Mark Jackson

Mark Jackson - Quick Facts

Profile Overview of Mark Jackson

Mark A. Jackson (born April 1, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player who was a point guard in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the St. John's Red Storm and was selected by the New York Knicks in the first round of the 1987 NBA draft with the 18th overall pick. He played in the NBA for the Knicks, Los Angeles Clippers, Indiana Pacers, Denver Nuggets, Toronto Raptors, Utah Jazz, and Houston Rockets in a career spanning from 1987 to 2004.

This profile of Mark Jackson covers Early Life and Family Background, Career and Rise to Fame, New York Knicks (1987–1992), Los Angeles Clippers (1992–1994) and Indiana Pacers (1994–1996).

After retiring from playing basketball, Jackson became a broadcast commentator for ESPN and ABC alongside his former coach Jeff Van Gundy and play-by-play man Mike Breen. He also worked as an analyst for YES Network's New Jersey Nets games. In 2011, the Golden State Warriors hired Jackson as head coach. He coached the team for three seasons, but was fired in 2014 despite leading the Warriors to consecutive playoff appearances for the first time in over 20 years. Following this, he returned to ESPN and continued working as a commentator until his removal in 2023.

Early Life and Family Background of Mark Jackson

Mark Jackson grew up in the St. Albans neighborhood of Queens, New York City, New York. He was regarded as one of the nation's elite point guards in secondary school. Raised Catholic, he attended Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School in Brooklyn, New York City. He was a star player for the school's basketball team under coach Patrick Quigley. Jackson gained a reputation as a streetballer in New York.

Career and Rise to Fame of Mark Jackson

Jackson was a college hoops star at St. John's University. While at St. John's, he played alongside Olympian and NBA All-Star Chris Mullin for two seasons. He credits Mullin with teaching him the importance of rigorous practice work in the gym.

While at St. John's, Jackson developed an unusual free-throw line ritual of extending his hand and "cupping" his thumb and index finger around the rim. This helped him stay focused on the rim while shooting foul shots. He continued this well into his pro career and it helped him to a career 77.0% free-throw percentage.

New York Knicks (1987–1992)

Jackson was the 18th pick of the 1987 NBA draft by the New York Knicks. He teamed with Patrick Ewing and Charles Oakley to turn the Knicks into a prime playoff team in the late 1980s and early 1990s. But before the Knicks peaked and became regular playoff contenders, he was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers in 1992.

Jackson had a steady career with the Knicks, most notably under coach Rick Pitino, averaging 13.6 points and 10.6 assists per game in his rookie season, earning him the 1988 Rookie of the Year award, the lowest overall draft pick to win the award since Woody Sauldsberry in 1958. He was the only non-lottery pick to have won the award since the introduction of the system in 1985 until the 2016–17 season, where Malcolm Brogdon won the award as a second-round pick.

In 1989, Jackson had another promising season for the Knicks, teaming with Ewing to lead them to the Atlantic Division title and the number-two seed in the East (behind the eventual champion Detroit Pistons, whom they swept 4–0 in the regular season), and making his lone All-Star Game appearance. After sweeping Charles Barkley's Philadelphia team in the opening round, the Knicks faced the upstart Chicago Bulls, led by Michael Jordan, in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Near the end of Game 2, Jackson en route to a fast-break layup in the fourth quarter looked back and stuck out his tongue at Jordan before finishing the layup; Jordan responded with a 40+ PPG average the remainder of the series, and led Chicago to a 4–2 series victory.

Following a contract extension prior to the 1990 season, Jackson began to lose his All-Star form; the loss of Pitino (who left to coach the University of Kentucky) and starting the season out of shape were key factors. Consequently, he faced stiff competition from backup guard Rod Strickland, and after Strickland was traded away, Maurice Cheeks, to the point where, in their decisive first-round Game 5 against Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish, Dennis Johnson, and the Boston Celtics at the Boston Garden, Knick coach Stu Jackson benched Jackson for the entire game New York defeated Boston to advance to the second round, where they lost to the eventual champion Detroit Pistons in five games.

Los Angeles Clippers (1992–1994)

After the 1991–92 season, he was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers, a trade that saw Charles Smith and Doc Rivers go to the Knicks. This was a three-team deal with the Clippers also obtaining Stanley Roberts from the Orlando Magic for draft picks; Roberts had become superfluous in Orlando when the Magic won the draft lottery for his college teammate, Shaquille O'Neal). With the Clippers, Jackson teamed with Danny Manning, Ron Harper, and head coach Larry Brown to lead the Clippers to the second of their two consecutive playoff appearances. The Clippers would not reach the playoffs in consecutive years again until the 2011–2012 and 2012–2013 seasons.

Indiana Pacers (1994–1996)

On June 30, 1994, the Indiana Pacers traded Pooh Richardson, Malik Sealy, and draft rights to Eric Piatkowski for Jackson and draft rights to Greg Minor. With the Pacers, he teamed with Reggie Miller, Rik Smits, Antonio Davis, and Dale Davis for five out of the next six seasons to make Indiana a contender.

Denver Nuggets (1996–1997)

Jackson was traded to the Denver Nuggets before the 1996–97 NBA season for Jalen Rose.

Return to the Pacers (1997–2000)

The Pacers traded for Jackson and LaSalle Thompson at the trade deadline, giving up Vincent Askew, Eddie Johnson, and second-round picks in 1997 and 1998. Jackson's return sparked the Pacers, but they still missed the playoffs for the only time in a decade and a half.

Jackson appeared in his only NBA Finals as the Pacers' starting point guard in 2000, when they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in six games.

Toronto Raptors (2000–2001)

Jackson left the Pacers that offseason for the Toronto Raptors, who needed a point guard and had extra money due to the departure of Tracy McGrady earlier that off-season. Antonio Davis recommended his former Pacers teammate as a suitable replacement. Jackson would only play 54 games for the Raptors before being traded back to the Knicks at the trade deadline.

Return to the Knicks (2001–2002)

Jackson was traded to the Knicks with Muggsy Bogues (who was later traded to the Dallas Mavericks without playing a game for the Knicks), for Chris Childs on February 22, 2001. Jackson became the starter at point guard for the rest of the season, playing in 29 games. He helped lead the Knicks to the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference, where they were knocked out of the playoffs by the Raptors.

Source: adapted from Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Jackson), text available under CC BY-SA 4.0.