Jaren Walter Jackson Jr. (born September 15, 1999) 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 for 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 ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

(NBA). 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 the

Michigan State Spartans The Michigan State Spartans are the athletic teams that represent Michigan State University. The school's athletic program includes 23 varsity sports teams. Their mascot is a Spartan warrior named Sparty, and the school colors are green and wh ...

. He was selected by Memphis with the fourth overall pick of the 2018 NBA draft. In 2023, he was named to his first All-Star team.

High school career

Jackson started his high school career with Park Tudor School in Indianapolis. He played varsity for three years, where he averaged 10 points, 6 rebounds and 3 blocks per game. Jackson won two IHSAA state basketball championships while at Park Tudor. He was teammates with future

Xavier University Xavier University ( ) is a private Jesuit university in Cincinnati and Evanston (Cincinnati), Ohio. It is the sixth-oldest Catholic and fourth-oldest Jesuit university in the United States. Xavier has an undergraduate enrollment of 4,860 stud ...

standout and future professional basketball player

Trevon Bluiett Trevon Nykee Bluiett (; born November 5, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for MKS Dąbrowa Górnicza of the Polish Basketball League. He played college basketball for the Xavier Musketeers. High school career Bluiett attended ...

. He then transferred to

La Lumiere School La Lumiere School is a college preparatory boarding and day school located on a 190-acre campus in Springfield Township, LaPorte County, Indiana, United States. About La Lumiere School is affiliated with several educational associations: * C ...

in La Porte, Indiana for his senior year, where he met Jordan Poole and started for their varsity squad.

Recruiting

Jackson was considered one of the top players in the 2017 graduating class.

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 ...

ranked Jackson the 5th best player nationally, 1st at his position and 2nd overall in the Midwest region. 247 Sports ranked him 7th nationally, being 4th in his position.

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 8th in the ESPN 100, being 2nd in his position and 2nd regionally. Jackson was recruited by a number of notable programs, including Michigan State, Notre Dame, Butler,

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, Purdue,

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, and several more. He was invited to partake in the McDonald's All-American Game played on March 29, 2017.

College career

On September 15, 2016, Jaren Jackson Jr. announced his intentions to play for

Tom Izzo Tom Izzo (, ); born January 30, 1955) is an American college basketball coach who has been the head coach at Michigan State University since 1995. On April 4, 2016, Izzo was elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Izzo has led the Spart ...

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

. He signed the

letter of intent A letter of intent (LOI or LoI, or Letter of Intent) is a document outlining the understanding between two or more parties which they intend to formalize in a legally binding agreement. The concept is similar to a heads of agreement, term sh ...

on November 9, 2016. Jackson would make his collegiate debut on November 10, 2017, recording 13 points and a season-high 13 rebounds in a blowout 98–66 win over the North Florida Ospreys. Four days later, he would record a then-season-high 19 points in an 88–81 loss to the #1 ranked

Duke Blue Devils The Duke Blue Devils are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Duke University, located in Durham, North Carolina. Duke's athletics department features 27 varsity teams that all compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association ...

. On December 5, Jackson would put up 11 points and a career-high 8 blocks in a 62–52 win over the

Rutgers Scarlet Knights The Rutgers Scarlet Knights are the athletic teams that represent Rutgers University's New Brunswick campus. In sports, Rutgers is famously known for being the "Birthplace of College Football", hosting the first ever intercollegiate football ...

. Four days later, he would record 17 points and another career-high 13 rebounds in a blowout 88–63 win over the

Southern Utah Thunderbirds The Southern Utah Thunderbirds are the varsity athletic teams representing Southern Utah University in Cedar City, Utah in intercollegiate athletics. The university sponsors seventeen teams including six men’s sports: basketball, cross country ...

. On January 22, 2018, Jackson recorded a then-season-high 21 points to go with 11 rebounds and 6 blocks in an 87–74 win over the

Illinois Fighting Illini The Illinois Fighting Illini () are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The university offers 10 men's and 11 women's varsity sports. The University operates a number of athletic faci ...

