Cedric Jackson

Cedric Jackson
Born	(1986-03-05) March 5, 1986 United States
Occupation	Professional basketball player (retired)
Years active	2009–2019
Known for	Playing for New Zealand Breakers in Australia's NBL; NBL MVP 2013; three NBL championships; multiple Grand Final MVP awards

Cedric Lamar Jackson (born March 5, 1986) is a retired American professional basketball athlete. He spent two collegiate seasons playing for Cleveland State University, where he gained recognition for a decisive full-court shot against Syracuse and played a key role in the Vikings' upset victory over Wake Forest during the opening round of the 2009 NCAA Tournament.

In his professional career, Jackson made a significant impact with the New Zealand Breakers competing in Australia's NBL. Over four campaigns, he guided the Breakers to four grand final appearances and secured three championship titles. His accolades include winning the NBL MVP in 2013, earning the Grand Final MVP honors twice (2013 and 2015), and being named to the All-NBL First Team in 2012, 2013, and 2015. Notably, Jackson led the league in assists every season during his tenure with the Breakers, becoming the sole player in NBL history to top the assists leaderboard in each of his first four seasons.

High school and college career

Jackson started his high school basketball journey as a freshman at Medical Lake High School in Medical Lake, Washington during the 2000–01 academic year, where he helped the Cardinals reach near state tournament qualification. He then transferred to Ferris High before moving again due to his family's Air Force commitments. He completed his secondary education at Northern Burlington County Regional High School located in Columbus, New Jersey, where he earned first-team all-state honors and averaged 26 points per game in his senior year.

Jackson began his collegiate career at St. John's University in Queens, New York, but on April 4, 2006, he transferred to Cleveland State University seeking increased playing opportunities. After sitting out the 2006–07 season as mandated by NCAA transfer regulations, he thrived at Cleveland State, steering the team to back-to-back postseason berths in 2008 and 2009. Across 71 games, Jackson averaged 12.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.2 assists, and 2.8 steals per contest.

NBA, D-League and Italy (2009–11)

Following the 2009 NBA draft, where he went unselected, Jackson signed with the Erie BayHawks of the NBA Development League for the 2009–10 season. Over 34 games, he averaged 16.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, 7.4 assists, and 2.1 steals per outing. Between January and April of that season, Jackson had short stints in the NBA with the Cleveland Cavaliers, San Antonio Spurs, and Washington Wizards, appearing in a total of 12 games and averaging 1.7 points alongside 1.2 assists.

After participating in Cleveland's preseason camp in 2010, Jackson returned to Erie for the following D-League season before being traded to the Idaho Stampede on December 29, 2010. During that campaign, he posted averages of 13.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 7.3 assists, and 2.1 steals across 50 contests.

On April 18, 2011, Jackson inked a deal with Italian squad Enel Brindisi, appearing in two matches where he accumulated a total of 20 points, along with ten rebounds and six assists.

New Zealand Breakers (2011–13)

On August 12, 2011, Jackson committed to the New Zealand Breakers for the 2011–12 NBL season. He played a pivotal role in guiding the Breakers to clinch the minor premiership with a 21–7 record and propelled them to a 2–1 NBL Grand Final triumph over the Perth Wildcats. Jackson was honored as the team's MVP, placed fourth in the NBL MVP race, and secured a spot on the All-NBL First Team. Additionally, he led the league in both assists (6.4) and steals (2.5) per game during the regular season.

Following his participation in the 2012 NBA Summer League with the San Antonio Spurs, Jackson renewed his contract with the Breakers for the 2012–13 NBL season in August. On November 30, 2012, he achieved his inaugural career triple-double by posting 28 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists against the Melbourne Tigers, marking only the second such feat since the NBL introduced 40-minute games in 2009–10. On February 5, 2013, he was recognized as Player of the Week for Round 17, earning his fourth weekly accolade that season.

On March 24, Jackson was awarded the NBL MVP for the 2012–13 campaign and was again selected for the All-NBL First Team. He once more topped the league in assists (7.1) and steals (2.8). The Breakers secured the minor premiership with a dominant 24–4 record and captured their second straight championship by sweeping the Wildcats 2–0 in the Grand Final. Jackson was named Grand Final MVP for his outstanding contributions.

Slovenia (2013–14)

After competing in the 2013 NBA Summer League representing both the Miami Heat and Portland Trail Blazers, Jackson inked a one-year deal with Union Olimpija of the Premier A Slovenian Basketball League on August 3, 2013. His season was hampered by several injuries, which ultimately led to his contract being terminated on March 6, 2014. Throughout his tenure, Jackson averaged 4.3 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 3.0 assists over 14 games in the Adriatic League, alongside averages of 5.9 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 3.8 assists across 13 Eurocup appearances.

Second Breakers stint (2014–16)

Jackson made his return to the New Zealand Breakers on July 17, 2014, signing a two-year contract. In December of that year, he earned Player of the Week recognition for Round 10. On January 18, 2015, he notched his second career triple-double with a stat line of 16 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists during an 88–75 victory over Melbourne United. He achieved another triple-double on February 12 against the Adelaide 36ers, tallying identical figures of 11 points, rebounds, and assists.

