Mark Jackson retired as one of the NBA’s finest point guard and would go on to be a successful coach. He achieved all this through a lot of personal hardship, with one of the biggest tests coming in 2011 when Jackson was in church with Chris Tucker and found out his brother, Troy Jackson, had passed away.
“In 2011, it’s a Sunday afternoon, I’m in church and my phone is on silent. Chris Tucker just happened to be a visitor at the church along with a visiting pastor. Everyone in the church was aware that my younger brother had died but me… After church, I come down and somebody delivers the message to me. I’m ready to collapse and Chris Tucker with the visiting pastor grabbed me and said, ‘They’re watching.’ The message automatically hits me. ‘You can lead when things are going great, how you gonna respond when you take the biggest blow of your life?'”
Jackson would thank Chris Tucker for his support in that moment.
“To think God would have Chris Tucker and this pastor there for that particular moment. I’m forever indebted. Game-changer. I got up and handled it like a trouper, a leader. Those guys were valuable to me, especially Chris now, I don’t take him or his love for granted whenever I see him.”
Mark focuses on the positives of his life with his brother rather than focusing on his demise.
“It’s not easy. I lost a mom, a dad, a younger brother. It’s not easy, it’ll never be easy, but we all have our date. What I did was celebrate the moments I had with him, celebrate the fact that he could accomplish his dreams and impact lives, and be a difference-maker. Obviously, you take the hit but the way to get over it is to think about those moments… I treasure and value the good things and take the bad with a grain of salt.”
Jackson also revealed that his mother was there in church that day, which led him to interpret a divine intervention that ensured that he and his mother were together in that moment.
“My mom was in church that day. The best place for her to be. My brother was less than four miles ago in a hotel that I didn’t even know. We went from church and went 10 minutes away to the hotel. My mom needed to be with me. You got to realize, I’m being watched, I’m being taken care of.”
Jackson hadn’t begun his NBA coaching career at that point, joining the Warriors in the summer of 2011, with his brother passing away in February.
The Story Of Troy ‘Escalade’ Jackson
Mark Jackson was the apple of the eye for Knicks fans in the 1980s, as the legendary point guard was putting on a show with his incredible playmaking for the franchise. At the same time, his younger brother Troy Jackson was earning notoriety on the streetball scene. Not many knew the two were related, as Troy went by the name ‘Escalade’ and became a streetball legend.
Escalade was born on January 11, 1973, six years younger than his brother Mark. Both brothers would be big names in the New York streetball scene, but Mark would parlay his success into an NBA career that he ended as the fourth all-time leading assist-getter in NBA history. Troy would never make the NBA, primarily due to his inability to stay in shape.
Escalade was infamous for weighing nearly 500 pounds as a senior in high school in New York. When he would be offered a scholarship to play for the Louisville Cardinals, it was contingent on him keeping his weight below 400 pounds, something he managed to do for his four-year stint in college.
His size meant he was never considered for a place in the NBA, which led to Escalade becoming one of the most famous New York streetballers of all time. He rose to prominence through the AND1 Mixtape Tour, a traveling streetball exhibition that he joined in 2002. That’s where he received his now iconic nickname, as he became a household name in the world of streetball and in New York.
Troy was known to be extremely beloved and a very approachable man despite his intimidating stature. He passed away on February 20, 2011, due to hypertensive heart disease, largely believed to be because of his size. Even with him gone, Escalade is considered a streetball icon in New York to this day.
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