. On February 13, he would put up a career-high 27 points in a blowout 87–57 win over the

Minnesota Golden Gophers The Minnesota Golden Gophers (commonly shortened to Gophers) are the college sports teams of the University of Minnesota. The university fields a total of 25 (12 men's, 13 women's) teams in both men's and women's sports and competes in the Big Te ...

. At the end of the regular season for Michigan State, he would be named both the Big Ten's Defensive Player of the Year, Freshman of the Year, Big Ten's All-Freshman Team, and the All-Big Ten's Third Team. On April 2, Jackson would declare his entry into the 2018 NBA draft, where he was considered a potential top-tier lottery selection.

Professional career

Memphis Grizzlies (2018–present)

2018–2021: Early years

On June 21, 2018, Jackson was selected with the fourth overall pick by the

in the 2018 NBA draft. On July 1, 2018, he signed a multi-year, rookie scale contract with the Grizzlies. On March 29, 2019, Jackson was shut down for the remainder of the season due to a deep bruise to his right thigh. On December 13, 2019, Jackson scored a career high 43 points, including 9 three pointers (which tied a franchise record set by Mike Miller in 2007) in a 127–114 loss to the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

. On January 30, 2020, Jackson was suspended for one game without pay for leaving the bench during an altercation between the Grizzlies and the New York Knicks. On January 28, Jackson recorded a career high 7 blocks in a 104–96 win over the Denver Nuggets. On August 4, 2020, Jackson suffered a torn meniscus in his left knee in a 99–109 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans hosted in the

Bubble Bubble, Bubbles or The Bubble may refer to: Common uses * Bubble (physics), a globule of one substance in another, usually gas in a liquid ** Soap bubble * Economic bubble, a situation where asset prices are much higher than underlying funda ...

and was expected to miss the remainder of the 2019–20 season. On December 16, 2020, the Grizzlies announced that they had exercised the team option on Jackson. On April 21, 2021, Jackson made his return, putting up 15 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 blocks in a loss to 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 ...

. Two days later, Jackson scored a season-high 23 points in a 130–128 win over the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...

. After a series of play-in tournament wins, the Grizzlies qualified for the playoffs for the first time since

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

. They faced the top-seeded

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...

during their first round series. On May 31, Jackson scored a postseason career-high 21 points in a 120–113 Game 4 loss. The Grizzlies would eventually lose the series in five games.

2021–present: First All-Defensive and All-Star selections

On October 18, 2021, Jackson signed a four-year, $105 million extension with the Grizzlies. On January 9, 2022, Jackson scored 21 points and tied a career-high with 12 rebounds in a 127–119 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. On April 16, during Game 1 of the first round of the playoffs, Jackson logged 12 points and seven blocks in a 130–117 loss to the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. Founded in 19 ...

. His seven blocks set a Grizzlies franchise record for most blocks in a playoff game, surpassing

Marc Gasol Marc Gasol Sáez (, ; born January 29, 1985) is a Spanish professional basketball player for Bàsquet Girona of the Liga ACB. The center is a two-time All-NBA Team member and a three-time NBA All-Star. He was named the NBA Defensive Player of ...

's 6 on May 13, 2013. The Grizzlies eventually defeated the Timberwolves in six games, with Jackson recording 18 points, 14 rebounds and two blocks in a 114–106 Game 6 win. During the Grizzlies' second-round series, they faced the Golden State Warriors. On May 1, Jackson scored a playoff career-high 33 points, alongside ten rebounds, in a 117–116 Game 1 loss. The Grizzlies wound up losing the series in six games to the Warriors, who went on to win the NBA Finals. Jackson finished the 2021–22 season leading the NBA in blocks per game at 2.3 and finished with the most blocks that season with 177 blocks, 40 more than the second place finisher. For his efforts, he was named to the

