A small basketball gym in Reading, Pa., 60 miles northwest of Philadelphia, is the first place Rob Brown experienced Jalen Duren.

Brown, who is the director of the Team Final AAU program, was both in awe of and vexed by what he was seeing. For starters, the 13-year-old, 6-foot-4 under-the-radar prospect stood a foot over everyone else he shared the floor with — a foot and some change if you put the ruler at the top of the afro he sported. Duren’s physique resembled that of a Division I freshman more so than a puny middle-schooler whose diet was Lunchables and fruit snacks. He was twisting rims in every direction with forceful dunks. He was blocking shots all the way to Morrisville. He was throwing behind-the-back passes. Duren, playing for a mom-and-pop team at the time, was taking it to one of the country’s premier AAU programs.

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“One of our coaches turned to me and said, ‘I think he’s from our area,’” Brown, whose program is based in Philly, told The Athletic. “I said, ‘Wait a minute … that kid is our from our area and we don’t have him on our team? How did this happen?’ It befuddled me why this kid wasn’t with us.”

Everyone has wanted Duren since he was 13. It was Brown and Team Final who persuaded Duren to change programs after his dominating performance in Reading. It was Roman Catholic High School, one of the most historic programs in Philadelphia, that landed his services as a freshman and sophomore. It was prep juggernaut Montverde Academy (Fla.) that snatched Duren out of Philly for his junior season. Memphis and Penny Hardaway won the recruiting battle for the No. 1 high school prospect in the country, a race that featured, literally, every program in the nation. The Detroit Pistons, for whom Duren plays now, created a master plan in a matter of minutes during the 2022 NBA Draft to land a second lottery pick and select the big man who left jaws dropped during a pre-draft workout in the Motor City.

Duren is a basketball prodigy. Everyone who saw him play at 13 knew he’d be here one day, holding his own against the best of the best. Growing up, Duren was always a man among boys. No one knew, though, that Duren would look the way he has as the youngest player in the NBA. At 6-foot-10, Duren moves with the grace of a ballet dancer and jumps as if his sneakers come with jetpacks. He’s built like a Camaro, chiseled and sleek. His birth certificate needs to be checked. Supposedly, Duren doesn’t turn 19 until November. His blocks leave cracks in the backboard. His catch radius is only comparable to Da Vinci’s The Vitruvian Man.

Detroit needed this type of player for its rebuild. And, with time, it could have one of the most imposing big men in the league. Time. Patience. Duren needs it.

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But, man…

“Whew,” Pistons rookie Jaden Ivey said of his teammate. “He’s a freak.”

JALEN. DUREN.

— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) October 27, 2022

Matt Griffin had read every write-up on Duren and watched every YouTube highlight by the time he laid eyes on him in the flesh for the first time. Griffin, who is now an assistant coach at Albany, was the head coach at Roman Catholic during the spring of 2018 when he attended the All-City Classic, an annual game that features the top middle-schoolers from Philadelphia and its surrounding areas.

Duren, at this point, was 6-foot-7 and still rocking an afro. Griffin had been in communication with Duren’s mother and father about getting him to Roman Catholic for a visit. But he wasn’t the only one on this mission. Every high school coach in the area was at this event, all there to see the phenom and be the lucky contestant on “Land Duren.”

At the All-City Classic, Griffin said Duren had six monster dunks — as an eighth-grader — but there was one play in particular that sticks with him all these years later. Duren corralled a defensive rebound, dribbled up the floor, changed speeds, waited for a defender to go by before switching hands and rising up for a tomahawk dunk. The gym exploded. Everyone jumped out of their skin in unison. The vibrations of the cheers rattled the gymnasium. Philadelphia, a renowned sports town, knew it was witnessing something special.

“This was the next coming of the next great player out of the city,” Griffin told The Athletic. “That’s what the vibe was. That was the energy in the gym.”

Griffin ended up being the winner of the Duren sweepstakes. The eighth-grader decided to attend the prestigious Philadelphia program. And while everyone who had seen Duren play up to that point knew he was destined for greatness, Griffin went the political route when the season started. The head coach decided to bring Duren and teammate Justice Williams, who currently plays at LSU, off the bench to begin the season. Roman Catholic had several upperclassmen who Griffin felt deserved the right to be starters. Most coaches would do the same.

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Yet, two games into Duren’s freshman season, Griffin wised up.

Roman Catholic took on powerhouse DeMatha Catholic (Md.), which was ranked fifth in the nation at that time. DeMatha’s roster had several future Division I basketball players, including Michigan big man Hunter Dickinson, who was a five-star recruit and a top-10 prospect in the country. Roman Catholic lost the game, but Duren scored 19 points and grabbed 13 rebounds off the bench. It was a statement game. The 14-year-old freshman went toe-to-toe with one of the nation’s most heralded blue-chippers who was three years his senior.

