Jaren Jackson Jr. in his element and staying calm at FIBA World Cup 2023: “It’s just what I do”
So level-headed he forgot to tell his parents he was going to the World Cup; Jackson is a basketball star committed to going calmly about his business. And as the US heads into the second round, his example will be exactly what they need.
Basketball
‘I don’t really like to react’, Jaren Jackson Jr. said, speaking to Olympics.com from a hotel room in Malaga, Spain, on the eve of the men's FIBA World Cup 2023.
The 23-year-old was addressing a question about the collection of basketball accolades he already has to his name including, but not limited to, his recent 2023 NBA Defensive Player of the Year title.
“I don’t really think about it until I’m by myself and then I acknowledge it and then get pretty happy about it for a little bit until I have to move on to the next thing. Because it’s a pretty quick turnaround.
“I don’t want to get too excited early because there’s still more to do - a lot more.”
If the U.S. squad is looking for advice on how it should carry itself following its clinical 3-0 tournament start at the World Cup in Manila, then Jackson might just be their man.
While there is much for Steve Kerr’s men to celebrate, as they cruised through the first round of the Paris 2024 Qualifier competition unscathed, while rivals including France have been far less successful, there is plenty of work still left to do.
Taking stock is healthy, but getting overzealous is not.
Jaren Jackson Jr. on the NBA: "You change as a person"
The Memphis Grizzlies forward more generally belies his years as he speaks through his development to now.
Born in 1999, to NBA Championship-winning player Jaren Jackson and WNBPA executive director Terri Jackson, elite basketball always seemed to be his calling.
Growing up on the spoils of his father’s NBA career, Jackson looked back fondly on his childhood, which often entailed hitting the court in the backyard with his dad.
“If he’d beat me, I'd be really upset. I wouldn’t talk to him, try to avoid him for the next couple of days in the house,” Jackson remembered with a smile. “It was kind of hard because I’m an only child so eventually we’d run into each other.”
Those hours spent being taught by his father, and the string of coaches he would bring in to help raise Jackson into the high IQ player he is today, helped direct his competitive spirit: “I think I've always been competitive in anything I do, especially if I get good at it and I believe in myself” he told us.
In the five seasons since being selected with the fourth pick of the 2018 NBA Draft at 18, with just one year of college under his belt, Jackson has come to know well the demands of the world's biggest basketball league.
After grappling for rotation at the beginning of his career, Jackson missed most of the 2020-21 season with a knee injury. He then later sat out the start of the 2022-23 season following surgery to repair a stress fracture in his right foot.
But, just like his response to his own personal achievements, he remained pragmatic about riding its waves.
“The NBA is a lot. I got in at 18, so it’s kind of all I know. And now it’s a lot easier for me because I get the travel and the commitment and it’s really what your job is.
“You kind of just change. You change as a person for sure. You do age, you get older, you get wiser. To say that you've got to like keep some part of you sane or something like that I feel like might limit you. I feel like you should just let it happen. Let it happen. I mean, you're going to go crazy for a little bit, it's new, and then you'll realise that it's all you know. So, I could be crazy,” he continued. “I could be not. But it's all I do; that's all I really know.”
"I want a gold medal right now" - Jaren Jackson Jr.
Fortunately for Jackson, though it is ‘all that he knows’, it’s also everything he loves.
Every game he plays he feels himself learning and getting better each time, and for the man known as the ‘Block Panther’, that helps fuel a list of ambitions not lacking in vision.
“I want a championship,” he said resolutely, naming his goals.
“I want a gold medal right now. Shoot, I want to be an All-Star, a bunch of times. I want to be a defensive player of the year, a bunch of times. There’s a bunch of stuff I want to do.”
But just as he got animated naming his goals, the consummate professional, plain in Jackson, kicked into gear.
“It’s going to take a lot, I know, so I don’t want to overshoot it in my head. I just want to take every day as it comes and just [do] it all and then look back.”
Perhaps the most striking example of Jackson’s horizontal nature came as he recalled the moment he found out he had made USA Basketball’s roster for the FIBA World Cup.
The decision was so much a “no-brainer” for the Memphis Grizzlies star he forgot to tell his parents that he had made the team.
“They might have just found out online,” Jackson admitted. “I think I might have talked to them, but then I forgot to bring it up because everything’s just so casual to me because it’s just what I do.
“I forgot to get excited about it. And they found out online, but they were really happy.”
Jaren Jackson Jr of USA drives to the basket against Ahmad Dwairi of Jordan during the FIBA Basketball World Cup Group C game
FIBA World Cup challenge: “We’re the United States and we know that"
The cool head sitting on Jackson’s broad shoulders is now serving him well as he treads his way through the World Cup with USA.
With FIBA rules allowing for even more rim protection than in the NBA, Jackson, as a defensive pillar, has been a key part of the game plan for the US, not least when it comes to matching up against the rest of the world’s ‘bigs’.
And while there have been concerns about him getting into early foul trouble, a steadfast Jackson is unlikely to be too bothered. Aware of his role and what he brings, adjusting and staying “locked in” will be exactly what he’ll strive to do as the US goes about trying to reclaim the gold it lost four years ago.
On that specific challenge, Jackson, who has previous experience winning gold with Team USA at the 2016 U17 World Championships in Spain, said the selected 12 are comfortable with the pressure.
“We’re the United States and we know that, and we’re cool with that,” he said matter-of-factly.
With the second stage of the tournament about to begin, and European sides Montenegro and Lithuania as the USA's next opponents, the ever-composed Jackson will do exactly what he said he would do.
“I just have to make sure I keep the big picture in mind and keep making sure that I know that everyone’s going to come after us, and I’m just there."