The OKC Thunder made Reggie Jackson a first-round pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, let’s re-grade that decision.
After re-grading the OKC Thunder selections of Terrance Ferguson, and Perry Jones III, let’s continue with polarizing figure Reggie Jackson. Buckle up folks, this one could get ugly.
As I sit in isolation, with no sports, while the only thing to do is ponder the past, I have been thinking of Sam Presti’s draft classes. That is of course because I am a crazy person, and miss basketball that much.
Let’s continue the trip down memory lane, and revisit the selection of Reggie Jackson. One of the best backup point guards in team history, that always thought he was better than he is.
As always, it is important to establish a grade on the pick before re-grading it. So, erase all the fights, the freezeouts, trade requests, Twitter beefs, and the bad memories. What was your genuine opinion of the Reggie Jackson selection at the time?
For me, I gave Sam Presti a C+. I was a huge Norris Cole, and Isaiah Thomas fan, which tanked my grade of this pick. However, it is clear Sam Presti knows better than me.
From here, we have to lay the outline of who Sam Presti missed on? Who panned out better than Reggie Jackson in this class that was available for Presti?
Lucky for Sam Presti, that list has only two names on it. All-Star Jimmy Butler and sharpshooter Bojan Bogdanovic.
Reggie Jackson fit the biggest need on the team, believe it or not despite being in a day in age where Billy Donovan runs out three guards, there was once a time that the OKC Thunder could not find a competent backup point guard!
Obviously, in a vacuum you would love to have All-Star Jimmy Butler, especially knowing that just a year later the team would be missing James Harden. However, all things considered, I still think Reggie Jackson was a good pick.
The question is how good was he in Oklahoma City? What has he done since? What is his final re-grade?
So how good was Reggie Jackson with the OKC Thunder?
Reggie Jackson spent four seasons in Loud City until his teammates literally couldn’t take him anymore. He was the first, and so far only, outwardly bad locker room guy. As we have seen with Kevin Durant, the OKC Thunder PR team does a great job hiding any behind the scenes issues.
Even the OKC Thunder PR team could not contain Reggie Jackson. The backup Bricktown PG always thought he should’ve been the guy, despite being on the same roster as Russell Westbrook.
Jackson only made 49 starts with the team, in his 245 games played for the organization. His best season in OKC came in 2013-14, where he made 36 of those 49 starts, and averaged 13 points per game, four assists per contest, and shot 33 percent from deep.
More from Thunder News
- Stealing one player from every Southwest Division team for the OKC Thunder
- Should the OKC Thunder chase after a disgruntled hometown hero?
- 3 OKC Thunder players who can step up in Aleksej Pokusevski’s absence
- Aleksej Pokusevski sidelined approximately 6 weeks with ankle injury
- Damian Lillard does not fit with the OKC Thunder
His numbers during his Oklahoma City tenure leveled out to nine points, three rebounds, and three assists per tilt.
Reggie Jackson’s problem was never on the floor, talent-wise he is at worst the Thunder’s second-best backup point guard in team history.
The problems came in the locker room. From thinking he was better than Russell Westbrook, to getting ignored on the hardwood by KD and company due to his antics, the relationships were beyond repair.
Even gentler giant, and one of the funniest men in the NBA, Steven Adams, called Reggie Jackson a “fool.” and added that the team “Forgot about him pretty quickly” after Jackson was shipped off to Detriot.
The mudslinging was two-sided after Jackson was traded, he quickly took to Twitter to state he was “Crying tears of joy.”
Reggie Jackson was a destructive player within the locker room, however, on the floor, he played well.
A Reggie Jackson resurgence
Reggie Jackson stayed in Detriot for six seasons, playing 299 games, starting 293 of them. With the Pistons, he was inconsistent and often made Detriot fans furious. He saw an uptick in his numbers thanks to playing more minutes. Jackson averaged 16 points, five assists, two rebounds, and shot 35 percent from beyond the arc.
More from Thunderous Intentions
- Stealing one player from every Southwest Division team for the OKC Thunder
- Should the OKC Thunder chase after a disgruntled hometown hero?
- 3 OKC Thunder players who can step up in Aleksej Pokusevski’s absence
- Aleksej Pokusevski sidelined approximately 6 weeks with ankle injury
- Damian Lillard does not fit with the OKC Thunder
Jackson’s Detriot experience ended a few months ago when he joined the L.A. Clippers as a buyout market pickup.
Through nine games with L.A., Reggie Jackson was playing incredibly well. Jackson had a few standout efforts in his nine-game stint with the Clippers to this point.
Against the Denver Nuggets, Jackson posted ten points, seven assists, and eight rebounds on 66 percent shooting from the floor, and 50 percent shooting from deep!
He followed that up with a 13 point night against the 76ers, that saw him also swat a pair of shots, and dish out three assists on his way to pulling down four rebounds.
The Clippers went 7-2 with him on the roster, with him scoring 18 points per 36 minutes, on an impressive 50/45/90 shooting clip. Just as he was finding his stride with a championship contender, the NBA season was suspended.
Re-Grade: A-
Reggie Jackson, without the lock room lunacy, would’ve earned an A, especially given the fact that at worst he was the third most talented player remaining. Given how his career panned out, and positional value, the Jackson draft pick was a right pick gone wrong.
What grade would you retroactively give the Reggie Jackson selection?