft rights traded to New Orleans Pelicans along with the draft rights to the No. 17 pick Nickeil Alexander-Walker and the draft rights to the No. 35 pick Marcos Louzada Silva along with a heavily protected 2020 first round pick for the draft rights to No. 4 overall pick De'Andre Hunter and veteran wing Solomon Hill. The trade was officially completed on July 7, 2019.

Hayes made his NBA debut for the New Orleans Pelicans on October 10, 2019, scoring 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting against the Golden State Warriors in an 11 point loss. On November 17, he made his first career start in place of the injured Derrick Favors, achieving his first NBA double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds along with 3 blocks in a 108–100 victory over the Golden State Warriors. Hayes recorded 3 blocks again in the following game, a 115–104 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on November 19, making him the first Pelicans rookie to log at least two blocks in three consecutive games since Jeff Withey in 2014.

On December 5, 2019, Hayes recorded 17 points and 5 blocks in a 139–132 loss to the Phoenix Suns, at the age of 19 years and 196 days, becoming the third youngest player in NBA history to record at least such statistics in a single game, behind only LeBron James and Andrew Bynum. A month later, on January 9, 2020, Hayes recorded his second NBA double-double, scoring 14 points and adding 12 rebounds to go along with 4 blocks in under 24 minutes of play. In doing so, he became the first teenager to record such statistics other than Wendell Carter in 2018, and the first to do so for the Pelicans since Anthony Davis had done so in March 2015. Hayes and Davis are the only two Pelican players to record such a statistical line before turning 20. Days later, Hayes recorded 18 points and 10 rebounds in a victory over the New York Knicks, tallying consecutive double-doubles for the first time in his NBA career. The following night, Hayes posted a career high 20 points in a 35 point loss to the Boston Celtics.

Career statistics

NBA

College

Personal life

Hayes father, Jonathan Hayes, played in the National Football League (NFL) and was the head coach of the XFL’s St. Louis BattleHawks. His mother, Kristi (Kinne), played basketball at Drake University (1991–95) and earned honorable mention Kodak All-American accolades and Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year honors as a senior (1994–95). She recorded 3,406 career points during her four years (1987–91) at Jefferson-Scranton High School in Jefferson, Iowa. She previously served as an assistant women’s basketball coach at Oklahoma, Iowa, and Southern Illinois-Carbondale. Hayes has 3 siblings, Jillian, a varsity basketball player at Loveland High School committed to play basketball at the University of Cincinnati, Jewett, and Jonah.

Hayes was arrested on July 28, 2021 for resisting arrest by the Los Angeles Police Department. Officers were investigating a radio call that involved a domestic dispute between Hayes and his girlfriend. Hayes shoved an officer into a wall and was treated for minor injures before being taken into custody.