Hayes is one of several big men who will contend for minutes in the Lakers' frontcourt behind Anthony Davis. Hayes has shown upside in short stretches, but he lacks consistency to earn a steady role off the bench. The Lakers won't have a lot of frontcourt depth to begin the 2024-25 season, and that might lead to Hayes seeing the court often, but his production will ultimately determine whether he can stick in the rotation. Even if he does and lands in a best-case scenario, he'll be the backup of a player with a high usage rate and who logs heavy minutes in Davis, so his fantasy upside should remain limited. Hayes averaged just 12.5 minutes per game in 2023-24 and posted 4.3 points with 3.0 rebounds per game. Needless to say, those numbers won't be good enough to make him valuable in fantasy. Read Past Outlooks
$Signed a one-year, $2.17 million contract with the Lakers in July of 2023. Exercised $2.46 million player option for 2024-25 in June of 2024.
Personal Bio/PreCareer Summary
Jaxson Reed Hayes was born in Norman, Oklahoma in 2000. He is the son of Jonathan and Kristi Hayes. When Jaxson was three years old, the family moved to Cincinnati. Jaxson's father spent 15 seasons as the tight end coach for the Cincinnati Bengals (2003-18) and four years as an assistant coach (tight end/special teams) at the University of Oklahoma (1999-2002). His dad was also an All-American tight end at the University of Iowa (1982-85) who went on to play 12 seasons in the NFL with the Kansas City Chiefs and Pittsburgh Steelers. Jaxson's mother 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). Jaxson has one younger sister and two younger brothers. He attended and played basketball at Moeller High School in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he grew from six feet tall as a freshman to 6-foot-11 as a senior. During his senior season, Hayes averaged 12 points, seven boards and four blocks per game. He then went on to play one year of college ball at the University of Texas. Fans can follow the big center on Twitter (@hayes_jaxson). Hayes began his lone season (2018-19) at the University of Texas by coming off the bench for coach Shaka Smart. The freshman center was productive as a reserve and scored at least 11 points in five of his first six games. Smart put Hayes in the starting lineup on Dec. 28 against UT-Arlington and the 6-foot-11 Longhorn was a starter from that point forward. He averaged 10.0 points on 72.8 percent shooting from the field with 5.0 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game. His per game block mark ranked third in the Big 12. On Jan. 14, Hayes posted 15 points, six rebounds and five blocks in a win over Oklahoma and followed that game with 10 points, six rebounds and five blocks in a loss at TCU. On Feb. 23, the young center had 12 points, six boards and six blocks in a road loss to the Sooners. In his Big 12 Tournament debut against Kansas, the freshman injured his left knee and did not play again for Texas. He was named Big 12 Freshman of the Year. Following the season, Hayes chose to enter the 2019 NBA Draft.
Set for re-evaluation next week
CLos Angeles Lakers
Ankle
December 17, 2024
Head coach JJ Redick said Tuesday that Hayes is working on strengthening his right ankle, and the Lakers plan to provide an update on his status next week, Daniel Starkand of LakersNation.com reports.
ANALYSIS Hayes has missed the Lakers' last nine games with what the team has labeled a right ankle sprain/contusion. The 24-year-old center appears to be ramping back up again, but he still looks set to miss another handful of games before potentially returning to action in the final week of December or in early January. Christian Koloko should continue to serve as the primary backup to Anthony Davis while Hayes is sidelined.
2024 NBA Per Game Split Stats - Starting/Off Bench
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2024 NBA Per Game Split Stats - Days Rest
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2024 NBA Per Game Split Stats - Vs Opp
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Advanced Stats
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2022
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2019
Stat Review
How does Jaxson Hayes compare to other players?
This section compares his stats with all players from the previous three seasons (minimum 200 minutes played)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.
True Shooting %
An advanced statistic that measures a player's efficiency at shooting the ball that takes field goal percentage, free throw percentage, and three point percentage into account.
Effective Field Goal %
A statistic that adjusts field goal percentage to account for the fact that three-point field goals count for three points while field goals only count for two points.
3-Point Attempt Rate
Percentage of field goal attempts from three point range.
Free Throw Rate
Number of free throw attempts per field goal attempt.
Offensive Rebound %
An estimate of the percentage of available offensive rebounds a player grabbed while they were on the floor.
Defensive Rebound %
An estimate of the percentage of available defensive rebounds a player grabbed while they were on the floor.
Total Rebound %
An estimate of the percentage of available rebounds a player grabbed while they were on the floor.
Assist %
An estimate of the percentage of teammate field goals a player assisted while they were on the floor.
Steal %
An estimate of the percentage of opponent possessions that end with a steal by the player while they were on the floor.
Block %
An estimate of the percentage of opponent two-point field goal attempts blocked by the player while they were on the floor.
Turnover %
An estimate of turnovers committed per 100 plays.
Usage %
An estimate of the percentage of team plays used by a player while they were on the floor.
Fantasy Points Per Game
NBA Fantasy Points Per Game.
Fantasy Points Per Minute
NBA Fantasy Points Per Minute.