Following a standout performance featuring a game-winning buzzer-beater and a career-high 22 points against the Perth Wildcats on February 15, Jackson was named Player of the Week for Round 19 as well as Player of the Month for February. He secured All-NBL First Team honors for a third straight year while leading the league in assists with an average of six per game. The Breakers concluded the regular season in second place with a 19–9 record before capturing the NBL Grand Final title against the Cairns Taipans with a clean sweep of 2–0. This marked Jackson’s third championship and second Grand Final MVP award; he contributed 22 points in game one and added another 15 points in game two. Notably, he became the first player in NBL history to win three titles within his initial three seasons.

After completing that NBL campaign, Jackson had a brief stint comprising thirteen games with Puerto Rico’s Mets de Guaynabo.

On October 11, 2015, Jackson recorded his fourth career triple-double by delivering a personal best of fourteen assists along with other stats during an 89–81 victory over the Townsville Crocodiles. He maintained an exceptional winning percentage of approximately seventy-seven point seven percent (77 wins out of his first ninety-nine NBL games), placing him at the top historically within the league. However, during his milestone hundredth appearance against the Illawarra Hawks, he struggled offensively and failed to convert any field goals.

Jackson secured his fifth triple-double on November 8 despite a defeat to Melbourne United; he posted totals of sixteen points, fourteen rebounds, and ten assists. Battling toe and Achilles injuries throughout January, he rebounded strongly by scoring a season-high thirty-one points coupled with ten rebounds and six assists against the Adelaide 36ers in February—becoming the first NBL player since John Rillie in nineteen ninety-eight to accomplish such numbers.

The Breakers ended their season ranked fourth with a sixteen-win and twelve-loss record but upset top-seeded Melbourne United in the semi-finals before falling to Perth Wildcats in a three-game Grand Final series. Jackson shone during game two but faltered notably in game three by failing to score any points and fouling out prematurely.

He participated in all thirty-three contests throughout the twenty-fifteen to sixteen season, averaging twelve point nine points, six rebounds, six point four assists, and one point three steals per game.

Following that season’s conclusion, Jackson had a short six-game engagement with Puerto Rico’s Atléticos de San Germán. Unable to match competitive offers from other NBL teams during offseason negotiations, his tenure with the Breakers came to an end.

Melbourne United (2016)

On May 10, 2016, Jackson committed to a two-year agreement with Melbourne United. He made his first appearance on October 7, recording 14 points, 13 rebounds, and six assists in a narrow 76–71 defeat against the Breakers. Despite this, after a 3–6 record early in the season, Melbourne United opted to release Jackson on November 9 due to tactical considerations. Across nine contests, he posted averages of 10.0 points, 4.9 rebounds, 5.6 assists, and 1.4 steals per game. Remarkably, his average of 5.56 assists per game remained the highest in the league by the conclusion of the season despite his premature departure.

Yakima SunKings (2018)

In February 2018, Jackson signed with the Yakima SunKings competing in the NAPB. He played a pivotal role in guiding the SunKings to their first championship title in over a decade. Throughout 13 games, he maintained averages of 11.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, 5.2 assists, and 1.5 steals per contest.

Illawarra Hawks (2018–2019)

Jackson joined the Illawarra Hawks on July 5, 2018, ahead of the 2018–19 NBL season. Over the span of 28 games, he averaged 8.0 points, 3.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and contributed 1.1 steals per game.

Regular season

|- | style="text-align:left;"| 2009–10 | style="text-align:left;"| Erie | 34 || 24 || 33.3 || .426 || .270 || .723 || 5.6 || 7.4 || 2.1 || .4 || 16.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2010–11 | style="text-align:left;"| Erie | 14 || 14 || 30.3 || .395 || .391 || .574 || 4.1 || 6.6 || 2.1 || .4 || 12.1 |- | style="text-align:left;"| 2010–11 | style="text-align:left;"| Idaho | 36 || 36 || 36.1 || .476 || .293 || .641 || 6.1 || 7.5 || 2.1 || .1 || 13.6 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career | 84 || 74 || 34.0 || .440 || .303 || .672 || 5.6 || 7.3 || 2.1 || .3 || 14.5

Regular season

|- | align="left" | | align="left" | Cleveland | 5 || 0 || 2.0 || .000 || .000 || .250 || .2 || .4 || .0 || .0 || .2 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | San Antonio | 3 || 0 || 8.3 || .286 || .000 || .750 || 1.3 || 2.0 || 1.0 || .7||2.3 |- | align="left" | | align="left" | Washington |4||0||9.8||.364||.333||.750|| .8||1.5|| .0|| .0||3.0 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career |12||0||6.2||.300||.167||.583||.7||1.2||.3||.2||1.7

External links

• NBA D-League player profile
• New Zealand Breakers profile
• NBL statistics
• Is Cedric Jackson the NBL's best ever point guard?