Jaren Jackson Jr.'s nagging penchant for foul trouble with the Memphis Grizzlies followed him to Team USA's opening game of the 2023 FIBA World Cup. Despite fouling out in the Americans' uneven 99-72 win over New Zealand after just 16 minutes of action, though, the Americans' starting center and reigning NBA Defensive Player of the Year insists he's not going to be any less aggressive going forward.

Why? The Grizzlies, Jackson says, have been adamant they don't want him to change his defensive approach.

“They don’t care either. Trust me, they don’t. They’re not worried about it all,” Jackson said, per Jake Fischer of Yahoo! Sports.

“Go get it, man,” he continued. “It comes with it. If I’m gonna be less aggressive, I’m gonna have less blocks, I’m gonna bring less rim protection, and I’ma have less fouls with all that. Pick one or the other. Which one do you want? Do you want me to be great or not?”

Jackson led the NBA with 3.0 blocks per game in 2022-23, also holding opponents to a league-low 46.9% shooting at the rim, per NBA.com/stats. Though his propensity for drawing whistles definitely wasn't curbed entirely, Jackson also posted a career-low foul rate last season, according to Basketball Reference.

FIBA play is notoriously physical compared to the NBA. Still, given his supreme importance to Team USA as its lone rim-protector in the regular rotation, coach Steve Kerr would prefer if Jackson picked his spots a bit more judiciously on defense.

“He has the ability to block everything,” Kerr said. “But sometimes he needs to dial it back a little bit.”

All players in the FIBA World Cup need to strike a balance between international competition and pro basketball to be at their best while vying for gold. We'll find out if Jackson manages to find his optimal one when Team USA takes on Greece in its second game of group play on Monday morning.