Josh Jackson

At 27 years old, Josh Jackson has this physical status:

Joshua O'Neal Jackson (born February 10, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for the Memphis Hustle of the NBA G League, on contract with the Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association. (NBA).

He played college basketball for one season with the Kansas Jayhawks before deciding on the 2017 NBA draft, where he was ranked fourth overall by the Phoenix Suns.

Early life

Jackson was born in San Diego County, California, while his mother, Apples Jones, was serving in the United States Navy and lived there until she was eight months old, when she moved them to Michigan to be closer to her family. He was held a grade in eighth grade due to his obsession with basketball overtaking his grades, with Jackson attending Voyager Middle School for his second year before entering high school. He attended Consortium College Prep School in Detroit, Michigan, for his freshman and sophomore years, before transferring to Napa, California, to attend Justin-Siena High School for his junior and senior years.

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High school career

He averaged 17 points, six rebounds, four assists, and four blocks per game as a freshman at a Catholic College Prep School. As a sophomore, he led the school to their first state championship. He had 28 points, 15 rebounds, and six assists per game.

Jackson and his family immigrated to California to attend Justin-Siena High School in Napa, California, where they compete for Prolific Prep. As a Junior, he averaged 31.2 points per game and 5.4 assists. Jackson averaged 26.9 points and 13.1 rebounds per game as a Senior. Jackson participated in 1Nation Elite, a program that his mother founded. In March 2016, Jackson participated in the All-American Game and joint led the scoring with 19 points, while Wilff had four rebounds and three assists, while others had four rebounds and three assists. Frank Jackson was named Co-MVP alongside him.

Jackson was regarded as one of the best players in the 2016 class as a five-star recruiter. Both Rivals.com and Scout.com ranked him as the best in the 2016 class, while ESPN ranked him second behind only Harry Giles. Both Edward and David Frost were rated as the best rated player in the 2016 class, as well as giving him a 102 rating, the highest rating ever given to a recruit by the website.

College career

On April 11, 2016, Jackson announced that he would attend the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas, to play basketball, choosing KU over Michigan State and Arizona. Jackson demonstrated his all-around play, scoring, rebounding, play-making, and defense during his rookie season at Kansas. Despite starting as a power forward for the Jayhawks, not Jackson's normal positions of either small forward or shooting guard, he still averaged 16.3 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.7 steals, 1.1 blocks per game during his freshman season with the team, including 1.1 blocks per game. According to Sporting News, he was named as a second-team All-American and a third-team All-American, and was also deemed a third-team All-American. Jackson officially declared for the 2017 NBA draft on April 17, 2017 and signed former Chicago Bulls point guard B. J. Armstrong as his agent, effectively ending his remaining college eligibility.

Professional career

Jackson was selected by the Phoenix Suns with their fourth pick in the 2017 NBA draft on June 22, 2017, their second straight pick after Dragan Bender. Jackson had postponed his workout with the Boston Celtics, the 3rd pick after losing the #1 pick to the Philadelphia 76ers, while Celtics general manager Danny Ainge was reportedly angry that it was not factored into his decision not to draft him. When asked about it, Ryan McDonough, the Suns' general manager, did not deny any collusion between the Suns and Jackson's representatives to dissuade the Celtics from drafting Jackson. However, Jackson attributed the situation to nothing more than bad timing and an inability to reschedule for a later date. Jackson will sign his rookie scale contract on July 3, 2017. Jackson's averages in the 2017 NBA Summer League were 17.4 points, a team record high 9.2 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game at 35.0 minutes per game (35.0 minutes per game out of the team's six total) during the five games (out of the team's six total) he played there, earning him All-Summer League First Team honors alongside Lonzo Ball, Dennis Smith Jr., John Collins, and Caleb Swanigan

On October 18, 2017, Jackson made his NBA debut as the Suns' starting power forward. Jackson made an inappropriate, menacing gesture with his hand toward the Los Angeles Clippers' fans, resulting in him being fined $35,000 on October 24, 2017. He'll start for the Suns as a power forward before returning to his more comfortable small forward role (albeit off the bench) on October 23, 2017 in a victory over the Sacramento Kings. In a loss to the Detroit Pistons on November 29, 2017, Jackson scored a then-season high 20 points. Following Devin Booker's injury in the previous game against the Toronto Raptors, Jackson would return to a starting lineup on December 7 at shooting guard. Jackson won by 17 points, a season-high ten rebounds, and a season-high 5 assists in a 114-100 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder, his first double-double of his professional career. In a blowout loss to the Indiana Pacers, he returned to the starting lineup as a rookie against the Houston Rockets due to a strained right hip. In a 102-88 win over the Dallas Mavericks on January 31, he would reach his career high, while the Charlotte Hornets defeated the Charlotte Hornets on February 4, setting a new season record with 23 points on February 4 in a 115-110 loss. In a 123-113 loss to the Denver Nuggets, Jackson will have his best all-around game in his rookie season, with 20 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, 1 steal, and a season-high 4 blocks. With 29 points against the Memphis Grizzlies on February 28, he would equal his previous season-high in points. Jackson would score 36 points on his first 30-point game of his professional career on St. Patrick's Day with 36 points scored from out of the bench in a 124-109 loss to the Golden State Warriors. In a loss to the Detroit Pistons on March 20, 2018, he would post a double-double of 15 points and a career-high 11 rebounds. On May 22, 2018, he was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team for the second time.

Jackson, the team's ambassador for the 2018 NBA Draft Lottery, made the team's first appearance in franchise history on May 15, 2018. He later joined Deandre Ayton, the Suns' top pick, and the Suns' other rookies and young players for the 2018 NBA Summer League. During the entire pre-season, Jackson was coerced to play Devin Booker's role, although he was out at the time due to finger surgery. Jackson returned to the bench on October 17, 2018 for the team's first season, as he scored 18 points on 7/11 shooting, including three three-pointers, in a 121-100 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday.

Jackson was traded by the Suns to the Memphis Grizzlies on July 7, 2019. For the upcoming season, the Grizzlies assigned him to the Memphis Hustle, their NBA G League affiliate. Jackson appeared in 26 games for the Hustle before being called up by the Grizzlies, averaging 20.3 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.4 blocks, and 1.3 steals per game was designated for the Western Conference in the Midseason All-NBA G League.

Jackson signed with the Detroit Pistons, his hometown team, on December 1, 2020.

The Sacramento Kings acquired Jackson and Trey Lyles in a four-team trade that brought Marvin Bagley III to the Pistons on February 10, 2022. With former Suns teammates Richaun Holmes and Alex Len, Jackson was reunited.

Jackson signed with the Toronto Raptors on August 31, 2022. On October 14, 2022, the Raptors waived him.

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