True Shooting %
75.9%
Effective Field Goal %
72.2%
3-Point Attempt Rate
0.0%
Free Throw Rate
63.9%
Offensive Rebound %
12.3%
Defensive Rebound %
16.9%
Total Rebound %
14.6%
Assist %
6.7%
Steal %
0.9%
Block %
4.3%
Turnover %
12.5%
Usage %
12.3%
Fantasy Points Per Game
15.9
Fantasy Points Per Minute
0.9
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Total
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NBA Historical Fantasy Stats
How are these ratings calculated?
Our historical fantasy ratings are standard scores calculated using 8-Category settings with 12 teams and 13 players per team.
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NBA Per Game Historical Fantasy Stats
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NBA Per 36 Historical Fantasy Stats
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Historical ADP
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Lakers Depth Chart
Our full team depth charts are reserved for RotoWire subscribers.
Average Fantasy Points are determined when Jaxson Hayes was active vs. non-active during the season. Click here to view average fantasy points for a different time period.
Minutes
FanDuel
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Head2Head
Sorare
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Past Fantasy Outlooks
2022
2021
2020
2019
With Zion Williamson missing the 2021-22 season, Hayes saw more run at the power forward position than expected. While he was on the standard league radar at points throughout the season, he finished outside the top 200 with per-game averages of 9.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 0.8 blocks. With Williamson now healthy and the Pelicans primed to push hard for a playoff berth, Hayes could see a dip in playing time. If we go back to the 2020-21 season, Hayes logged 16 minutes per game, ending as the 239th ranked player. Given he has been unable to make the most of his limited opportunities, managers should look to those numbers as a rough guide when projecting his value moving forward.
A fluctuating role and subpar play early in the season led to Hayes starting the year slowly. However, he picked things up later in the year. During his final 33 appearances, the sophomore averaged 9.5 points and 4.9 rebounds in 18.8 minutes while shooting 59.2 percent from the field and 81.4 percent from the free-throw line. He'll again be a backup center this season, but this time to Jonas Valanciunas rather than Steven Adams, as the Pelicans swapped the two during the offseason. Hayes will also be competing with Willy Hernangomez for reserve minutes, and there's potential for Zion Williamson to see minutes as a small-ball five. Given the situation, it will be difficult for Hayes to make a fantasy impact outside of deep leagues.
The lottery pick played a minimal role for New Orleans as a rookie, though he made an impact when on the court. Hayes averaged 7.4 points, 4.0 boards and 1.3 combined blocks/steals across 16.9 minutes as a primary reserve in the frontcourt. With absences of Derrick Favors and Zion Williamson throughout the year, Hayes drew 14 starts and performed well in that role, averaging 10.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.4 blocks as a starter. Hayes proved himself a reliable rim protector and rebounder in his first season, notching three double-doubles and providing 13 games with at least two blocks. Derrick Favors is back with Utah, but the team added veterans Steven Adams and Willy Hernangomez to the center rotation. Hayes should be the first big man off the bench for New Orleans, and if he can find regular minutes in the rotation, he's got some deeper-league fantasy value.
Hayes' freshman season was cut short by what looked like a serious knee injury, but an MRI ultimately revealed no structural damage, and he was able to participate in summer league. Hayes, who averaged 10.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game at Texas, is a terrific frontcourt athlete and shot-blocker, but there are still plenty of questions surrounding his abilities on offense. That said, he was surprisingly effective on offense in summer league, averaging 16.3 points on 10.8 shots. He also added 7.3 rebounds and 1.3 blocks across 24.3 minutes in four contests. While the Pelicans showed plenty of confidence in Hayes by drafting him eighth overall, the 19-year-old has competition for playing time. Derrick Favors, Jahlil Okafor and Zion Williamson are all candidates to see action at center, which could cut into Hayes' workload. It might be tough for the rookie to carve out a standard-league fantasy role right out of the gate, but it's possible he'll make for a streaming option for blocks and field-goal percentage.
More Fantasy News
Facing multi-week absence
CLos Angeles Lakers
Ankle
November 30, 2024
Hayes is expected to be sidelined 2-to-3 weeks after aggravating a sprained right ankle in Tuesday's 127-100 loss to the Suns, Shams Charania of ESPN reports.
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Won't face San Antonio
CLos Angeles Lakers
Ankle
November 27, 2024
Hayes (ankle) is out for Wednesday's game against the Spurs.
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Doubtful for Wednesday
CLos Angeles Lakers
Ankle
November 27, 2024
Hayes is doubtful for Wednesday's game against the Spurs due to a right ankle contusion, Jovan Buha of The Athletic reports.
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Pick-and-roll a focal point
CLos Angeles Lakers
October 1, 2024
Key points of improvement during Hayes' offseason have been his timing and play-finishing in pick-and-roll, as well as working on his fouling tendencies, Mike Trudell of Spectrum SportsNet reports.
ANALYSIS Hayes has been working on "playing out of the [passing] pocket and being dynamic as a roller" as well as "making sure to hold his screens." Hayes will have the opportunity to prove himself off the bench, especially with Christian Wood sidelined deep into November following knee surgery.