Mark Jackson (basketball)

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Mark A. Jackson (born April 1, 1965 in Brooklyn, New York) is a 6' 3" former professional basketball player who played point guard for the New York Knicks, Indiana Pacers, Los Angeles Clippers, Denver Nuggets, Toronto Raptors, Utah Jazz, and Houston Rockets in the NBA in a career spanning from 1987 to 2004. He is currently an NBA analyst for The YES Network's New Jersey Nets games, ESPN and ABC.

Contents 1 Early years 2 NBA career 3 Post retirement 4 Personal life 5 External links

[edit] Early years

Mark was regarded as one of the nation's elite point guards while attending Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School in the Fort Greene section of Brooklyn under Coach Patrick Quigley. Mark gained a reputation as a streetballer in New York and a college hoops star at St. John's University, and was made the 18th pick of the 1987 NBA Draft by the New York Knicks.

[edit] NBA career

Jackson teamed with Patrick Ewing and Charles Oakley to turn the Knicks into a prime playoff team in the late 1980s and early 1990s. However, 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, 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 ever to be so named.

After the 1992 season, he was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers, a trade that saw Charles Smith and Doc Rivers go to the Knicks. While with the Clippers, Jackson teamed with Danny Manning, Ron Harper and Coach Larry Brown to lead the Clippers to two of their few playoff appearances of the 1990s (a feat that would not be repeated until 1997 and 2006).

Jackson later was traded to the Indiana Pacers for younger, yet less talented point guard Pooh Richardson, where he teamed with Reggie Miller, Rik Smits, Antonio Davis, and Dale Davis for six seasons to make the Indiana Pacers a strong contender. Unfortunately, Jackson was traded to the Denver Nuggets before the 96-97 season started for Jalen Rose. This trade was a disaster for the Pacers, as the Pacers fell in 10th place in the East halfway through the seaon and out of the playoff race. Feeling the heat, Pacer's GM Donnie Walsh "retraded" for Jackson at the deadline, giving up Vincent Askew, Eddie Johnson and a couple of 2nd round picks. The return of Jackson sparked the Pacers, but they still missed the playoffs for the only time in the last decade and a half. Jackson would eventually appear in his only NBA Finals as the Pacers starting point guard in 2000, when they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in six games.

Jackson would leave the Pacers that offseason for the Toronto Raptors, who needed a floor general and had extra money to spend with the departure of Tracy McGrady earlier that offseason. Jackson would only play 54 games for the Raptors before being traded at the deadline back to the Knicks. The return was short lived as the Knicks were bounced out of the playoffs by Jackson's former team, the Pacers.

In the offseason, he was involved in a trade back to the Nuggets, where he was immediately waived. Jackson played for the Utah Jazz for the 02-03 season as John Stockton's backup. It was this season that Jackson moved into second place on the list of all time assists leaders behind, ironically, his teammate Stockton for whom he didn't get along with very well. Jackson would play every single game that season without starting one before moving on as a member of the Houston Rockets in 2004. Jackson would only play in 42 games as a Rocket and, experiencing a large drop off in skills, would call it a career at season's end.

He is currently ranked 13th on the NBA all-time games list (1,296), 26th on the all-time minutes played list (39,121), 77th on the all-time 3-point field goals made list (734), 65th on the all-time 3-point field goal attempts list (2,213), 2nd on the all-time assists list (10,323) and 23rd on the all-time steals list (1,608). While many fans feel Jackson deserves a place in the Basketball Hall of Fame, many believe the fact that he played for so many different teams hurt his chances of induction (a problem also shared by Adrian Dantley). Additionally, Jackson never achieved great individual success; despite winning Rookie of the Year in 1988, he only made one All-Star appearance in his career (1989).

[edit] Post retirement

Jackson currently works as an analyst for New Jersey Nets telecasts on YES Network, most often teaming up with Marv Albert. As of the 2006 NBA Playoffs, he also works as an analyst for ABC.

As an analyst, he also does a weekly segment called "You're Better Than That", which focuses on the NBA's best players in their not-so-great moments during the previous week.

[edit] Personal life

Jackson married singer/actress Desiree Coleman on July 29, 1990. The couple has 3 children. He is the older brother of And 1 streetballer Troy Jackson, better known as "Escalade".

[edit] External links

• Mark Jackson career stats