The Index · Live

Ja'Kobi GillespieSan Antonio Spurs · #32

Guard · 6'4", 190 lb · Tennessee

Ja'Kobi Gillespie is a guard the San Antonio Spurs selected 42nd overall (second round) in the 2026 NBA draft out of Tennessee. An incoming rookie for 2026-27 — projected role, ratings and outlook.

San Antonio Spurs roster More Guards

MVP race · #353Guard rank · #153Balladex Impact · 39

⚖ Quick compare

Analysis by Beau Thoutt · Balladex

◆ Rated

San Antonio Spurs · #32 · Guard

Ja'Kobi Gillespie

Season avg— · no NBA seasons yet — prospect

Career avg— · career line pending debut

Live win probabilitySpurs 66%

Balladex model · projected 118–115 · 98.8 pace

Tonight's projectionmodel

6.6pts

2.7reb

2.7ast

66%win

Tonight's matchup · who he'll mainly guardhead-to-head

Ja'Kobi Gillespie

San Antonio Spurs · Guard

Jamal Shead

Toronto Raptors · Strong defender

Category breakout

Head-to-head history

Home/away splits from recent games; live grades from the DNA model.

LADDER#353 in the Balladex MVP raceIMPACTBalladex Impact 39 — Role player tierINDEXJa'Kobi Gillespie · San Antonio SpursLADDER#353 in the Balladex MVP raceIMPACTBalladex Impact 39 — Role player tierINDEXJa'Kobi Gillespie · San Antonio Spurs

Scouting report

Ja'Kobi Gillespie — the report card

Read his whole game at a glance, then dive into any skill. Grades from the DNA model + real production.

Depth guard prospect · Impact 39

Ja'Kobi Gillespie is a guard the San Antonio Spurs selected 42nd overall (second round) in the 2026 NBA draft out of Tennessee. An incoming rookie for

Offense

Defense

Feel / IQ

Playmaking

Below average creator

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Scoring

Below average scorer

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Rebounding

Below average on the glass

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3PT / spacing

Below average spacing

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Perimeter D

Below average on the perimeter

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Paint / rim D

Below average at the rim

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Clutch

Below average late

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Athleticism

Below average tools

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Basketball IQ

Reads the game

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Durability

Availability

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Act II

Where Ja'Kobi Gillespie stands

Live ladders from the Balladex models, and what he's chasing. Rankings recompute nightly from real production, accolades, and search demand.

The laddersmodel · recomputes nightly

Nikola Jokić Denver Nuggets▬

44%

Giannis Antetokounmpo Miami Heat▬

23%

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Oklahoma City Thunder▬

19%

Luka Doncic Los Angeles Lakers▬

Kyrie Irving Dallas Mavericks▬

✦ Balladex Consensus: #349 of 384 — a blend of the Impact index, current production, career résumé and live search demand. Recomputes as the data does.

Futures & chases

—MVP odds

39Impact index

67Star score

Career scoring average0.0 ppg

Seasons in the index0

Accolades on file1

#42 2026 Draft pick (R2)

Stat explorer

Ja'Kobi Gillespie — every number, three levels deep

Headline → metric → the raw history behind it. Real career data; tracking-only metrics labeled.

Scoring

0.0 PPG

drill in ↓

Playmaking

0.0 APG

drill in ↓

Rebounding

0.0 RPG

drill in ↓

Shooting

— 3P%

drill in ↓

The engine

How the model sees Ja'Kobi Gillespie

Projection = per-minute rate × projected minutes. Rates are recency- and health-weighted, aged along a per-stat curve, and adjusted for live usage/role. No black box — every number shows its work.

Projected next season confidence

Bands widen as confidence drops. Derived live from the real 0-season history below.

What moves the points line vs last season

Everything it reads

📊

0 seasons of per-minute rates

every box line, minutes-normalized

real

⚖

Recency × games-played weight

recent, healthy seasons anchor the baseline

auto

📈

Weighted least-squares trend

his own trajectory, read season over season

+dev

🕰

Per-stat aging curves

age — — applied per stat

curve

🔌

Live role context

usage & role shifts fold in when the feed is present

+ctx

🏥

Durability signal

GP last 3: — → games & confidence

health

The real history it trains onsource: Basketball-Reference · verified

Ja'Kobi Gillespie career stats, season by season

Source: Basketball-Reference. Backtested against completed player-seasons in the index. The same engine powers Tonight's projection, EraLab, and the role simulator — one model, asked different questions. Illustrative.

