**BROTHERLY COMPETITION**
As middle-schoolers, people would tell Jalen and his brother, Jaden, that they were headed to the NBA.
“*People would say, ‘Ya’ll are going to the NBA!*’ We’d be like, ‘Why would you say that? We’re only in middle school!’” Jalen said with a laugh. “Me and my brother would just say, ‘Yeah, I guess, whatever.’”
The brothers were gifted athletes who played multiple sports. Jalen and Jaden would compete constantly. They’d have “heated” NBA 2K sessions. (“**He’d get hot and throw the controller,**” Jalen recalls of his younger brother.) They’d go head-to-head in various sports. Even if they were just working out or doing a shooting drill, it would quickly turn into a competition.
“*We’ve always just been competitors*,” Jalen explained. “*That just came from me and my brother beating on each other in anything. Playing one-on-one football, trying to get past each other. [Playing] one-on-one basketball. Anything we did, we were just competitive. I felt like that just built us up, honestly…
“So, when we would do AAU circuits, I feel like that competitiveness just always came out. Like [when we were] getting recruited and stuff, I feel like coaches have just always seen that.*”
While they loved battling one another, they dreamed of teaming up in the NBA.
“*We always used to talk about being on the same [NBA] team and how that would be crazy, throwing lobs to each other and stuff like that,*” Jalen said. ”*We just always thought playing on the same team would be fun and just [with] our chemistry together, of course it would just go crazy. Yeah, that was one dream we had, for sure.*”
From a young age, Will McDaniels instilled a strong work ethic in his sons and taught them that nothing would ever be handed to them. If they wanted a new pair of shoes, they’d have to work around the house for a week. And when his two kids dreamed of playing in the NBA, he’d say, “*You’ve gotta work to get there. It’s not just gonna be given to you.*”
ESPN listed Jalen as a three-star recruit when he was in high school, while Jaden would later be a five-star recruit and one of the top players in his high-school class. While Jalen wasn’t a McDonald’s All-American like his brother, his high-school experience was a crucial part of his journey because it’s when he fell in love with the grind and became obsessed with improving.
“*For me, it was high school*,” Jalen said when asked when he started taking basketball seriously. “*Freshman year AAU, I just kept taking steps forward. Junior year, I started getting recruited. Then, I started working out a lot and I felt like I just started getting better, and that’s what made me really love it. Like, okay, I see the results, so I’m just starting to go crazy – working out after practice, before 5 a.m. when my mom could drop me off, everything. I just started falling in love with seeing myself get better.*”
At that time, Jalen’s favorite players were LeBron James and Kevin Durant. He’d watch their moves on TV and then try to copy them the next day while he was in the gym with Parks, who has trained him since college.
“*I’m over here trying [their moves] in the gym and that’s when I’m like, ‘Okay, I can really do some stuff!’ That built my confidence and ever since then, it just took off – just loving the game and loving being a competitor,*” McDaniels said.
Both brothers managed to turn their NBA dream into reality. Jalen is thriving with the Hornets, while Jaden has become an every-night starter for the Minnesota Timberwolves. Jalen and Jaden have now faced off three times in the NBA, which was surreal for the brothers.
“*It was dope. Like, we’re on the same court in the NBA in a real game! It’s crazy!” Jalen said, before sprinkling in some trash-talk for his little brother. “Like, you can’t hide! And you can’t foul me either, like how you would in one-on-one! No, this is a real game. And you know I’m on top, 3-0, like I’m supposed to be.*”
After Jaden was drafted by the Timberwolves with the No. 28 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, Jalen would offer his brother advice as he got accustomed to playing in the NBA.
“*When he first got to the NBA, I remember he was struggling and I’m like, ‘Bro, you gotta play through it. You’re just learning. It’s a learning curve – you just gotta get through it and stick to your routine,’” Jalen said. “He’s had times where he isn’t shooting it as well and I’m always like, ‘Stick to your routine and keep shooting. You aren’t supposed to make every shot, bro. Just shake it off and be positive about it. Because as soon as you get in your head, it’s over with; you start doing stuff you’re not supposed to and now you’re messing your whole game up.’ So I’ve just always told him to stay positive and respond better than you did last time.*”
Now, Jaden is in his third NBA season and he has become a key piece for the Wolves. He’s averaging career-highs in points (11.5), assists (1.7), blocks (1.2), steals (1.1), made threes (1.2) and three-point percentage (38%).
“*He’s doing great. Ever since high school, he’s been skilled – super skilled – you could just see it. For him to be doing what he’s doing in the NBA, it’s just great,*” Jalen said of his brother. “*Everybody’s seen it coming, and he’s just letting his game speak for itself. Every year, I feel like he’s just gonna let more of his game come out; he’s got so much skill. His role right now is to defend and make the right play, but when he can get that ability to really rock out, then I feel like he’s really going to take off too.*”
**From: https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/hornets-jalen-mcdaniels-thriving-after-taking-the-long-route-to-nba**