Josh Jackson

On his 21st birthday, Jackson would have his best all-around game in his rookie season with 20 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal and a season-high 4 blocks in a 123–113 loss on the Denver Nuggets.

He would break the previous season-high in points with 29 scored on February 28 in a 110–102 win against the Memphis Grizzlies.

On St. Patrick's Day, Jackson would break that career-high with the first 30-point game of his professional career with 36 points scored while coming off the bench in a 124–109 loss against the Golden State Warriors.

After he was drafted 4th by Phoenix, it was reported that Jackson had cancelled his workout with the Boston Celtics, who held the 3rd pick after trading the #1 pick to the Philadelphia 76ers, just as the Celtics management and staff were midway to Sacramento to meet him, something that reportedly angered Celtics general manager Danny Ainge, although Ainge denied that it factored into his decision to not draft Jackson.

When questioned on it, Ryan McDonough, the general manager of the Suns, 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 poor timing and an inability to reschedule for a more proper date.

Joshua O'Neal Jackson (born February 10, 1997) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Stockton Kings of the NBA G League.

In March 2016, Jackson, played in the 2016 McDonald's All-American Game and led in scoring with 19 points, whilst also recording four rebounds and three assists.

He was named Co-MVP alongside Frank Jackson.

Jackson was a five-star recruit and was regarded as one of the top players in the 2016 high school class.

He was ranked number one in the 2016 class by both Rivals.com and Scout.com, while ESPN ranked him at number two behind only Harry Giles.

247Sports.com ranked him both as the top rated player in the 2016 class along with giving him a 102 rating, the highest rating ever given to a recruit by the website.

On April 11, 2016, Jackson tweeted that he would be attending the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas to play basketball, picking KU over Michigan State and Arizona.

During his only season at Kansas, Jackson showcased his all-around play between scoring, rebounding, play-making, and defending.

Although he started as a power forward for the Jayhawks, not Jackson's normal positions of both small forward or shooting guard, he still recorded 16.3 points, 7.4 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.7 steals, and 1.1 blocks per game with the team in his freshman season.

As a result of his efforts, he was named as an All-Big 12 First Team member, the Big 12 Freshman of the Year, was named as a second-team All-American according to Sporting News, and was also considered a third-team All-American according to the Associated Press and National Association of Basketball Coaches.

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

Jackson was born in San Diego County, California while his mother, Apples Jones, was serving in the U.S. Navy and lived there until he was eight months old when she moved them to Michigan to be closer to her family.

In the eighth grade, he was held back a grade due to his passion for basketball overtaking his grades, with Jackson going to Voyager Middle School for his repeated year before entering high school.

He attended Consortium College Prep School in Detroit, Michigan his freshman and sophomore years, before moving to Napa, California to attend Justin-Siena High School for his junior and senior year.

As a freshman for the Consortium College Prep School, Jackson averaged 17 points, six rebounds, four assists and four blocks per game.

As a sophomore, he led the school to their first state title.

He averaged 28 points, 15 rebounds, and six assists per game.

Prior to his junior year, Jackson and his family moved to California to attend Justin-Siena High School in Napa, California and play for Prolific Prep.

As a Junior, he averaged 31.2 points per game and 5.4 assists.

As a Senior, Jackson averaged 26.9 Points and 13.1 rebounds per game.

Jackson played AAU basketball for 1Nation Elite, a program founded by his mother.

On April 17, 2017, Jackson officially declared for the 2017 NBA draft and hired former Chicago Bulls point guard B. J. Armstrong as his agent, officially forgoing his remaining college eligibility.

On June 22, 2017, Jackson was selected by the Phoenix Suns with the fourth pick in the 2017 NBA draft, being their second straight selection at pick #4 after Dragan Bender.

Jackson would sign his rookie scale contract on July 3, 2017.

During the 2017 NBA Summer League, Jackson recorded averages of 17.4 points, a team high 9.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game at 35.0 minutes per game in the five games (out of the team's six total) he played there, which earned him All-Summer League First Team honors alongside Lonzo Ball, Dennis Smith Jr.., John Collins, and Caleb Swanigan.

Jackson made his NBA debut as starting power forward for the Suns on October 18, 2017.

During the third game of the season, Jackson made an inappropriate, menacing gesture with his hand towards the fans of the Los Angeles Clippers, which would result in him being fined $35,000 on October 24, 2017.

He would start for the Suns at power forward before returning to his more natural small forward position (albeit off the bench) on October 23, 2017 in a win against the Sacramento Kings.

On November 29, 2017, Jackson scored a then season-high 20 points in a loss to the Detroit Pistons.

Jackson would be put back into a starting position on December 7 at shooting guard after Devin Booker's injury the previous game against the Toronto Raptors.

Jackson would record his first double-double of his professional career on January 7, 2018 with 17 points, a season-high 10 rebounds, and a season-high 5 assists in a 114–100 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

After missing their next game against the Houston Rockets due to a strained right hip, he returned to the starting lineup as a small forward on January 14, recording a new career-high 21 points in a blowout loss to the Indiana Pacers.

He would tie that career-high on January 31 in a 102–88 win over the Dallas Mavericks before putting up a new season-high with 23 points on February 4 in a 115–110 loss to the Charlotte Hornets.

On March 20, 2018, he would record a double-double of 15 points and a career-high 11 rebounds in a loss to the Detroit Pistons.