Warren’s Jaxson Davis named 2026 Chicago Sun-Times Player of the Year

Jaxson Davis’s scoring and the passing abilities grab headlines, but those skills are not what make the Sun-Times Player of the Year special.

Warren’s 6-1 junior point guard plays with a unique sense of calm and confidence. It’s been there since he stepped on the court as a freshman.

“He can’t get sped up,” Jaxson’s dad Brian Davis said. “He plays at his own pace. That’s his superpower that most people don’t have.”

Davis has a rare comfort level on the court for a 17-year-old, and it didn’t happen by chance. He spent thousands of hours of his childhood at Joy of the Game in Deerfield.

Brian Davis worked as president of the large basketball facility and as a coach for the Rising Stars club team.

“There is no doubt that was very important,” Brian Davis said. “I was working there all the time, mornings to evenings. My wife went back to work and Jaxson lived at Joy of the Game, basically. He was at all my practices, watching the dream team with Jabari Parker and Tommy Hamilton.”

Family photos from Davis’s childhood show how basketball has always dominated his life. There’s a picture of Davis being held as a baby by Kobe Bryant. Derrick Rose and Jaxson when he was a toddler. A very young Jaxson with Jimmy Butler. Teenage Jaxson with Jalen Brunson.

Jimmy Butler and Jaxson Davis, Derrick Rose with Jaxson Davis and his family, Kobe Bryant holding Jaxson Davis and Jaxson Davis with Jalen Brunson.

“Joy of the Game had a huge impact on me,” Davis said. “I was always there shooting around. Three years old and throwing it up at a 10-foot rim. It just played a huge part in developing my skill set.

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“I remember waking up early on Saturday and Sundays to watch the older guys play. Joy of the Game was a big spot where NBA guys would come in and work out. Seeing those people taught me a lot.”

Davis led Warren to the state championship game last year as a sophomore. His confidence, composure and basketball IQ elevated his above-average team into a state title contender the past two seasons.

“I knew when he was young that he had a chance to play after high school,” Brian Davis said. “He always played up multiple levels, and his IQ was off the charts. He saw things before other players did. That will always be there. But there are things he needs to get better at as far as shooting, taking contact and getting stronger.”

Davis made headlines with his 51-point performance in the Big Dipper Holiday Tournament championship game in December and is on pace to become the all-time leading scorer in Lake County history and one of the top scorers in state history.

“That stuff is cool, but I really just want to win the state championship,” Davis said. “That’s my main goal overall.”

Davis has nearly 20 college scholarship offers, including most of the Big Ten. He’s widely considered a top 40 player in the national Class of 2027 and next year he will be the state’s best hope for a McDonald’s All-American in several years.

“It has always been a dream of mine to get an offer from a blue blood school,” Davis said. “I still have a lot of time left and they don’t usually get involved until around this spring. I think they will be sniffing around soon.”

Jaxson Davis handles the ball against DePaul Prep.

Unlike many of the area’s high-profile basketball and football stars, Davis has not signed with an agent or focused on NIL yet.

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“That will all come,” Brian Davis said. “We have gotten plenty of phone calls from top agencies. We are just letting him play basketball and be a kid for now.”

Brian Davis is a varsity assistant coach and the sophomore coach at Warren. Jaxson’s brother plays on the sophomore team, and there are usually 12 to 15 family members at Warren basketball games. The family is supremely focused on winning the state championship that the Blue Devils came so close to last season.

“Last year the title game against Benet was a roller coaster,” Davis said. “But we learned a lot. It is a huge challenge. Private schools are able to recruit. But we are right there. [This season] we lost to Benet by seven and DePaul Prep by four and we shot the ball terrible from three in that game. We aren’t that far from where we need to be to win a state championship.”

Two of Davis’s best friends and the other best local players in the class of 2027, Davion Thompson and Devin Cleveland, left the state for prep schools last year. As of now, Davis plans to stay.

“I don’t have any reason to leave,” Davis said.

CHICAGO SUN-TIMES PLAYERS OF THE YEAR

2025—Davion Thompson, Bolingbrook

2024—Morez Johnson, Thornton

2023—Jeremy Fears Jr., Joliet West

2022—Braden Huff, Glenbard West

2021—Max Christie, Rolling Meadows

2020—DJ Steward, Young

2019—DaJuan Gordon, Curie

2018—Talen Horton-Tucker, Simeon

2017—Alonzo Verge, Thornton

2016—Charlie Moore, Morgan Park