James Arthur Jackson (born October 14, 1970) is an American former 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. Over his 14

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) seasons, Jackson was on the active roster of 12 different teams, which was an NBA record shared with Joe Smith,

Tony Massenburg Tony Arnel Massenburg (born July 31, 1967) is an American former professional basketball player. He shares a National Basketball Association (NBA) record with Chucky Brown, Joe Smith & Jim Jackson for having played with twelve different teams o ...

Chucky Brown Clarence "Chucky" Brown Jr. (born February 29, 1968) is an American men's college basketball coach and former professional basketball player. A 6'7" forward from North Carolina State, Brown was selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second ...

, and

Ish Smith Ishmael Larry Smith (born July 5, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. Smith holds the record of ...

; until Ish played with the Denver Nuggets, his 13th team, in the 2022-23 season. He is currently a basketball analyst for

Fox Sports Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world. The ''Fox Sports'' name has since been used for other sports media assets. These assets are held mainly by the F ...

Turner Sports Warner Bros. Discovery Sports (WBD Sports) is the division of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) that is responsible for sports broadcasts on its parent company's various channels in the United States, including TBS, TNT, AT&T SportsNet, and TruTV. ...

and 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 ...

Bally Sports West Bally Sports West is an American regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group, a joint venture between Sinclair Broadcast Group and Entertainment Studios, and operated as part of Bally Sports, along with its sister network Bally Spor ...

, having previously worked for the Big Ten Network.

High school career

Jackson was a 6'6" (198 cm), shooting guard who started all four years at Macomber High School in

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, and according ...

. The former

McDonald's All American The McDonald's All-American Game is the all-star basketball game played each year for American and Canadian boys' and girls' high school basketball graduates. Consisting of the top players, each team plays a single exhibition game after the concl ...

led Macomber to the 1989 Division I state championship over Cleveland St. Joseph. He was high school teammates with former NFL safety

Myron Bell Myron Corey "Boo" Bell (born September 15, 1971) is a former Safety in the NFL. He played for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals. He started in Super Bowl XXX. He is a member of the City of Toledo, Ohio Hall of Fame. As a teenager ...

College career

Jackson was a member of the

Ohio State Buckeyes The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio State University, located in Columbus, Ohio. The athletic programs are named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Ohio and after the state tre ...

. He instantly contributed, starting as a freshman for the 1989–90 season and averaging 16.1 points and 5.5 rebounds per game while shooting 49.9% from the field. He played two more seasons through the 1991–92 season, earning consensus First Team All American honors in 1991 and 1992

UPI United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th c ...

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 ...

, and the UPI

player of the year Several sports leagues honour their best player with an award called Player of the Year (POY) . In the United States, this type of award is usually called a Most Valuable Player award. Association football In association football, this award is he ...

in 1992. Jackson's number (22) was retired at Ohio State in February 2001.

NBA career

Dallas Mavericks

Jackson skipped his final year of college eligibility and was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks with the fourth overall pick of the

1992 NBA draft The 1992 NBA draft took place on June 24, 1992, at Memorial Coliseum in Portland, Oregon. The draft is considered to be one of the deepest in NBA history. The top three picks (Shaquille O'Neal, Alonzo Mourning, Christian Laettner) were conside ...

after his junior season at OSU. Jackson's rookie year was abbreviated due to a lengthy contract dispute where he held out for most of the season. As a result, he appeared in only 28 games in his first season in the league. He started in all 82 games the following season, averaging 19.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 4.6 assists in 37.4 minutes per game. With the drafting of Jamal Mashburn and

Jason Kidd Jason Frederick Kidd (born March 23, 1973) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Regarded as one of the greatest point guards a ...

in the following two seasons, the trio was nicknamed the "Three J's". During the 1994–95 season, Jackson averaged 25.7 points and 5.1 rebounds, finishing fifth in the NBA in scoring. However, he suffered an

ankle The ankle, or the talocrural region, or the jumping bone (informal) is the area where the foot and the leg meet. The ankle includes three joints: the ankle joint proper or talocrural joint, the subtalar joint, and the inferior tibiofibular joi ...

injury after 51 games that year. He came back to average 19.6 points in 1995–96. However, controversy surrounded the Mavericks as a rift between Jason Kidd and Jackson emerged; unsubstantiated rumors pointed to a love triangle between Kidd, Jackson, and singer

Toni Braxton Toni Michele Braxton (born October 7, 1967) is an American R&B singer, songwriter, actress and television personality. She has sold over 70 million records worldwide and is one of the best-selling female artists in history. Braxton has won ...

