Stephen Jackson has made a name for himself since his playing days that he is not shy to speak his mind and give his opinion even on controversial topics. He recently did that again, when he made an appearance on The Ryen Russillo Show on Tuesday.

The 39-year-old former NBA player revealed that after he had a solid Summer League campaign back in 2001, San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich was impressed with him. However, the five-time champion coach had one request in order for them to bring him to their fold.

“There’s only one way you’re going to make my team. During the season, you can’t smoke weed. You just can’t do it. I need you focused. I need you on your game. We have a chance to win the championship and I need you focused.”

“Once he told me that, I shut it down.”

Jackson has always been open to saying he has been smoking weed, even admitting before that he used to smoke before games. Although he also said that he focused on his game after his talk with Popovich, he never confirmed or denied if he completely stopped consuming it throughout his career.

As it turned out, he had a successful career in the league and played for six different teams. Jackson also became a champion with the Spurs in 2003, playing a crucial role for them off the bench. He averaged very decent numbers of 15.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.3 steals in 858 games, before announcing his retirement back in 2015. Jackson is still active in the NBA community and has often made public appearances, but he will forever remember how Popovich’s request paved the way for him to have a career that lasted for more than 14 seasons.