Spartans in the NBA: Jaden Akins impresses in G-League debut

On Friday, Jaden Akins made his professional debut, starting for the NBA G-League’s Motor City Cruise during their 137-114 win on opening night. The rookie from Michigan State made quite the impact, to say the least.

Akins put up a double-double, an achievement he only eclipsed once in his 138-game Spartan career. However, in that game against Bowling Green State during his senior year, it came on a 13-point, 12-rebound outing.

For the Motor City Cruise, the guard delivered an eye-popping 15 assists to pair with his 16 points. Safe to say, Akins was easily the player of the game on Friday night. He led the team in assists, obviously, along with adding five rebounds, and led the team in plus/minus, finishing an impressive plus-29 on the night.

Ironically, Akins’s double-double with 16 points and 15 assists is the same figures that Spartan senior Jaxon Kohler put up (16 points and 15 rebounds) during Michigan State basketball’s win over Colgate on their opening night on Monday.

During his time at Michigan State, Akins was relied upon as a consistent threat, averaging at least 9.8 points per game for his final three seasons as a Spartan. However, due to the sizing and MSU teams he played with, the Farmington Hills (MI.) native found himself in the stretch three role, as opposed to being a shooting guard.

Jaden Akins hopes to join the list of Spartans in the NBA

After going undrafted, Akins got to spend the Summer League with fellow Spartan Jase Richardson, with Akins putting up 11 points in the Summer League finale for the Orlando Magic. Originally, Akins was supposed to be joined by Marcus Bingham Jr., a teammate from Akins’s freshman season with the Spartans, but Bingham signed overseas before the league began.

With the Cruise on Friday night, Akins got to start as a guard and his 15 assists dwarf any total he put up at MSU. Akins best night dishing the ball out at MSU came in his senior year, in the aforementioned BGSU game. In fact, Akins only had seven games in his career with four or more assists. The Big Ten Champion went nuclear on Friday night.

One can only hope that is a sign of things to come for the rookie.