Joshua O'Neal Jackson (born February 10, 1997) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player who is currently a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

. He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for one season with the Kansas Jayhawks before declaring for the

2017 NBA draft The 2017 NBA draft was held on June 22, 2017, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. ...

, where he was selected fourth overall by the Phoenix Suns.

Early life

Jackson was born in San Diego County, California while his mother, Apples Jones, was serving in the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

and lived there until he was eight months old when she moved them to Michigan to be closer to her family. In the eighth grade, he was held back a grade due to his passion for basketball overtaking his grades, with Jackson going to Voyager Middle School for his repeated year before entering high school. He attended Consortium College Prep School in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

his freshman and sophomore years, before moving to

Napa, California Napa is the largest city and county seat of Napa County and a principal city of Wine Country in Northern California. Located in the North Bay region of the Bay Area, the city had a population of 77,480 as of the end of 2021. Napa is a major t ...

to attend

Justin-Siena High School Justin-Siena High School is a Roman Catholic preparatory school in the De La Salle Brothers, Lasallian tradition, located in Napa, California within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Santa Rosa in California. The school was created when Justin High Sc ...

for his junior and senior year.

High school career

As a freshman for the Consortium College Prep School, he averaged 17 points, six

rebounds 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

, four assists and four blocks per game. As a sophomore, he led the school to their first state title. He averaged 28 points, 15 rebounds, and six assists per game. Prior to his junior year, Jackson and his family moved to California to attend

and play for Prolific Prep. As a Junior, he averaged 31.2 points per game and 5.4 assists. As a Senior, Jackson averaged 26.9 Points and 13.1 rebounds per game. Jackson played AAU basketball for 1Nation Elite, a program founded by his mother. In March 2016, Jackson, played in the 2016 McDonald's All-American Game and joint led the scoring with 19 points, whilst also recording four rebounds and three assists. He was named Co-MVP alongside Frank Jackson. Jackson was a five-star recruit and was regarded as one of the top players in the 2016 class. He was ranked number one in the 2016 class by both

Rivals.com Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting in the United States. The network was started in 1998 and employs more than 300 personnel. History Rivals.com was founded in 1998 by Jim Heckma ...

and

Scout.com Scout Media is an integrated sports publishing company that produces Internet content covering hundreds of professional and college teams across America. The company was founded in 2001 and was acquired by Fox Sports in 2005. In 2013, Fox Sports ...

, while

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...

ranked him at number two behind only Harry Giles. 247Sports.com ranked him both as the top rated player in the 2016 class along with giving him a 102 rating, the highest rating ever given to a recruit by the website.

College career

On April 11, 2016, Jackson

tweeted Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

that he would be attending the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. T ...

in Lawrence, Kansas to play basketball, picking KU over Michigan State and Arizona. During his only season at Kansas, Jackson showcased his all-around play between scoring, rebounding, play-making, and defending. Although he started as a power forward for the Jayhawks, not Jackson's normal positions of both small forward or shooting guard, he still recorded 16.3 points, 7.4 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.7 steals, and 1.1 blocks per game with the team in his freshman season. As a result of his efforts, he was named as an All-Big 12 First Team member, the Big 12 Freshman of the Year, was named as a second-team All-American according to Sporting News, and was also considered a third-team All-American according to the Associated Press and National Association of Basketball Coaches. On April 17, 2017, Jackson officially declared for the

and hired former

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January ...

point guard

B. J. Armstrong Benjamin Roy "B. J." Armstrong Jr. (born September 9, 1967) is an American former professional basketball player. Armstrong won three NBA championships during his career as a point guard for the Chicago Bulls. Early life Armstrong was born in ...

as his agent, officially forgoing his remaining college eligibility.

