Negativity did not come out of the Jackson camp; instead, Jackson took the time off during the offseason to launch his own charitable organization named the “Jack 1 Foundation.”

Golden State Warriors guard/forward Stephen Jackson is launching his charitable foundation, the Jack 1 Foundation, with a series of community outreach events in his hometown of Port Arthur, TX, from August 20-22, it was announced today. The mission of the Jack 1 Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, is to provide community initiatives focusing on youth development and empowerment regardless of economic status.
- CBS6 KFDM News

Stephen Jackson is taking it upon himself to give back to the community during a time when the selfishness of other NBA players are at its peak. You can’t help but want this type of player to be a member of your team.

With Davis on the outs and Matt Barnes looking for his payday elsewhere, the tri-captains from the prior year is now down to one–Capt. Jack. With nine seasons of professional ball on his resume, Stephen Jackson will be the veteran prescence that the youngsters will look to for advice. There isn’t a better ballplayer you could ask to assume the role. Jackson can teach the young guys the importance of defense and selflessness on the court while showing them ropes on how to act professional off the court.

The next season begins a new era for the Golden State Warriors. The Stephen Jackson era!

Each of these five positions is defined by a specific skillset. Here are my thoughts on those skillsets:

A point guard requires good ballhandling skills, good passing, good court vision, and a certain selflessness.

A shooting guard requires a good shot, above-average ballhandling skills, and the confidence to continue to shoot even when their shot is not falling.

A small forward should be a jack-of-all-trades with an average shot, average ballhandling, average passing, and average rebounding.

A power forward should have a decent low post game, rebound well and have a midrange shot.

A center should have a good low post game, rebound well and block shots.

Each position should defend their position well.

Usually, players are pigeon-holed to a position based on their height, rather than their skillset. Although, lately skilled players have begun to buck the trend. As an example, Kevin Durant is 6′10″; everyone would think he would be a power forward or a small forward based on his size. But, he has the skills of a guard and primarily plays in a combo guard position.

Which brings us to Stephen Jackson and the question regarding his natural position.

Jackson has average to above-average ballhandling skills. He is able to bring the ball up the court competently and drive to basket. He protects the ball well with his body on the perimeter. But, he has a tendency to use a high dribble which results in turnovers during his drives and when attacked by quick-handed theives like a Chris Paul.

Jackson is a good passer and has decent court vision. He is able to make the basic passes including the feed into the post which is something Houston would crave. He has got the lob from the sideline down to a science and he throws darts into the lane once in awhile. But, he is not as selfless as he appears. He has more of a me-first shooting mentality, although he tried to get his teammates involved this season when he was given the captain role.

Jackson has a good shot; unfortunately, he has a poor shot selection which can be seen by his low FG%. He has a tendency to jack one too many threes. But once he gets rolling, he can hit three or four in a row. An open set shot is money for him. The pull up after a dribble is not as effective. He has a tendency to go for layups when in close; but, he can dunk. I would very much like to see him take more midrange shots. He seems to be able to make those with consistency.

Jackson has the utmost confidence in his shot. When his shot does not seem to fall, he does not waver in his shooting form or his game. He continues to attack the basket in hopes of drawing fouls and shoots the ball at any opportunity, sometimes to the detriment of the team.

Jackson’s low post game is very effective, especially against the smaller guards and forwards in the league. He does not have a fadeaway ala Baron Davis. Instead, he backs the defender into the paint and spins to the left or the right to get to the bucket. I have not seen him throw up a hook shot, he scores with either a jump shot over his defender or a layup inside. He can effectively handle double teams as well, passing to a cutter down the lane or kicking it out to the perimeter. I remember all those times when he was an Indiana Pacer, he had his way with Jason Richardson in the post.

Jackson rebounds very poorly given his size. His lift off the ground is minimal when going for the ball. Usually, he gets the rebounds when the ball bounces his way. It is not abnormal to see him finish with a line with zero rebounds. He also does not seem to box out much. In fact, the Warriors team as a whole is not a fan of boxing out. The only players I have seen to consistently do so is Al Harrington and Kosta Perovic.

A block shot from Jackson comes once in a blue moon. Usually due to a swipe from behind. I have never seen him rise up in front of his defender to a block a shot.

Jackson’s defense is sound. With Don Nelson last season, Jackson had a chance to guard players of every position–T.J. Ford, Chris Bosh, Tyson Chandler, David West, Kobe Bryant, Ron Artest, Dirk Notwizki, etc. He is intelligent enough to know when to give ground and space dependant on the opponent he is facing. He uses his strength to push the bigger opponents out of their confort zone, making sure to do the hard work before they receive the ball.

He does not have the lateral quickness to keep up with players of similar size that are unnaturally quick like Kobe Bryant. Nor does he have the strength to stop someone like Ron Artest or David West. But, he can handle just about anyone else. An improvement I like to see in this area is face guarding on a jump shot. When defending a jump shot, Jackson usually reaches for the ball. But with his lack of hops, he will never be able to block or interfere with the shot unless the guy is a midget. He should aim to put his hand in the guy’s face to block his view of the basket.

Since Jackson has the potential to defend any position on any given night, we are unable to base his position based on his defense. He does not rebound well at all so he is certainly not a center. He has a good low post game and a midrange shot, but with Tim Duncan and David West considered the perfection of the position, I do not see Jackson as a power forward. He is a little bit selfish, looking to get his shot more than involving his teammates, so that rules out point guard.

