Jalen Slawson
Jalen Brooks Slawson was born on October 22, 1999, in Charleston, South Carolina, USA. He grew up in Summerville, South Carolina, and attended Pinewood Preparatory School. During his senior year, he averaged 14.6 points, 10.5 rebounds, 4.1 blocks, and 3.5 assists per game, earning him the Area Player of the Year title. Slawson is 2.01 m tall and weighs 103 kg. He plays as a power forward. He is notable for being the last player born in the 1990s to be selected in an NBA Draft.
Slawson committed to playing college basketball for the Furman Paladins, where he played from 2018 to 2023. Throughout his college career, he showed consistent improvement in his performance. In his freshman year (2018–19), he averaged 0.7 points per game (PPG) in 26 games. His PPG steadily increased to 6.9 in 2019–20 (32 games), 8.7 in 2020–21 (25 games), 14.5 in 2021–22 (34 games), and peaked at 15.6 PPG in his final season (2022–23) in 36 games. Overall, his career college PPG was 9.9 in 153 games. His field goal percentage (FG%) also improved, from 0.364 in 2018–19 to 0.556 in 2022–23. He also made significant defensive contributions and was recognized as the SoCon Defensive Player of the Year in 2022. In 2023, he was named SoCon Player of the Year and was a two-time First Team All-SoCon selection in 2022 and 2023.
Jalen Slawson entered the NBA draft in 2023 and was selected in the 2nd round as the 54th overall pick by the Sacramento Kings. His professional playing career began in 2023. He was subsequently associated with the Stockton Kings (2023–2024) and is set to play for the Osceola Magic in 2024–2025.
In recent news, on October 18, 2025, the Pacers waived Slawson. He had signed an Exhibit 10 contract on October 1st. After this, he is expected to join the Noblesville Boom in the G League. This development indicates his continued involvement in professional basketball within the G League system, maintaining his presence in the sport post-NBA draft.