Professional career

Phoenix Suns (2017–2019)

2017–18 season

On June 22, 2017, Jackson was selected by the Phoenix Suns with the fourth pick in the

, being their second straight selection at pick #4 after

Dragan Bender Dragan Bender (born 17 November 1997) is a Croatian professional basketball player for Monbus Obradoiro of the Spanish Liga ACB. He stands and plays the power forward and center positions. He was selected by the Phoenix Suns with the fourth ...

. After he was drafted 4th by Phoenix, it was reported that Jackson had cancelled his workout with the Boston Celtics, who held the 3rd pick after trading the #1 pick to the Philadelphia 76ers, just as the Celtics management and staff were midway to

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

to meet him, something that reportedly angered Celtics general manager

Danny Ainge Daniel Ray Ainge ( ; born March 17, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and former professional baseball player who serves as an executive for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A three-s ...

, although Ainge denied that it factored into his decision to not draft Jackson. When questioned on it, Ryan McDonough, the general manager of the Suns, did not deny any collusion between the Suns and Jackson's representatives to dissuade the Celtics from drafting Jackson. However, Jackson attributed the situation to nothing more than poor timing and an inability to reschedule for a more proper date. Jackson would sign his rookie scale contract on July 3, 2017. During the

2017 NBA Summer League The 2017 NBA Summer League consisted of three pro basketball leagues organized by the National Basketball Association (NBA): the Orlando Pro Summer League, Utah Jazz Summer League, and Las Vegas Summer League. Eight teams participated in the wee ...

, Jackson recorded averages of 17.4 points, a team high 9.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game at 35.0 minutes per game in the five games (out of the team's six total) he played there, which earned him All-Summer League First Team honors alongside

Lonzo Ball Lonzo Anderson Ball (born October 27, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A point guard, he played college basketball for one season with the UCLA Bruins, earn ...

Dennis Smith Jr. Dennis Cliff Smith Jr. (born November 25, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He attended North Carolina State University for one season of college basketba ...

, John Collins, and

Caleb Swanigan Caleb Sylvester Swanigan (April 18, 1997 – June 20, 2022) was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Purdue Boilermakers. He was ranked among the top prep ...

. Jackson made his NBA debut as starting power forward for the Suns on October 18, 2017. During the third game of the season, Jackson made an inappropriate, menacing gesture with his hand towards the fans of the

Los Angeles Clippers The Los Angeles Clippers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Clippers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division in the league's Western Conference. The Clipper ...

, which would result in him being fined $35,000 on October 24, 2017. He would start for the Suns at power forward before returning to his more natural small forward position (albeit off the bench) on October 23, 2017 in a win against the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

. On November 29, 2017, Jackson scored a then season-high 20 points in a loss to the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at L ...

. Jackson would be put back into a starting position on December 7 at shooting guard after

Devin Booker Devin Armani Booker (born October 30, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is the son of former basketball player Melvin Booker. After playing college basketba ...

's injury the previous game against the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games a ...

. Jackson would record his first double-double of his professional career on January 7, 2018 with 17 points, a season-high 10 rebounds, and a season-high 5 assists in a 114–100 win over the

Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team plays i ...

. After missing their next game against the Houston Rockets due to a strained right hip, he returned to the starting lineup as a small forward on January 14, recording a new career-high 21 points in a blowout loss to the Indiana Pacers. He would tie that career-high on January 31 in a 102–88 win over the Dallas Mavericks before putting up a new season-high with 23 points on February 4 in a 115–110 loss to the Charlotte Hornets. On his 21st birthday, Jackson would have his best all-around game in his rookie season with 20 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal and a season-high 4 blocks in a 123–113 loss on the Denver Nuggets. He would break the previous season-high in points with 29 scored on February 28 in a 110–102 win against the

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference ...

. On St. Patrick's Day, Jackson would break that career-high with the first 30-point game of his professional career with 36 points scored while coming off the bench in a 124–109 loss against the Golden State Warriors. On March 20, 2018, he would record a double-double of 15 points and a career-high 11 rebounds in a loss to the

. On May 22, 2018, he was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team.

