On March 5, 2023, the No. 4 UCLA Bruins were finishing up their regular season against the No. 8 Arizona Wildcats with a chance to advance to the Pac-12 championship on the line.
Two minutes into the second half, Jaylen Clark pulled up limping and returned to the locker room, only to return minutes later wearing a boot and walking on crutches. The Bruins won 82-73 and went unbeaten at home for the first time since 2006-07 while punching their ticket to March Madness.
However, Clark faced a different reality. Three days after the Arizona game, doctors confirmed he had ruptured his left Achilles tendon. Surgery to repair the tendon followed, starting Clark’s arduous road back to the hardwood.
On media day, Clark spoke about his headspace heading into the 2024-25 season.
“I know it sounds crazy,” he said, “but I was really in this headspace, like, there’s somebody that learned they’ll never walk again, there’s somebody that lost a loved one. To me, it was some tendons that are going to grow back.”
Clark earned his first NBA rotation minutes against the Phoenix Suns on Jan. 29, logging 10 minutes. Chris Finch primarily tasked him with slowing down Devin Booker, and Clark’s defense immediately caught everyone’s attention. As a result of his effort and activity, he grabbed three rebounds and finished the game as a plus-9 in plus/minus.
A day later, Finch trusted Clark to play in the rotation again, and he didn’t disappoint. In 17 minutes against the Utah Jazz, he finished plus-34 with two rebounds and two steals on the defensive side. His effort level was palpable again.
However, Clark took a long road to get there.
When he ruptured his Achilles, Clark was a finalist for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year award. He was all Pac-12 First-Team All-Defense, coming off his most productive season. Clark averaged second on the team in scoring 13.0 points per game, nearly double the 6.7 he averaged the year before. His three-point percentage rose from 25.9% to a much more respectable 32.9%.
Clark averaged 2.6 steals per game, good for 11th in the NCAA, while only fouling 2.1 times per game. His rebound rate climbed from 3.8 to 6.0 per game. Clark’s 11.9 plus-minus per game was the highest in the Pac-12. Clark was amid a breakout season and climbing up NBA draft boards.
On April 4, 2023, 30 days after his injury, Clark won the Defensive Player of the Year award and declared for the NBA draft shortly after that. Before the draft, pundits projected Clark to be a late first-round pick or an early second-rounder at worst.
However, The Ringer listed Clark as the 51st prospect on April 8. The notable negative? He “suffered an Achilles injury that prematurely ended his season at UCLA.”
Clark missed most of the draft process, including the combine, showcase scrimmages, and independent workouts. On draft night, he dropped two more spots to the Minnesota Timberwolves at 53.
He was realistic about his path after the draft.
“It still hasn’t become real to me yet,” he said. “I mean, I think it will hit me when I really first lace them up for the first time. … I really didn’t panic when the injury happened. If anyone didn’t take a chance on me this year, I was going to go back to school and rehab and come out the next.”
Later, Clark said the words every fan, coach, and GM wants to hear.
“I’m a hard worker,” he said. “If I don’t mask it, it won’t be because I didn’t try.”
When drafted, expectations were that Clark could return from injury late in the season. However, Clark’s rookie season didn’t pan out how anyone thought; he missed the entire year due to rehabbing the injury. However, he spent the year in Minnesota and learned a lot from Mike Conley.
“He’s one of the best people I’ve ever met,” Clark said of Conley before Summer League this year. “He respects everyone. [Conley] does everything the right way. He’s always on time, he’s never late. Always has a great positive attitude… just how to be an all-around good person. He showed me how that translates to his game.”
Clark made the most of his first playing action in over a year at Summer League, averaging 2.8 steals per game in only 18 minutes. However, he showed he still had the on and off-ball defensive ability to play in the NBA.
Throughout the beginning of the regular season, Clark built on his encouraging defensive play. In four G-League games, Clark averaged 16 points, shot 44.4% from three, and averaged 2.3 steals per game. That was enough to show he’s capable of what the Wolves need in their rotation.
Clark is slowly taking steps to gain the coaching staff’s trust. In Phoenix and Utah, his effort and intensity are things the Wolves need this season. Minnesota’s open rotation spot is an opportunity for Clark to lock down an NBA role.
In training camp, Clark may have forecasted this situation.
“Now all I’m going to do is put me in a position where I can still live out my dreams,” he said. “Yeah, I didn’t get to go first round like I’ve always dreamed of. But I’m still here, and I can still make it.”