Jim Jackson

James Arthur Jackson (born October 14, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player.

Over his 14 National Basketball Association (NBA) seasons, Jackson was on the active roster of 12 different teams, which was an NBA record shared with Joe Smith, Tony Massenburg, Chucky Brown, and Ish Smith; until Ish played with the Denver Nuggets, his 13th team, in the 2022–23 season.

He is currently a basketball analyst for Fox Sports, Turner Sports and the Los Angeles Clippers on Bally Sports West, having previously worked for the Big Ten Network.

Jackson was a 6'6" (198 cm), 220 lb shooting guard who started all four years at Macomber High School in Toledo, Ohio. The former McDonald's All American led Macomber to the 1989 Division I state championship over Cleveland St. Joseph. He was high school teammates with former NFL safety Myron Bell.

Jackson was a member of the Ohio State Buckeyes.

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 college basketball, the UPI player of the year, and winning the Big Ten Championship in 1992.

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 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 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 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.

In the middle of the 1996–97 season, Jackson was traded to the New Jersey Nets along with Sam Cassell, Eric Montross, George McCloud, and Chris Gatling for Shawn Bradley, Ed O'Bannon, Robert Pack, and Khalid Reeves.

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 out of Utah.

In a bidding war with the Chicago Bulls among other teams, they traded Jackson along with Eric Montross and their two first-round picks, Tim Thomas and Anthony Parker, to the Philadelphia 76ers for Michael Cage, Don MacLean, Lucious Harris, and the rights to Van Horn, the second overall pick in the 1997 draft.

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 to the Golden State Warriors for Joe Smith and Brian Shaw.

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.

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.

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 were both traded to the Atlanta Hawks for Steve Smith and Ed Gray.

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.

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.

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

After voicing his displeasure with losing, Jackson was traded with Larry Robinson and Anthony Johnson in January 2001 to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Brevin Knight.

Hailing from nearby Toledo and a product of Ohio State, Jackson's trade to the Cavaliers was viewed as a homecoming of sorts.