. In the middle of the 1996–97 season, Jackson was traded to the

New Jersey Nets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

along with

Sam Cassell Samuel James Cassell Sr. (born November 18, 1969) is an American professional basketball coach and former point guard who serves as an assistant coach for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Drafted 24th overall i ...

Eric Montross Eric Scott “Big Grits” Montross (born September 23, 1971) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for eight seasons with the Boston Celtics, Dallas Mavericks, New Jersey Nets ...

George McCloud George Aaron McCloud (born May 27, 1967) is an American former professional basketball player who played eleven seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Early life McCloud attended Mainland High School in Daytona Beach and Florida ...

, and

Chris Gatling Chris Raymond Gatling (born September 3, 1967) is an American former professional basketball player. Gatling played for many National Basketball Association (NBA) teams from 1991 to 2002. He played for the US national team in the 1990 FIBA Worl ...

for

Shawn Bradley Shawn Paul Bradley (born March 22, 1972) is a German-American former professional basketball player who played center for the Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Nets, and Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the ...

Ed O'Bannon Edward Charles O'Bannon Jr. (born August 14, 1972) is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was a power forward for the UCLA Bruins on their 1995 NCAA championship team. He was selecte ...

, Robert Pack, and

Khalid Reeves Khalid Reeves (born July 15, 1972) is a former American professional basketball player who played six seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected by the Miami Heat in the first round (12th pick) of the 1994 NBA draft. R ...

New Jersey Nets

Jackson played and started in only 31 games with the Nets to finish the 1996–97 season averaging 16.5 points and 5.9 rebounds per game with them. The following offseason, the Nets coveted a college prospect, forward

Keith Van Horn Keith Adam Van Horn (born October 23, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player. Van Horn played for the New Jersey Nets, Philadelphia 76ers, New York Knicks, Milwaukee Bucks, and the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball ...

out of

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

. In a bidding war with the

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 ...

among other teams, they traded Jackson along with

and their two first-round picks, Tim Thomas and Anthony Parker, to the Philadelphia 76ers for

Michael Cage Michael Jerome Cage Sr. (born January 28, 1962) is an American former professional basketball player and current broadcast analyst for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Basketball career A 6'9" power forward/center from San Diego State, he is the Aztecs ...

Don MacLean Don Maclean (born 1942/1943) MBE KSS is an English actor and comedian, who appeared on the BBC television series '' Crackerjack'' with Michael Aspel, Peter Glaze and Jan Hunt in the 1970s. Born in Birmingham, he attended Clifton Road S ...

Lucious Harris Lucious H. Harris (born December 18, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player who was selected by the Dallas Mavericks in the second round (28th pick overall) of the 1993 NBA draft. Harris has played for the Mavericks, Philadelph ...

, and the rights to Van Horn, the second overall pick in the 1997 draft.

Philadelphia 76ers

Jackson played in 48 games for the 76ers in the 1997–98 season averaging 13.7 points and 4.7 rebounds per game with decreased minutes from previous seasons. Jackson was reported to be unhappy with his reduced role and shooting while playing with Allen Iverson, who was viewed as the 76ers' franchise player. In the middle of the 1997–98 season, the 76ers traded Jackson along with

Clarence Weatherspoon Clarence Weatherspoon, Sr. (born September 8, 1970) is a former American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA) born in Crawford, Mississippi. He is currently the assistant coach for Jones County JC. Previousl ...

to the Golden State Warriors for Joe Smith and

Brian Shaw Brian Keith Shaw (born March 22, 1966) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He could play both guard positions, but wa ...

. All four players were free agents at the end of the season, with the 76ers fearing an inability to re-sign Jackson and the Warriors fearing an inability to re-sign Smith.

