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Reggie Jackson has established himself as a key player for the Los Angeles Clippers this season. Some might even go as far as saying that with LA's superstars currently sidelined, Jackson has stepped in as the main man for the Clippers this past few months.
At this point in his career, it's hard to imagine that Jackson actually considered turning his back from the game completely not too long ago. As a matter of fact, it was just two years ago when Jackson thought he was done.
This was right after his season ended with the Clippers in 2020 following his decision to sign with them as a free agent in the middle of the year. LA saw their season come to a heartbreaking end courtesy of the Denver Nuggets in the playoffs. After holding a commanding 3-1 series lead in the Western Conference Semifinals over Nikola Jokic and Co., the Clippers allowed the Nuggets to win three straight games.
At that point in time, Jackson admitted that he”wasn’t sure if I’m gonna play basketball.”
“But my brother kind of talked some sense into me,” Jackson said, via Sam Amick of The Athletic. “It was a time during the pandemic where people unfortunately didn’t have jobs still. The job market was very brutal, so just the idea of coming back for another year and not knowing what was going on in the world and knowing I had some joy (for the game). Really, I came back with an idea that I was just going to enjoy waking up each and every day being around the game that I love.”
Jackson signed with the Clippers in February 2020 after the Detroit Pistons decided to buy out the remaining years of his contract. After being handed the reins as potentially Detroit's next cornerstone superstar, Jackson was not really able to live up to the lofty expectations they had on him. After five seasons with the Pistons, the team decided to part ways with Jackson in order to facilitate their rebuild. Unable to find a suitable trade partner, Detroit was left with no other choice but to buy Jackson out.
Jackson did not exactly make waves in his first few months with the Clippers. Things ended in the worst possible way that year which led to Jackson questioning his future in the sport. In the end, however, he opted to keep playing. This was despite the fact that he thought he was going to be taking on a minor role for the Clippers the following year:
“Honestly, I didn’t expect to even play,” Jackson continued. “… I just thought I was going to probably be more of a mentor, a senior statesman role, trying to vie for a position if I can get on the court. I was going to be OK watching the development of the young guys, especially after developing the relationship in the bubble with guys like Terance Mann, Amir Coffey — post-bubble and before signing that minimum, again, it was more so about just coming back understanding the world landscape, the job market, people not really having an idea of what’s going on.”
Jackson ended up being one of the most important players on the roster for the Clippers during the 2020-21 season. Needless to say, he made the absolute right decision to return. He was at a major turning point not only in his career but in his life as well. In the end, his love for the game prevailed:
“I still had love for (the game),” he said. “… After how much the game has given to me, how it changed my life, changed the projection of my family’s lives for generations, and just the relationships I’ve built and the knowledge I gained through it, and learning life through basketball, I honestly just wanted to come back. For one, to be here with Paul to try to watch him on his journey and help guide (him), just to try to be a brother to him. I know he had a tough time in the bubble. So I wanted to be with him for another year… And like I said, if I didn’t play, I really wanted to be here for guys like Amir and Terance… So I’ve been blessed to still be able to play, to still have something in the tank. But that was my thinking as well, was just to give back to the game because the game gave back to me.”
Jackson considers Paul George to be one of his closest friends and it was actually him who recruited Jackson to the Clippers. George was heavily criticized for his lackluster performance during the 2020 NBA Playoffs and Jackson just knew he wanted to have his brother's back. He also took on a very selfless mindset in envisioning himself as a mentor for the younger players on the squad. This shift in perspective clearly paid dividends for him.
Right now, with both George and Kawhi Leonard still sidelined for the Clippers, Jackson has become an integral part of LA's success this season. They're in strong contention for a playoff spot in the West and there's no denying that Jackson has been pivotal in terms of keeping the ship afloat.
