Stephen Jackson looked at his buzzing phone and tucked it away, unanswered. He hurried to catch a connecting flight at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport that would take him back to Oakland and to the Warriors franchise he once helped to a historic playoff upset. Before he reached the gate, Jackson's phone buzzed again, this time with a text message. R.C. Buford, the general manager of the Spurs. Buford wanted to know if Jackson could talk to Coach Gregg Popovich. Jackson already knew what the conversation would entail. How could it be anything else but a return to San Antonio, the place where he found his basketball iden y? After saying a short prayer, Jackson called Popovich. He spoke with Popovich and Tim Duncan, and rerouted his flight, life, and career. The Spurs finalized the deal and obtained Jackson for Richard Jefferson at this season's trade deadline.
A career had passed since Jackson left the Spurs nine years ago. He brawled in Auburn Hills, fired a gun into the air and got run over by a car in Indianapolis, and drew suspensions from five different teams. He also co-starred for a deep Pacers team that would have contended for a le had the fight not shredded the team's fabric. He provided the backbone of the "We Believe" Warriors. And he nudged the Charlotte Bobcats into fleeting respectability in the franchise's only playoff berth.
More than any other organization in the NBA, the Spurs are equipped for all that Jackson brings. They are prepared to benefit from the absolute teammate, the man who attends chapel before games and sang in his church choir as a youth. They tolerate the occasional, well-do ented episodes, the infractions that appeared on police blotters and newspaper headlines. It is the good in Jackson, he is convinced, that leads to the occasional bad.
NBA teams are on a permanent search for consummate, complementary parts. The easy job is spotting the talent in a Tim Duncan or Kevin Durant. The harder job is crafting the roster with players who accentuate the talents of those star players and blend their own into a mixture that will best suit their team.
Jackson has been miscast in the starring role a couple of times in his nomadic career. He's more comfortable and productive in a supporting role. In this le, he is who he wants to be and has been since high school. He is quick to tell people that he is a wonderful addition to any roster and fast to add that Duncan calls him the ultimate teammate. Others echo these statements. But being low-maintenance is one of the primary qualities of most complementary players. They require little pushing, motivation, or coddling compared with most stars. This is where Jackson's career and reputation are at odds. He tries to be there for teammates in ways that directly lead to confrontation and trouble. In Jackson's case, the question becomes, is there such a thing as being a cruddy consummate teammate? There are deep-rooted reasons for why Jackson is who he is.
Continue reading: http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/...tephen-jackson
I just hope jax does what he is fully capable of doing at the right moments tonight and we pull the upset. I would like nothing more than him to come back home to a ring and complete a somewhat cinderella story. Here is to Jax and the rest of our boys. Leave your hearts out there on the floor boys
Solid article and a good read. Thanks for posting OP.
Great article. Must read for Spurs fans
Good article, Thanks op!
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