NBA All-Defensive First Team The NBA All-Defensive Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor given since the 1968–69 NBA season to the best defensive players during the regular season. The All-Defensive Team is generally composed of ten players in two ...

and finished fifth in Defensive Player of the Year voting. On June 30, 2022, Jackson underwent surgery to repair a stress fracture in his right foot and was ruled out for four-to-six months. After missing the first 14 games of the 2022–23 season, he made his season debut on November 15, recording seven points, six rebounds and five blocks in a 113–102 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. On December 12, Jackson recorded a career-high eight blocks, alongside 15 points, seven rebounds and two assists, in a 128–103 win over the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

. On January 5, 2023, he scored a season-high 31 points, alongside ten rebounds and three blocks, in a 123–115 win over the Orlando Magic. On February 2, Jackson was selected to his first

NBA All-Star Game The National Basketball Association All-Star Game is a basketball exhibition game hosted every February by the National Basketball Association (NBA) and showcases 24 of the league's star players. It is the featured event of NBA All-Star Weekend, ...

as a reserve forward for the Western Conference.

National team career

Jackson helped the United States of America's under-17 basketball team win the gold medal at the FIBA 2016 World Championships; in which he scored two points and had six rebounds. He averaged 4.3 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.2 blocked shots, and shot 53 percent from the field. He was a member of the USA Junior National Select Team that participated in the 2017

Nike Hoop Summit The Nike Hoop Summit is an international men's basketball all-star game sponsored by Nike, held once a year since 1995, except from 2001–2003, which features the USA Basketball Men's Junior Select Team against a World Select Team of international ...

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...

. Coming off the bench, Jackson tallied 13 points and a game-high nine rebounds in 25 minutes of play.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

, - , 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 ...

, 58 , , 56 , , 26.1 , , .506 , , .359 , , .766 , , 4.7 , , 1.1 , , .9 , , 1.4 , , 13.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 57 , , 57 , , 28.5 , , .469 , , .394 , , .747 , , 4.6 , , 1.4 , , .7 , , 1.6 , , 17.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 11 , , 4 , , 23.5 , , .424 , , .283 , , .833 , , 5.6 , , 1.1 , , 1.1 , , 1.6 , , 14.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 78 , , 78 , , 27.3 , , .415 , , .319 , , .823 , , 5.8 , , 1.1 , , .9 , , style="background:#cfecec;", 2.3* , , 16.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 204 , , 195 , , 27.1 , , .453 , , .351 , , .791 , , 5.1 , , 1.2 , , .9 , , 1.8 , , 15.8 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", All-Star , 1 , , 0 , , 7.9 , , .750 , , .000 , , – , , 1.0 , , .0 , , .0 , , .0 , , 6.0

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;",

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 5 , , 5 , , 27.4 , , .426 , , .286 , , .875 , , 5.6 , , 1.0 , , 1.0 , , 1.2 , , 13.6 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 12 , , 12 , , 27.7 , , .378 , , .375 , , .755 , , 6.8 , , .9 , , .8 , , 2.5 , , 15.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 17 , , 17 , , 27.6 , , .390 , , .350 , , .783 , , 6.4 , , .9 , , .8 , , 2.1 , , 14.9

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;",

, 33 , , 32 , , 22.2 , , .520 , , .396 , , .797 , , 5.8 , , 1.2 , , .6 , , 3.2 , , 11.3

Personal life

He is the son of former professional basketball coach and former NBA player Jaren Jackson and WNBPA executive director Terri Jackson.

References

External links

*
Michigan State Spartans bioUSA Basketball bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Jaren Jr. 1999 births Living people African-American basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from Indianapolis Centers (basketball) La Lumiere School alumni McDonald's High School All-Americans Memphis Grizzlies draft picks Memphis Grizzlies players Michigan State Spartans men's basketball players Park Tudor School alumni 21st-century African-American sportspeople