The Milwaukee Bucks signed forward Justin Jackson to a two-way contract this afternoon. Jackson, who most recently played with Oklahoma City, is a former 1st-round pick of the Kings back in 2017. With this signing, he is now playing for his fourth team in as many years.
Career Overlook
Justin Jackson was a five star recruit out of Homeschool Christian Youth (Houston, TX). During his high school career, he earned co-MVP with Jahlil Okafor in the 2014 McDonald’s All-American game, leading all players with 23 points. After signing with UNC, he put together an impressive college career. Throughout his time in Chapel Hill, he earned ACC Player of the Year, 1st-team All-ACC, and a consensus 1st-team All-American. Jackson was a pivotal piece for North Carolina in their 2017 National Championship run. During his final season with the Tar Heels, he averaged 18.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.8 assists in 39 starts.
He was drafted 15th by the Portland Trail Blazers, who traded his rights to Sacramento on draft night. In the trade, Portland gave Sacramento Jackson and Harry Giles for Zach Collins, who was the 10th pick in the draft.
Bumpy Road Ahead
In Jackson’s rookie season, he started 41 games for the Kings, scoring around 7 points a game with 3 rebounds. He had identical numbers in his sophomore campaign, but had multiple assignments to the G-League. In 2019, he was traded to Dallas, which was looked at as a fresh start to reinvigorate his talents. Through two seasons with the Mavericks, Jackson only started 14 games, but averaged 8.2 points in his first season with the team.
His third team? The Oklahoma City Thunder. Jackson was shipped to the Thunder last November in a three-team deal with the Heat. In 33 appearances, he averaged 7.2 points, shooting 31% from the three point line.
What This Means
Jackson stands at 6’7”, which is always a welcome sight for a swingman off the bench. Coach Budenholzer now has an option to throw Jackson into the rotation to add some fire. Jackson is a career 32% three-point shooter, which also strengthens one of Milwaukee’s go-to options on offense. This is a two-way contract, though, so we will see as time moves on what this signing can mean for the rest of the season.
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