Peninsula grad, UCSB guard JaQuori McLaughlin signs with Golden State Warriors
Peninsula High School grad JaQuori McLaughlin didn’t hear his name called in the NBA Draft on Thursday night. But it didn’t take him long to reach a deal, signing a contract after the draft with the Golden State Warriors.
“I wanted to get drafted but that’s not how it went,” McLaughlin said by phone from Sea-Tac Airport on Friday morning, as he prepared to fly to San Francisco. “I had a lot of other teams offering me deals. Golden State was the best fit for me.”
McLaughlin signed an Exhibit 10 contract, which will allow him to play for Golden State’s summer league team and compete for a two-way contract to either play in the G-League or ultimately, for the Warriors in the NBA.
McLaughlin, who played his freshman season in college at Oregon State, transferred to UC Santa Barbara his sophomore year. In his senior year during the 2020-21 season, he was named the Big West Player of the Year, when he led the Gauchos to its first conference title since 2010 and a berth in the NCAA Tournament. McLaughlin averaged 16 points, 3.5 rebounds and 5.2 assists; he shot 48.8 percent from the field and 40.8 percent from 3-point range during his senior year.
While McLaughlin had multiple suitors after the draft concluded, he wasn’t going to turn down a chance to play for Golden State, his favorite team growing up.
“Just the playing side of it, the way they play, I’ve always loved the way they play,” McLaughlin said. “The winning culture they have as an organization. I’m a player that loves to win. That culture was huge for me. The opportunity for summer league, I’m going to play a lot of minutes and have a great group of guys around me for sure. … I’m super excited. It’s a dream come true to have this opportunity and I’m blessed to be in this position.”
McLaughlin said he’s motivated after not hearing his name called on Thursday.
“I definitely felt like I was good enough to be drafted,” he said. “I’ve always felt like I’ve been an underdog my whole life. I’m just going to work hard and show them what I can do. It’s a great opportunity with a great organization.”
Over the past couple months, McLaughlin worked out for 18 different NBA teams and interviewed with 25 teams.
“It’s been crazy but a great experience,” he said. “Traveling from city to city, it was cool being able to go to all those different places.”
Klay Thompson. Steph Curry. McLaughlin grew up idolizing those players, watching Thompson during his days at Washington State and Curry in the NCAA Tournament. Now he’s in the same organization and someday soon, could potentially be their teammate.
“Ever since I was little, I dreamed of this,” McLaughlin said. “My whole family has helped me get to this point. I wouldn’t be here without them. Being in this situation is huge. I’m feeling a lot of different emotions. About 20 minutes after (he signed), I realized I’m going to be playing for the Warriors.”
McLaughlin was a consensus four-star guard in high school, considered the No. 2 player in Washington in the 2016 class behind Rainier Beach’s Sam Cunliffe, and a top-100 player nationally.
He was a four-year starter at Peninsula, a four-time 3A South Puget Sound League first-team pick, the league’s MVP as a junior, and a two-time TNT All-Area selection.
His senior year in 2016, he was named Mr. Basketball by the Washington Interscholastic Basketball Coaches Association — the award given by coaches in the state to one player each season spanning all six classifications — after averaging 19.3 points, 9.1 assists and 5.5 steals per game.
Peninsula won a school-record 21 games that season, and advanced to the state playoffs for the first time since 2008.
OTHER LOCALS DRAFTED
Gonzaga forward Corey Kispert, a King’s High School (Edmonds, Wash.) product, was the only former prep player from Washington selected in the Draft on Thursday. He was selected with the No. 16 pick in the first round by the Washington Wizards. The former four-star recruit led King’s to two Class 1A state titles. He was a three-time Associated Press first-team all-state selection and the 1A state player of the year in 2016, averaging 23.9 points, 6.8 boards, 3.4 assist and 2.3 steals per game as a junior.
He led Gonzaga to the national championship game in 2021, and was named a first-team Associated Press All-American.
Gonzaga guard Jalen Suggs was selected with the No. 5 pick in the draft by the Orlando Magic, after playing just one college season. Gonzaga guard Joel Ayayi signed a two-way contract with the Lakers after going undrafted on Thursday.
This story was originally published July 30, 2021 at 12:05 PM.