With the center, power forward and point guard positions ruled out, we are left with shooting guard and small forward. Right off the bat, I would say Jackson’s natural position is small forward. He can do everything a coach can ask for at small forward except rebound. But, he also has all the defining characteristics of a shooting guard. He likes to shoot and he has confidence in his shot. He can slash to the basket and make his free throws.

I am going to go with shooting guard as Jackson’s natural position since he fits the skillset of a shooting guard. The other things he does can be considered icing on the cake. But, if pressed I will admit he is a swingman–a combination of SG/SF.

A mix of Stephen Jackson’s 2007-2008 Season by ajbry.

Stephen Jackson had a new career year as he ended the season averaging 20.1 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.1 assists. His season-high in points was 41 against the Washington Wizards on February 11, 2008. His season high in rebounds was 12 against the Memphis Grizzlies on December 17, 2007 and his season high in assists was 9 against the New Orleans Hornets on January 4, 2008.

Not seen in the stats, Jackson brought leadership and defense to the Golden State Warriors. Before becoming hampered by injuries, Jackson was routinely asked to guard the best scorer on the other team whether it be a quick guard or a bruising post player. He did it with such aplomb, you would think any player can guard any other player no matter the size. The Warriors as a team held the opponent to 3 point less when Jackson played in the game.

On and off the court, Jackson contributed immensely. On the court, Jackson worked with the bigs to keep them in the game in Nellie’s guard-centric offense. Every game, he would work the pick-and-roll with Biedrins to perfection and would almost routinely hit him with a lob from the corner or sideline. When the offense was stagnant, Jackson worked to get to get easier buckets inside even when the calls weren’t going in his favor. And when the pressure was on late in the game, more often than not, Jackson was put in the position to make the shot. His step-in 3’s were money during those times. He seemed to have an uncanny ability to miss 10 straight shots earlier in the game and then hit the next 10 when the game is on the line.

Off the court, Jackson stepped up his contribution to the community. When he wasn’t speaking to kids, he was breaking ground on new basketball courts, visiting families as Santa, and working to set up the Jack 1 Foundation. The community service did not end when the season ended; Jackson made plans during the season to visit Africa in the offseason as part of John Legend’s Show Me Campaign. Stack Jack is going global!

The one blemish to Stephen Jackson’s 2007-2008 season was becoming hampered with injuries late in the season. Although he never made injuries as an excuse, it was clear he was being slowed by a series of sprained ankles in the last three weeks of the season. Compounded by a career high in minutes (39.1 per game), Jackson could not move laterally as well as earlier in the season to stay in front of his defender. Nor could he make the dribble drives; instead, settling for jump shots. Maybe next season the bench can actually step up to give the starters rest in each game.

In the end, Stephen Jackson improved on his game in what is now his 9th year in the league which is unheard of in the league. Hopefully, Jackson will finally receive the national recognition for his play on the court and his work off the court instead of being forever linked to the Detroit brawl.

Although Stephen Jackson did not deserve to the top billing, he should have at least received a few third place votes for his defensive prowess. Day-in and day-out, Coach Don Nelson assigned the role of guarding the other team’s superstar to Jackson. Each time, he would come through for the coach whether it be against quick guards like T.J. Ford, high scorers like Chris Bosh, or post bruisers like Ron Artest.

The players listed in the results are mostly deserving, with one exception. Kyle Lowry?! Really? Did the voters ever see the guy play? Lowry defensive repertoire amounts to one thing–taking the charge. A big guard posting up? Flop. A speedster coming down the lane? Flop. Lowry does not deserve to be in the running.

Stephen Jackson was snubbed.

NBA.com : Kevin Garnett wins DPOY

This game was not televised and it was too late in the day to grab a ticket for the game. Based on the box score, the Warriors chucked the most 3s in the season with 45 attempts. Jackson contributed seven attempts to the cause. Below are Stephen Jackson’s stats for the game.

Stephen Jackson’s Line:

The Phoenix Suns officially eliminated the Golden State Warriors from playoff contention with a 122-116 win. But like many of the Warriors’ previous games, there was still a lot of drama to be had.

Baron Davis shot a horrid 2 for 13 early on and was subsequently benched by Coach Don Nelson for the rest of the game in what amounts to one of the most important games for the team in the 2007-2008 season.

The Warriors got down big, at one point trailing by as much as 17 points. With a lineup of Monta Ellis, Stephen Jackson and spare parts, the Warriors erased the 17 point deficit and built a 11 point lead. Jackson was especially hot in the third quarter hitting a number of long-distance threes, willing the team to take action.

Unfortunately, when the 4th quarter rolled around, the players involved in the comeback were on tired legs. Davis, having sat out for two quarters so far, was not brought in to steady the course and perhaps help win the game. In a questionable call, Nellie stuck with the players he had on the floor and the game was lost.

Stephen Jackson’s Line:

Video created by GoldenStateWarriors.

On April 11, the Warriors’ Stephen Jackson and the Good Tidings Foundation unveiled a refurbished basketball court at the Omega Boys Club in San Francisco. ‘Stephen Jackson Basketball Court’ is the 30th court the Warriors have helped refurbished over the last 12 years.