Marc Jackson

Marc Jackson
Marc Jackson
Born	January 16, 1975 (age 51); North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Professional basketball player (retired), television commentator
Years active	2000–2007 (NBA career)
Known for	NBA player, Philadelphia 76ers commentator

Marc Anthony Jackson (born January 16, 1975) is a retired American professional basketball athlete who played seven seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) between 2000 and 2007. He now works as a television commentator for the Philadelphia 76ers on NBC Sports Philadelphia.

Early life and college

Raised in North Philadelphia, Jackson attended Roman Catholic High School, where he led his team to the Catholic League title in 1993 and secured victory at the Alhambra Catholic Invitational Tournament. Despite a memorable missed dunk, he was named to the All-Tournament Team. Jackson initially enrolled at Virginia Commonwealth University, playing one season before transferring to Temple University, located only five blocks from his childhood neighborhood. After sitting out his first year as a redshirt, he became the leading scorer and rebounder for Temple over two seasons, contributing to a combined 40–14 record and consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. He then chose to enter the NBA draft, foregoing his remaining collegiate eligibility.

Professional career

Selected 37th overall in the second round of the 1997 NBA draft by the Golden State Warriors, Jackson opted to begin his professional journey overseas to enhance his skills and financial prospects. He spent three seasons competing with Tofaş Bursa in Turkey and Lobos Caja Cantabria in Spain before making his NBA debut with Golden State in 2000.

During his rookie season, Jackson led all first-year players in scoring and rebounding while posting impressive shooting percentages, earning All-Rookie Team recognition and finishing third in Rookie of the Year voting. As a restricted free agent, he signed a six-year, $24.375 million offer sheet with the Houston Rockets; however, the Warriors matched the offer. Despite his on-court achievements, limited minutes behind veteran players caused dissatisfaction with Golden State's management.

At the 2002 trade deadline, Jackson was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves to play alongside Kevin Garnett. On July 23, 2003, he was involved in a four-team trade that brought him to his hometown team, the Philadelphia 76ers. Although injuries sidelined him for 57 games during his initial season with Philadelphia, he bounced back to lead the team in rebounds and rank second in scoring, contributing significantly as both Center and Power Forward during their playoff run.

On August 9, 2005, Jackson was traded to the New Jersey Nets after unsuccessful negotiations to acquire Shareef Abdur-Rahim. Prior to the 2005–06 trade deadline, he was sent to the New Orleans Hornets alongside Linton Johnson in exchange for Boštjan Nachbar. In 2007, Jackson signed with Greek club Olympiacos, but was released due to incompatibility with head coach Panagiotis Giannakis' system. He then joined UNICS Kazan of Russia's Super League in August 2008 and announced his retirement following a contract with Obradoiro CAB in 2009.

Post playing career

Jackson currently works as an analyst covering Philadelphia 76ers basketball on NBC Sports Philadelphia.

External links