Act III

The Lab

Every number, live and interactive. Real career data; models labeled.

Gold = MVP / Championship season · hover any bar. Real per-game data; per-36 & totals derived.

EraLab · the stat time machinenovel

Re-express a season in today's pace-and-space.

—raw PPG

→

—in 2026 pace

why

Player DNA + compssimilarity model

Closest comps

Alijah Martin 100%Chaz Lanier 100%Emanuel Sharp 100%Kam Jones 100%Koby Brea 100%

⚖ Overlay a rival →

Scoring map · clickable zonesShotChart

Team-tinted. Modeled where tracking data is absent.

Role simulatorpowered by GM engine

Change the roster around him — his projection updates live.

If a key teammate misses 20 games →

Projected line shifts to — usage , assists rise as primary initiator. Title odds . Illustrative.

Context

Are the San Antonio Spurs built to win?

Team projection rolled up from the roster + last-season baselines — and what it means for his role.

63–19proj record

#2conf seed

+8.6net rtg

118.8off rtg

110.3def rtg

99%playoff odds

Roster delta · what changed

Drop coverage — Sits the big back to wall off the rim and lives with contested mid-range looks.. Core trending steady. Defensive anchors: Victor Wembanyama, Luke Kornet.

How his role moves

Projected 63–19, 2nd in the West. Real team projection from the roster + last-season baselines. His usage, minutes and creation load move with roster health.

Balladex Impact

39 of 99

Role player tier.

Rarity

◆ Rated

Collectible tier.

Résumé

1 accolades

#42 2026 Draft pick (R2)

Act IV

The Ballad of Ja'Kobi Gillespie

Birth to now — the making of a legend, narrated and scored.

The beginning

Ja'Kobi Gillespie is a 2026 second-round guard for the San Antonio Spurs.

San Antonio Spurs

Turning pro

Drafted 42nd overall, 2026 as a Guard.

true

In 2026, the 42nd pick of the draft — a number most fans never hear called — sent a guard out of Tennessee to San Antonio, the one place in the league where being drafted late has never meant being written off.

Chapter

This is a franchise that turned undrafted men and forgotten picks into champions. It asks for one thing in return: play the right way, make the extra pass, defend, and let the system do the rest.

Chapter

For a second-round guard, there is no better proving ground and no shortcut offered. Only the work, and the patience the Spurs have always been willing to spend on someone who earns it.

▶

Gillespie's story

The documentary, narrated

Highlights

▶ Yaxel Lendeborg TROLLS 😳 Ja’Kobi Gillespie RESPONDS with POSTER 😱

Off the court

Measurables

Active

Height: 6'4"
Weight: 190 lb
Draft: 42nd overall, 2026
Born: Tennessee
Jersey: #32

Beyond the game

Gillespie joins the San Antonio Spurs as a 2026 second-round pick out of Tennessee.

The person

A 2026 second-round guard out of Tennessee.

Incoming

Second round

Tennessee

FAQ

Ja'Kobi Gillespie — frequently asked

The questions people ask most about Ja'Kobi Gillespie, answered.

Where was Ja'Kobi Gillespie drafted?

Ja'Kobi Gillespie was selected 42nd overall (second round) by the San Antonio Spurs in the 2026 NBA draft, out of Tennessee.

Does Gillespie have NBA stats yet?

The identity and draft facts are real; the ratings and outlook are Balladex projections, since he debuts in 2026-27.

Ja'Kobi Gillespie career stats & accolades are real, and team projections and recent-game home/away splits are computed from real production. DNA ratings, grades, tonight's projection, ladders, live win probability and simulator outputs are Balladex model output. Not affiliated with the NBA.

Ja'Kobi GillespieSan Antonio Spurs · #32

Ja'Kobi Gillespie — the report card

Where Ja'Kobi Gillespie stands

Ja'Kobi Gillespie — every number, three levels deep

How the model sees Ja'Kobi Gillespie

Ja'Kobi Gillespie career stats, season by season

The Lab

Are the San Antonio Spurs built to win?

The Ballad of Ja'Kobi Gillespie

The beginning

Turning pro

true

Chapter

Chapter

Off the court

Ja'Kobi Gillespie — frequently asked

More San Antonio Spurs players

Other Guards to compare