Golden State Warriors

Although Jackson saw an increased role as the Warriors' starting shooting guard, averaging 18.9 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 40.6 minutes per game for the remainder of the 1997–98 season, he disliked playing for a losing franchise. In the offseason, Jackson signed with 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 ...

Portland Trail Blazers

Jackson was limited in the 1998–99 season with numerous injuries. He averaged 8.4 points and 2.6 rebounds in 24 minutes per game, statistical career lows for him at that time. Despite having talent and depth, the Trail Blazers were plagued by injuries, attitude problems on the court, and legal problems off the court. In an effort to clean up their image and team chemistry in the 1999 offseason, the Trail Blazers traded or chose not to re-sign many of their players. Jackson, and talented but troubled

Isaiah Rider Isaiah Rider Jr., nicknamed J.R. (born March 12, 1971), is an American former professional basketball player who played 9 seasons in the NBA. Rider was born in Oakland, California, and was raised in nearby Alameda. He starred in both baseball and ...

were both traded to 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 ...

for

Steve Smith Stephen, Steve, Stevie, or Steven Smith may refer to: Academics * Steve Smith (political scientist) (born 1952), British international relations theorist and senior university manager * Stephen Smith (journalist) (born 1956), American journalist, ...

and Ed Gray.

Atlanta Hawks

For the 1999–2000 season, Jackson played in 79 games for the Hawks averaging 16.7 points and 5 rebounds per 35 minutes. Jackson suited up for only 17 games for the Hawks in the 2000–01 season. After voicing his displeasure with losing, Jackson was traded with

Larry Robinson Larry Clark Robinson (born June 2, 1951) is a Canadian former ice hockey coach, executive and player. His coaching career includes head coaching positions with the New Jersey Devils (which he held on two occasions), as well as the Los Angeles Ki ...

and Anthony Johnson in January 2001 to the Cleveland Cavaliers for

Brevin Knight Brevin Adon Knight (born November 8, 1975) is an American former professional basketball point guard who played with nine teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1997 to 2009. Knight played college basketball at Stanford Universi ...

Cleveland Cavaliers

Hailing from nearby Toledo and a product of

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

, Jackson's trade to the Cavaliers was viewed as a homecoming of sorts. Additionally, Jackson was happy to be part of a team that, as an early-season success story, was eyeing the playoffs for the 2000–01 season despite a run of injuries to a number of key players. Playing in 39 games and starting only 26 of them, Jackson's statistics for the Cavaliers were modest, 10.3 points and 3.7 rebounds in only 29.2 minutes per game. The Cavaliers went on to finish 30-52 and miss the playoffs that season. Jackson did not receive an offer from the Cavaliers or any other team in the following offseason.

Miami Heat

At the start of 2001–02 season, Jackson did not have a team, but signed with the

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

in December 2001. The Heat, already with a shallow bench, signed Jackson to mitigate the effects of injuries to key players. Jackson averaged 10.7 points and 5.3 rebounds in 33.2 minutes per game, appearing as a starter in some games as injuries warranted. Again, Jackson did not receive an offer from Miami or any other team in the following offseason.

Sacramento Kings

For the start of 2002–03 season, Jackson again did not have a team. For the second straight season, he did not play in the month of November. Jackson eventually signed with 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 ...

in December 2002 to bolster their bench. In 63 games off the bench, Jackson averaged 7.7 points and 4.1 rebounds in only 20.8 minutes per game; however, he played well during crucial moments of games, eventually unseating

Hedo Türkoğlu Hidayet "Hedo" Türkoğlu (; born March 19, 1979) is a Turkish basketball executive and former professional player. A forward, Türkoğlu played for six teams in his 15-season career in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He won the NBA ...

as the sixth man on the team. Jackson saw his stock rise, and as a free agent, received a two-year offer from the Houston Rockets the following offseason.