2018–19 season

Before being named an NBA All-Rookie Second Team member, Jackson was the team's representative for the 2018 NBA Draft Lottery; the Suns won the #1 pick for the first time in franchise history on May 15, 2018. He later joined the top pick,

Deandre Ayton Deandre Edoneille Ayton Sr. (born July 23, 1998) is a Bahamian professional basketball player who plays for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played for the Arizona Wildcats in the Pac-12 Conference in the 2017� ...

, and the Suns' other rookies and young players for the 2018 NBA Summer League. During the entire pre-season, Jackson was forced into the role of the leading shooting guard, trying to replicate the role of

, who was out at the time due to finger surgery. In the season debut on October 17, 2018, Jackson returned to the bench for the team, as he recorded 18 points on 7/11 shooting, including 3/4 three-pointers made, in a 121–100 blowout win over the Dallas Mavericks.

Memphis Grizzlies (2019–2020)

On July 7, 2019, the Suns traded Jackson to the

. On September 27, the Grizzlies assigned him to the

Memphis Hustle The Memphis Hustle are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in the Greater Memphis suburb of Southaven, Mississippi, and are affiliated with the Memphis Grizzlies. The team plays their home games at the Landers Ce ...

, their

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA De ...

affiliate, for the start of the season. Jackson played in 26 games for the Hustle before being called up by the Grizzlies, averaging 20.3 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.4 blocks, and 1.3 steals per game was named Midseason All-NBA G League for the Western Conference.

Detroit Pistons (2020–2022)

On December 1, 2020, Jackson signed with his hometown team, the

Sacramento Kings (2022)

On February 10, 2022, Jackson and

Trey Lyles Trey Anthony Lyles (born November 5, 1995) is a Canadian professional basketball player for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was drafted by the Utah Jazz following his freshman season at the University of Kent ...

were acquired by the

in a four-team trade that sent

Marvin Bagley III Marvin Bagley III (born March 16, 1999) is an American professional basketball player for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Duke Blue Devils and was a 2018 Consensus All-Amer ...

to the Pistons. The move reunited Jackson with former Suns teammates

Richaun Holmes Richaun Diante Holmes (born October 15, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Bowling Green Falcons where he was named to mu ...

and

Alex Len Oleksiy Yuriyovych Len ( uk, Олексій Ю́рійович Лень; born June 16, 1993), commonly known as Alex Len (), is a Ukrainian professional basketball player for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Be ...

2022–23 season

On August 31, 2022, Jackson signed with the

. He was waived by the Raptors on October 14, 2022.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

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, 79 , , 29 , , 25.2 , , .413 , , .324 , , .671 , , 4.4 , , 2.3 , , .9 , , .7 , , 11.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

, 22 , , 0 , , 17.3 , , .440 , , .319 , , .700 , , 3.0 , , 1.6 , , .8 , , .4 , , 9.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

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, 39 , , 3 , , 18.1 , , .410 , , .265 , , .714 , , 3.2 , , 1.3 , , .5 , , .5 , , 7.1 , - , style="text-align:left;",

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, 12 , , 0 , , 10.3 , , .347 , , .176 , , .714 , , 1.5 , , .4 , , .4 , , .3 , , 4.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 291 , , 92 , , 23.1 , , .416 , , .292 , , .680 , , 4.0 , , 1.8 , , .9 , , .6 , , 11.3

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;",

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

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Off the court

Personal life

Jackson was raised by his mother Apples Jones and his stepfather Clarence Jones, who died in 2014 while Jackson was playing in a tournament in Las Vegas. Jackson's mother was a standout basketball player at the

University of Texas at El Paso The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public research university in El Paso, Texas. It is a member of the University of Texas System. UTEP is the second-largest university in the United States to have a majority Mexican American stud ...

