Jaren Jackson
Jaren Jackson Sr. | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 27, 1967 New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Basketball player, coach |
| Years active | 1989–2002 (player), 2005–present (coach) |
| Known for | NBA player, 1999 NBA champion with San Antonio Spurs; assistant coach for Incarnate Word Cardinals |
Jaren Walter Jackson Sr. (born October 27, 1967) is a former professional basketball player and current coach from the United States, presently serving as an assistant coach for the Incarnate Word Cardinals competing in the Southland Conference. Originating from New Orleans, Louisiana, Jackson played as a shooting guard at Georgetown University between 1985 and 1989, where he completed a bachelor's degree in finance. Although he was not selected in the National Basketball Association (NBA) draft, Jackson enjoyed a 13-year playing career with various franchises. He is most prominently recognized for his tenure with the San Antonio Spurs, playing a significant role in their inaugural NBA championship during the 1999 season.
Journeyman swingman (1989–1997)
After going undrafted, Jackson secured a contract with the New Jersey Nets as a free agent in 1989, participating in 28 games. The subsequent season saw him competing in the Continental Basketball Association and World Basketball League, followed by short periods with the Golden State Warriors and the Los Angeles Clippers, appearing in 34 games during the 1992–93 season. In 1993–94, Jackson played 29 games for the Portland Trail Blazers before being waived; he was then signed by the Philadelphia 76ers, where he earned his first NBA start in December 1994. After a brief stint with the Houston Rockets, he joined the Washington Bullets for the 1996–97 campaign, participating in a career-high 75 games as a backup to Calbert Cheaney, averaging five points per game and making 53 three-pointers.
San Antonio Spurs tenure (1997–2001)
Following a playoff defeat at the hands of the eventual champions, the Chicago Bulls, Jackson inked a deal with the San Antonio Spurs, whose roster included stars like David Robinson and top draft selection Tim Duncan. The 1997–98 season marked Jackson’s peak performance: he started in 45 out of 82 games, averaged a career-best 8.8 points per contest, and set a franchise record by sinking 112 three-pointers. During the playoffs, he started eight of nine games, boosting his scoring average to 10.2 points as the Spurs advanced to the conference semifinals.
In the lockout-shortened 1998–99 season, Jackson served as the main backup shooting guard behind veteran Mario Elie, appearing in 47 games and averaging 6.4 points. The Spurs earned the highest playoff seed and progressed beyond the opening round, sweeping both the Los Angeles Lakers—where Jackson tallied 22 and 20 points in Games 3 and 4—and defeating the Portland Trail Blazers in the conference finals. In the NBA Finals against the New York Knicks, he contributed an average of 8.2 points per game to help San Antonio secure their championship title.
During the 1999–2000 season, Jackson played in 81 games as a reserve but had limited postseason involvement due to injuries among teammates; San Antonio exited in the first round. The following year, despite achieving league-best regular-season performance, Jackson's participation diminished to only 16 games without playoff appearances as younger guards such as Derek Anderson assumed larger roles.
Retirement
Late in the 2001–02 season, Jackson joined the Orlando Magic, appearing in nine regular-season contests and three playoff games before concluding his professional playing career.
Regular season
|- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| New Jersey | 28 || 0 || 5.7 || .362 || .000 || .810 || .9 || .5 || .5 || .0 || 2.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Golden State | 5 || 0 || 10.8 || .478 || – || .667 || 2.0 || .6 || .4 || .0 || 5.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| L.A. Clippers | 34 || 0 || 10.3 || .414 || .400 || .852 || 1.1 || 1.0 || .6 || .1 || 3.9 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Portland | 29 || 0 || 6.4 || .391 || .000 || .857 || .6 || .9 || .1 || .1 || 2.8 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Philadelphia | 21 || 1 || 12.2 || .368 || .267 || .667 || 2.0 || .9 || .4 || .2 || 3.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Houston | 4 || 0 || 8.3 || .000 || .000 || .800 || .8 || .0 || .3 || .0 || 2.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"| Washington | 75 || 0|| 15.1|| .407|| .335|| .768|| 1.8|| .9|| .6|| .2||5.0 |- | style="text-align:left;" | San Antonio | style="background:#cfecec;" | 82*|| 45|| 27.1|| .394|| .377|| .797|| 2.6|| 1.9|| .7|| .1|| 8.8 |- | style="text-align:left; background:#afe6ba;" | † | style="text-align:left;" | San Antonio | 47||13||18.3||.380||.361||.821||2.1||1.0||0.9||0.2||6.4 |-
| style="text-align:left;" | San Antonio |81||12||20.9||.381||.353||.647||2.2||1.5||0.7||0.1||6.3
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | San Antonio |16||0||7.2||.400||.389||0.000||0.8||0.4||0.3||0.0||2.4
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Orlando |9||0||16.0||.405||.350||.500||1.9||0.9||0.6||0.0||4.3
|- class="sortbottom"
| style="text-align:center;" colspan= "2"| Career Totals |431||71||16.7||.391||.353||.764||1.8||1.2||0.6||0.1||5.5
|-
Playoffs
|- | style="text-align:left;" | L.A. Clippers | 4 || 0 || 7.0 || .385 || .000 || — || 1.3 || .5 || .5 || .0 || 2.5 |- | style="text-align:left;" | Portland | 1 || 0 || 1.0 || — || — || — || .0 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .0 |- | style="text-align:left;" | Washington | 3 || 0 || 3.7 || — ||| — ||| 000 ||| 7 ||| 3 ||| 00 ||| 00 ||| 00 ||| — ||| — ||| — ||| — ||| — ||| — ||| — ||| — ||| — ||| — ||| — ||| — ||| — ||| — ||| — ||| — ||| — ||| — ||| —
Coaching career
Following his playing days, Jackson embarked on a coaching path within the Continental Basketball Association (CBA), where he guided the Gary Steelheads during the 2005–06 season and the Pittsburgh Xplosion in 2006–07. He then took on an assistant coaching position with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants in their debut NBA Development League campaign, subsequently being promoted to head coach for their sophomore season and returning to lead the team again in 2014–15.
Broadening his coaching resume, Jackson assumed leadership of the Saint John Millrats before being named head coach of the Ottawa SkyHawks in the National Basketball League of Canada in November 2013.
In January 2021, he enhanced his professional development league experience by joining the Westchester Knicks as an assistant coach in the NBA G League.
Most recently, in May 2023, Jackson entered collegiate coaching at the Division I level when he was appointed assistant coach at the University of the Incarnate Word, working under newly hired head coach Shane Heirman.
Personal life
Jackson is married to Terri Carmichael Jackson, who serves as director of operations for the Women's National Basketball Players Association. Their son, Jaren Jackson Jr., played basketball at Michigan State University before being selected fourth overall by the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2018 NBA draft.