Houston Rockets/New Orleans Hornets

Jackson played in 80 games for the 2003–04 season, starting in all of them. He averaged 12.9 points and 6.1 rebounds in 39 minutes per game. He returned for the 2004–05 season, again putting up decent statistics as a starter for the first 24 games. Despite averaging 13.3 points and 4.8 rebounds in 41.3 minutes per game, the Rockets dealt Jackson along with

Boštjan Nachbar Boštjan "Boki" Nachbar (born July 3, 1980) is a Slovenian former professional basketball player. A 2.06 m forward, he spent most of his career between the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the EuroLeague. Nachbar helped lead the Slovenian ...

to the

New Orleans Hornets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

for

David Wesley David Barakau Wesley (born November 14, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is the current television color analyst for the New Orleans Pelicans. He is the cou ...

. Although Hornets general manager

Allan Bristow Allan Mercer Bristow, Jr. (born August 23, 1951) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive. Bristow played college basketball at Virginia Tech, and was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers in the second round of ...

looked forward to the additions of Nachbar and Jackson, Jackson refused to report to the Hornets, an act for which he was suspended.Hornets Suspend Jackson Indefinitely
December 29, 2004 Without ever appearing in a Hornets uniform, Jackson was traded to the Phoenix Suns for

Maciej Lampe Maciej Bolesław Lampe (born February 5, 1985) is a Polish professional basketball player. Standing at , he plays at the power forward and center positions. Professional career Originally from Łódź, Poland, Lampe grew up in Stockholm, Swede ...

Casey Jacobsen Casey Gardner Jacobsen (born March 19, 1981) is an American retired professional basketball player who played four seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He also had an extensive European basketball career, mostly while playing with ...

, and

Jackson Vroman Jackson Brett Vroman (June 6, 1981 – June 29, 2015) was an American-born Lebanese professional basketball player. He was naturalized as a Lebanese citizen to play for the Lebanon national basketball team, replacing the other naturalized American ...

Phoenix Suns

Jackson finished the 2004–05 season with the Suns averaging a modest 8.8 points and 3.9 rebounds per 24.9 minutes per game. With starting shooting guard Joe Johnson injured, Jackson stepped up his play in the postseason, helping Phoenix reach the Western Conference final. Although re-signed in the following offseason, Jackson was waived at the beginning of March 2006 after spending nearly two months on the bench without playing any minutes. Jackson averaged career lows of 3.7 points and 2.4 rebounds per 15.6 minutes in 27 games. Immediately after being waived, Jackson was claimed by the Los Angeles Lakers.

Los Angeles Lakers

Jackson finished the 2005–06 season with the Lakers, playing in only 13 games with averages of 1.7 points and .9 rebounds per 7 minutes. Jackson did not receive an offer to sign with any team in the following offseason, marking the end of his career. He was the last player on the Lakers to wear #24 before Kobe Bryant.

NBA career statistics

Provided b
Basketball-Reference.com
Generated 11/9/2022.

Playoffs

Personal life

During much of his career, Jackson wore a sweatband on his arm with the numbers "419" (which refer to the North American

telephone A telephone is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most efficiently the human voice, into e ...

area code

419 Year 419 (Roman numerals, CDXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Monaxius and Plinta (or, less frequently, year 117 ...

that serves Toledo and most of northwest

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

) to represent where he is from. His son Traevon Jackson played the point guard position for

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

from 2011 to 2015, reaching two Final Fours.

Notes

External links

* * expanded profile at NBA.com * *
Love Triangle between Kidd, Braxton, and Jackson
* https://www.nba.com/clippers/news/bally-sports-socal-announces-la-clippers-2021-22-broadcast-schedule {{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Jim 1970 births Living people 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American sportspeople African-American basketball players All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks players Basketball players at the 1991 Pan American Games Basketball players from Ohio Cleveland Cavaliers players College basketball announcers in the United States Dallas Mavericks draft picks Dallas Mavericks players Fox Sports 1 people Golden State Warriors players Houston Rockets players Los Angeles Lakers players McDonald's High School All-Americans Medalists at the 1991 Pan American Games Miami Heat players New Jersey Nets players Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball players Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in basketball Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Philadelphia 76ers players Phoenix Suns players Portland Trail Blazers players Sacramento Kings players Shooting guards Sportspeople from Toledo, Ohio