Quiet, basketball-loving ‘robot’ Jaden Hardy is eager to erase NBA doubts as Mavs rookie

Jaden Hardy expected to spend his 16th birthday on vacation — finally.

So often in the gym with his dad, training for the NBA future he’ll soon recognize with the Mavericks, Hardy had escaped to Newport Beach, California, for a birthday trip with his high school coach, Jeff Kaufman’s, family, who promised Ramsey Hardy his son would still work out every day.

But Kaufman secretly planned to give his star off July 5 to celebrate with friends and fun.

Until Ramsey called.

He asked about Hardy’s workout plan that birthday morning, then requested to watch the exercise Kaufman made up and then remained on a FaceTime call the whole time Hardy ran two miles in the sand with Kaufman biking along the boardwalk with his phone.

Complaints?

At least an eye roll or back talk?

Not from Hardy.

The 16-year-old had aspirations to reach the highest level in basketball, and the unassuming, diligent, driven qualities he exuded as a new 16 year old shaped him into one of the NBA’s most intriguing rookies this season.

Flash forward four years, and since starting summer league training camp on his 20th birthday last week, the former top-five high school prospect whom Dallas acquired in a second-round draft-night trade has displayed the same characteristics as the Mavericks’ coaching staff learns and evaluates how the next stage of his oft-hyped career will progress.

“I for sure had a chip on my shoulder,” Hardy said. “I really want to prove myself right. I didn’t really care about other people. I want to prove myself right.”

Hardy first walked into a Las Vegas-area gym at 14 years old preparing to move from Detroit to start high school closer to his brother, former UNLV guard Amauri.

Kaufman had connected with the Hardys when he learned about the potential transfer, and invited him to a workout at Coronado High School.

Midway through the shooting regimen — Hardy dazzling around the arc and Ramsey rebounding every attempt — Kaufman turned to an assistant and asked:

”Hey man, is he really, really good, or do I just want him to be really good?’

The assistant, who’d worked with top prospects at local prep programs and in college, responded:

“He’s way better as a freshman. Way better.”

No kidding.

In Hardy’s first high school game, Coronado trailed by 2 in the final seconds. Kaufman called a final inbounds play dubbed “fence” that featured Hardy breaking from a shoulder-to-shoulder line of teammates and drawing a 3-point shooting foul through a screen.

He hit three free throws for the win.

A few months later, Hardy joined former NBA player Quincy Pondexter’s 18U AAU program, two age groups up.

In his first game, the team needed subs while a few regulars were absent, so Hardy cracked the rotation. The next game, he started. By the end of the season, Hardy led as the top scorer and facilitator.

The spin on his release. His compact motion. Deep range. All undeniable.

“He has picture-perfect form,” Pondexter said. “Not many people can shoot effortlessly like he does.”

Hardy once scored 62 points in a Coronado game with no shot clock. He became a McDonald’s All-American. He ranked second in ESPN’s Class of 2021 rankings behind star rookie Chet Holmgren.

“He was the No. 1 player in high school basketball,” Kaufman said of Hardy. “They said it was Chet Holmgren, but we smashed Chet Holmgren’s team when we played against them. We smashed them. We were up 25 at halftime.”

No surprise for a reserved teenager who spent nearly every day honing his game and conditioning.

One summer day when Hardy had three AAU games in the afternoon and evening, Pondexter found Hardy and his dad first fitting in morning workout at a local gym. At most tournaments, Hardy spent free time watching other games.

He scrimmaged new Mavericks center Christian Wood in a Las Vegas-area warehouse gym two years ago and drained six consecutive shots, leaving his future teammate to think “OK, he might be ready” for the NBA before Hardy had graduated high school.

“He was kind of a robot,” Pondexter said. “He never stopped working. It was really a testament to how hard he wants to make it.”

Hardy’s decision to play one season for the G League’s Ignite prep program, rather than attending UCLA or Kentucky, might’ve hurt his one-time lottery draft projection.

He “pressed” in the beginning of last season, Ignite coach Jason Hart said, shooting below 27% from three through his first two months as a pro because he wanted to be perfect and prove his skill met soaring expectations.

Still, the Mavericks included Hardy among those they’d be satisfied with selecting at No. 26 in the first round before they traded the pick to Houston for Wood a week earlier.

They’d noticed Hardy boosted his 3-point shooting average to 35.3% over the last three months of the season. He shined in several high-scoring outings, including one against two-way Maverick Moses Wright, then with the Agua Caliente Clippers.

“Dang,” Wright thought, “this young dude is nice.”

The Mavericks sensed Jalen Brunson might leave for the New York Knicks in free agency when they traded two future second rounders to the Sacramento Kings for Hardy at No. 37.

But they don’t view Hardy as a direct, immediate replacement.

Coach Jason Kidd invited The Dallas Morning News courtside with him to watch Hardy’s second summer league game for insight on Hardy’s early impressions.

Kidd hopes to play the 6-4, 198-pound guard consistently during the regular season, the best way to give Hardy more live experience and comfort with finding spots and decision-making flow after two-plus seasons of disjointed COVID-19 pandemic and Ignite scheduling.

But expect Josh Green and Frank Ntilikina to rank ahead of him in the backcourt rotation to start the season.

After Hardy shot 0 of 7 from the floor in the first half Monday, Kidd sat down after the break with one thought, free of statistical concern:

“I want to see how he responds.”

Hardy continued to hustle on defense, a major emphasis in his first sit-down with Kidd.

He continued to make eye contact with coaches and ask questions during breaks.

He answered a missed one-handed putback dunk that would’ve given Dallas the lead in the final minute with a pull-up 3-pointer on the next possession.

After the game Monday, Kidd walked over to Hardy’s mom, Selina Bonds, and said he already looked forward to watching how Hardy handled the physical and mental grind of his first back to back with the Mavericks on Tuesday night.

Full attention on Hardy’s future progress, indeed.

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