One of the young stars of the American team at the ANGT Finals is already living up to his famous surname
OTE's Jayden Wilkins will be rooting for great-uncle's ex-team, Panathinaikos
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Jayden Wilkins bears the name and weight of three former NBA stars in his family, but the young Overtime Elite star will be wearing his famous surname with pride at the Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament Finals. And he will be rooting for his great-uncle's former team Panathinaikos Athens at the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four.
Wilkins is the son of former NBA player Damien Wilkins while his grandfather is 13-year NBA star Gerald Wilkins and his great-uncle is Hall of Famer Dominique Wilkins.
"It's an honor and a privilege to have the name Wilkins, and I don't take that lightly," said the 2008-born Jayden. "I wear that name on the back of my jersey with pride, and it motivates me on the days where I might be struggling because I know the men before me helped pave the way for me. What I focus on is building a legacy for myself without ever forgetting where I came from – and using the things I learned from them to be the best version of myself."
Wilkins stressed he is not worried about being Damien, Dominique or Gerald. He just wants to be Jayden – and he doesn't feel the pressure some might think he faces.
"I don't feel pressure to be just like any of them because I am my own person, but it's great to have someone to talk to about the challenges I face and I know they will be honest with me about my growth and development. I've been able to see with my own eyes how much work it takes to get to where I want to be, so having them in my corner supporting me means a lot," Jayden said.
His father Damien told a US newspaper that Jayden is probably the best shooter in the family – to which he said: "If my dad says it, it must be true, right? Ha! But that's the part of my game that I have the most confidence in right now, and it's because I'm in the gym every day working at it."
When asked what he would like to have from each of his family member's game for his own game, Jayden offered: "From my dad – his attitude and overall leadership. When he played, he was the guy that everyone looked up to and could count on, so I definitely want that from him. From my great-uncle – his athleticism and consistently playing hard no matter what's happening in the game. From my grandfather – his elite defensive skills."
Jayden has completed his first season in the OTE league, for which his father serves as general manager and head of basketball operations.
"I like OTE because I have all the access and resources to get better at my fingertips every day – the coaching, the weight training, the skills development – everything is customized for me. There's no other place like it where I can have as many coaches and staff dedicated to making me a better player. And the competition is crazy because you have the best high school players in the country all in one place. I'm going against the best guys day in and day out, so I'm really forced to push myself daily," he said.
Wilkins is playing for the RWE team and he won last season's Next Up award as the top underclassman in the league. Wilkins is excited and motivated to be traveling to Germany to face the best Europe has to offer.
"I'm always looking for new ways to challenge myself and get better, and this will be another opportunity to do that. Going up against the best of the best is only going to make me better. Our team is really excited to showcase our own talents as well on this European stage," he said.
Wilkins naturally will be looking to win as many games as possible at the ANGT Finals. But he also wants to experience the rest of the atmosphere around the EuroLeague Final Four – including rooting for Panathinaikos, where his great-uncle Dominique played and with which he won the EuroLeague title in 1996.
"I'm definitely going to be watching and hopefully getting to experience some of the atmosphere around the games. It's my first time in Berlin, and it's going to be cool to see the team my great-uncle played for in the Final Four – definitely going to have to support them," he said.
His surname, Wilkins, comes with pedigree, and Jayden Wilkins is ready to do it justice at the Euroleague Basketball Next Generation Tournament Finals in Berlin.