Jaxson Hayes

BIOGRAPHY

Jaxson Hayes was born on May 23, 2000, in Norman Oklahoma. He is a center in the NBA. 

Hayes comes from a background of athletes, his father, Johnathan Hayes, played in the NFL and is currently the head coach for the St. Louis Battlehawks. His mother, Kristi Kinne, played basketball at Drake University. Hayes attended Moeller High School in Cincinnati, Ohio. He grew from six feet as a freshman to 6'11 as a senior. As a senior, he averaged 12 points, seven rebounds and four blocks per game. He committed to the University of Texas to play college basketball.

As a freshman at Texas, Hayes averaged 10.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per game while shooting 72.8% from the field. He scored a career-high 19 points along with seven boards, two steals and a block in a 69–56 loss to TCU. He was named Big 12 Freshman of the Year. On April 11, 2019, Hayes declared for the NBA draft, forfeiting his remaining three years of eligibility.

Hayes father, Jonathan Hayes, played in the National Football League (NFL) and was the head coach of the XFL’s St. Louis BattleHawks. His mother, Kristi (Kinne), played basketball at Drake University (1991–95) and earned honorable mention Kodak All-American accolades and Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year honors as a senior (1994–95). She recorded 3,406 career points during her four years (1987–91) at Jefferson-Scranton High School in Jefferson, Iowa. She previously served as an assistant women’s basketball coach at Oklahoma, Iowa, and Southern Illinois-Carbondale. Hayes has 3 siblings; Jillian, a varsity basketball player at Loveland High School who committed to play basketball at the University of Cincinnati, Jewett, and Jonah.

On June 20, 2019, the Atlanta Hawks selected Hayes with the 8th overall pick of the 2019 NBA draft and then had his draft rights traded to New Orleans Pelicans.

On July 6, 2023, Hayes signed with the Los Angeles Lakers.

On December 9, 2023, Hayes and the Lakers won the inaugural season of the NBA In-Season Tournament.