, transferring there after two years at

Allen Community College Allen County College is a public community college with two campuses in Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebr ...

in Kansas, but was only able to play for one season after being ruled academically ineligible for her senior year leading to her to leave UTEP and join the U.S. Navy as a

parachute rigger A parachute rigger is a person who is trained or licensed to pack, maintain or repair parachutes. A rigger is required to understand fabrics, hardware, webbing, regulations, sewing, packing, and other aspects related to the building, packing, repa ...

. Following Jackson's birth, Jones was invited to participate in the

Washington Mystics The Washington Mystics are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Mystics compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Eastern Conference (WNBA), Eastern Conference ...

training camp but eventually decided against participating, instead choosing to raise Jackson in Michigan. Jackson has cited chess and saxophone as his off the court passions, having started the chess club at Justin-Siena High School and having played the saxophone since he was in the seventh grade. Jackson was arrested in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

at a Rolling Loud concert on May 12, 2019 for allegedly attempting to enter the VIP entrance several times and reportedly attempting to evade police while being arrested. He was also suspended from the Memphis Grizzlies G-League team for violating the team's rules.

Endorsements

On June 21, the day before the 2017 NBA draft, Jackson signed a multi-year endorsement deal with

Under Armour Under Armour, Inc. is an American sports equipment company that manufactures footwear, sports and casual apparel. Under Armour's global headquarters are located in Baltimore, Maryland, with additional offices located in Amsterdam (European head ...

. He was later joined by Mavericks guard

and Thunder guard

Terrance Ferguson Terrance Eugene Ferguson Jr. (born May 17, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for the GTK Gliwice of the Polish Basketball League (PLK). He completed high school at Advanced Preparatory International in Dallas, Texas, where he wa ...

as members of the 2017 draft class to sign with Under Armour.

Vandalism case

On February 2, 2017 it was reported by the Kansas City Star that Jackson and Kansas teammate LaGerald Vick were persons of interest in a vandalism case that had occurred the previous December outside a bar in

Lawrence Lawrence may refer to: Education Colleges and universities * Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States * Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States Preparator ...

. It was alleged that Jackson and Vick had damaged the car of McKenzie Calvert, a KU women's basketball player and Vick's ex-girlfriend. She told police that during the incident outside the bar, Jackson yelled "for her to get out of the car and that he would beat her ass” prior to damaging her car. Following the investigation by police, Jackson was charged with one count of misdemeanor criminal damage to property and was scheduled to be arraigned on April 12. Following the announcement of the charges, Jackson released a statement apologizing for his role in the incident and offered to pay for damages. Following Jackson's charges, KU basketball coach Bill Self stated that Jackson had been disciplined internally by the administration but would not be suspended for any games due to his actions in the incident. After pleading not guilty to the vandalism charges, Jackson filed for a diversion agreement in Douglas County Court which would last 12 months. As a part of the agreement Jackson agreed to complete an anger management course, complete community service, abstain from alcohol and drug use during the diversion period, obtain substance abuse evaluation and write a letter of apology to the victims. He also agreed to pay $250 in restitution, $158 to the court, and $150 for the cost of diversion. Although Jackson originally pleaded guilty, as a part of the diversion agreement he signed a stipulation of facts matching witness accounts of his actions during the incident. Following the successful completion of the diversion program, Jackson's case would be dismissed by the Douglas County Court. When asked about his progress during an interview on June 13, Jackson told reporters that he was nearly finished with the anger management course and that he had learned from his mistake.

References

External links

Official website

Kansas Jayhawks bioUSA Basketball bioOn The Rise: Josh Jackson is Levelling Up for his Sophomore Season
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Josh 1997 births Living people 21st-century African-American sportspeople African-American basketball players All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from Detroit Basketball players from San Diego Detroit Pistons players Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball players McDonald's High School All-Americans Memphis Grizzlies players Memphis Hustle players Phoenix Suns draft picks Phoenix Suns players Sacramento Kings players Shooting guards Small forwards Sportspeople from Southfield, Michigan