It’s been four years since the JBA League ended, yet many former alums continue their basketball grind. Former Philadelphia Ballers guard, Jaylen Nixon has continued that struggle, and is beginning to make a name for himself throughout the basketball community.
After making his rounds throughout the city of Philadelphia on the streetball circuit, Nixon parlayed that hustle into overseas offers, and now Pro-AM’s all across the United States.
Most recently, Nixon took part in the annual Rumph Classic in Philadelphia, at La Salle University. Playing team FOE, Nixon received MVP honors in a semi-final matchup against Rumph Center finishing with 14 points, five assists, three rebounds, and a bevy of big-time highlights.
Jaylen Nixon goes up for a one-handed slam at the annual Rumph Classic. Photo courtesy of Shutter Up Visuals.
When asked Nixon about his experience and what he has coming up, this is what he told Ball Exclusives.
“We had four games. First game, we played were the defending champions Rex 6. It was me, the Morris twins (Marcus and MarKief), Thomas Robinson, Vinny Simpson, Markus Kennedy and a few other NBA vets. We ended up losing the first game by two.
The tournament was double-elimination, so we had to win three straight to get to the championship. The second game we played Arete sports and we won. The twins played a huge game, and both ended up with 20-plus to secure our win. With us being 1-1 on day three of the tournament, we had to play [two games], and the Morris twins don’t play back-to-back games, so we played two games without them.
My coach came to me and said, “We need you to step up big and give us two wins and we can get to the chip. Give us energy on the defensive end and play hard on the offensive end.”
In the third game, we played CTC with star guard from Philly, Fatts Russell, NBA player, Eric Paschall, [and I] ended up with 20 that game with the win. The next day, we played the Rumph Center, and I won the MVP, again without the Morris twins.
I got a lot of praise from my teammates and coaches, who liked how I brought home two tough wins against two tough teams being short-handed. From that point on, the twins trusted me and gave me the approval that I got game, especially at the next level.
Jaylen Nixon shoots a three at the Rumph Classic. Photo courtesy of Shutter Up Visuals.
For the championship game, we played Blue Magic. We won by 7 or 8. Our squad also brought out 76ers own Tyrese Maxey as well as Isaiah Joe. The Morris twins were back along with Markus Kennedy. I was used in the championship game to defend Brandon Austin, who is a seasoned pro player with overseas and NBA experience, so I knew my role was to play lockdown defense on him. Maxey led the way with 34 points and we won the game.
The experience more than anything was the greatest I had since probably playing in the JBA. Learning a lot from the vets at a high level and also gauging my talents against other top guards in the Rumph, was amazing.
When I first came to Philly, I always had dreams of playing in the Rumph, and I was committed to say, ‘One day, I can play in that.’ Fast forward from 2016 to six years later to be a part of it and to win two of the most biggest games to get us to the chip was literally a moment where I knew I belonged at the next level.
After winning the championship at the Rumph, I went back to Miami to focus on the Miami Pro League playoffs. We play Friday against a very good team, and I think that good winning energy will transfer over to Miami to make some good things happen for my team.
As for updates, I have a couple of G-League interests and connections from the Skyforce of Souix Falls, Bluecoats of Delaware, 76ers affiliate, and now the Lakeland Magic of the Orlando magic.
I also have some overseas clubs interested. I think I’ma go workout for some clubs from now until September-October and play the G-League by ear until I get an invite to a tryout. Also, I’m doing everything without an agent so I’m in the process now of finding a well-connected high-power agent who can help me ink a deal somewhere and I can truly focus on just playing.”
One thing is for certain, Jaylen Nixon won’t stop going until he reaches his destination — and he’ll still keep grinding.
Watch a few clips of Nixon at the Rumph Classic below.
Jay Nixon with the clean reverse oop
FOE hanging around without the Morris twins pic.twitter.com/7XFhWhYB1q— Rumph Classic (@RumphClassic) August 6, 2022
Jay Nixon catches the former MVP lacking
FOE up 55-48 pic.twitter.com/pz5EXMFrzw— Rumph Classic (@RumphClassic) August 6, 2022
Jay Nixon with the exclamation point!
FOE wins it 88-80 pic.twitter.com/WR5PTmQnGj— Rumph Classic (@RumphClassic) August 6, 2022
KNOCKDOWNNN!!! Jay Nixon from the corner. pic.twitter.com/5op8CFiYOF
— Rumph Classic (@RumphClassic) August 7, 2022
Jay Nixon's great tournament continues with player of the game honors in the semifinals pic.twitter.com/EWhnE5lTiN
— Rumph Classic (@RumphClassic) August 7, 2022