After that, the writing was on the wall.

“Two days later, we’re getting ready for practice, and Jalen is in the car with me,” Griffin recalled. “Jalen turns to me and says, ‘So, am I still coming off the bench? I said, ‘Nah, nah. I think you’re past that point.'”

People have tried to pull Duren in every direction since he first jumped onto the national radar as a 13-year-old with Team Final. Yet, he’s always had the maturity to see the bigger picture and find the people who truly cared for him.

Upon arriving at Roman Catholic, Duren and his mother, Aneisea Hudgins, sat down with Griffin, assistant coach DJ Irving and a few others to discuss the business of basketball. The elders in the room broke down what the next few years would be like for Duren; the recruiting process, the impact of being a household name, what the NBA would provide when he, eventually, made it there.

“His mom was well aware of everything, and he was understanding of what was going on, as well, as a 14-year-old,” Irving, who is now an assistant coach at the University of Miami (Fla.), told The Athletic. “He always understood what was ahead and what he wanted to do.”

Even with all of the individual praise throughout his prep career, everyone still talks about how Duren’s top priority was winning. As a 14-year-old, playing up a grade with Team Final, Duren promised a Peach Jam title to Brown minutes after his team lost in the Final Four. Three years later, Duren delivered the championship.

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“When we won the Peach Jam, we’re in the basement, and it’s a melee,” Brown said. “Everyone is hugging each other. Parents are here. He locked eyes with me and said, ‘Rob, I always promised you I’d win you won of these.’ I’ll never forget that moment.”

With Roman Catholic, Duren won Catholic League titles and a state championship. With Team USA, Duren won a gold medal as part of the U16 team.

Griffin also worked with Team USA while coaching Roman Catholic, and Duren was one of the several prospects invited to take part in the annual minicamps. These camps featured the best high school prospects in the country — the Chet Holmgrens and Paolo Bancheros of the world. It was a program to prepare these young stars for a future with the country’s national team. Duren’s team made it to the championship game when he was going into the 10th grade and faced Banchero’s team in the final.

It was during that summer Griffin recognized that not only was Duren a special breed, but his will to win trumped all.

“These are the best high school kids in the country, and he was just dominant,” Griffin said. “He was going into the 10th grade. I’ve never seen anyone who can physically match up with him. He was the best 16-year-old in the world.”

Amid a life consumed by basketball, Duren still finds time to be a kid. He enjoys playing video games, watching Netflix and listening to music. His presence on the court isn’t as imposing as it is outside of the lines. Duren is reserved. He’s the epitome of cool, confident. Duren has no interest in ending up on League Fits. Team-issued sweatpants and hoodies will do.

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Many close to Duren describe him as “loyal.” It takes a little bit for him to open up, but once he trusts you, the personality radiates. He’ll crack jokes and let you into his world.

Hidden in his warrior-like build is a heart of gold. Griffin recalls a time when he was driving Duren home after practice and they were stopped at a red light. On the corner was a small kid holding a football helmet looking for donations ahead of the season. Griffin looked over as Duren was rolling down the window to see him pulling out a $5 bill.

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“He told the kid, ‘Good luck,'” Griffin recalls. “I said, ‘Woah, dude.’ First of all, he needed that $5 for lunch tomorrow. But that’s his selflessness. He was in ninth grade at that time.”

Duren, both on and off the court, falls in line with the type of prospect Pistons general manager Troy Weaver has gravitated toward since taking over the front office in 2020. On the floor, Duren is both a worker and oozing with potential. Off it, he has many layers that need to be peeled back to get to the core.

The youngest player in the league has a ways to go, but he belongs as is. As cliché as it sounds, the sky truly is the limit. Four years ago, Duren was 14. Think about that for a second. At every stage, Duren has succeeded simply because of his God-given abilities. Now, at 18, he’s in the NBA holding his own because of those abilities but can still maximize his potential with the proper nurturing and care.

Duren is, indeed, a freak. What’s scary, though, is that he’s a freak with the world in front of him.

“I was talking to him last night, and it’s crazy that every step that he’s taken … I told him when he was going to college, ‘It’s crazy that you’re playing against grown men. You skipped your senior year of high school. Be OK with the adjustment. You might have to work your way into it,'” Irving said. “Then he came out kind of hot. It didn’t bother him. He was still a man amongst boys. I said the same thing going into the league, ‘You’re going to have to take your time. It’s going to be tough.’ First game of the season he had 14 points and 11 rebounds. It’s the same thing.

“Think about it … he’s still a teenager.”

(Top photo credit of Jalen Duren: Chris Schwegler / Getty contributor)