Stephen Jackson had the pleasure of playing alongside Tim Duncan for about three seasons with the San Antonio Spurs. Jackson has spoken glowingly of Duncan over the years, and during an appearance on Byron Scott’s Fast Break podcast, he shared how he earned his loyalty by lying to their head coach, Gregg Popovich.
“So, Tim liked to play paintball; this is his thing,” Jackson said. “I’ve never played that. We don’t play that where I’m from. And he one of the GOATs at it. So he wants to go play paintball. We’re in training camp, Pop tells us not to go. Of course, Tim go, first person he called [was] me. ‘F*** it, Tim. I’m going with you, let’s go.’”
The group started playing a game called “Capture the Flag.” As Jackson ran up the steps midgame to get the flag, he lost his footing after his mask fogged up. He fell to the ground and started bleeding.
“Blood everywhere, my lip instantly swollen up,” Jackson stated. “So, I put my mask back down ‘cuz they still shooting. So, I come down, but I’m walking. I’m thinking somebody seen something, so I’m walking and they just shoot me.”
Jackson’s face was unsurprisingly swollen when he came to practice the next day. Duncan was worried about what would happen when Popovich saw that, but his teammate had his back.
“Pop come in there, ‘Jack, what happened?’” Jackson stated. “[I said], ‘Slipped at the house, wrestling with my homeboy, I slipped at the house and hit my mouth on the door.’ Tim over there like phew. He the captain, and Pop specifically told him do not [go] because something like this could happen.
“Ever since that, Tim was like, ‘Oh, you my guy. I didn’t even have to tell you,'” Jackson continued. “I said, ‘Tim, I know how it go, bro.’ So that’s how I got his loyalty, and that’s how I got on the court. As you seen, when I played with him, if he getting double-teamed, he throwing me the ball.”
The Spurs signed Jackson in 2001, and he found playing time hard to come by in his first season. Injuries played a part in that, and fortunately, that wouldn’t be the case in his second season.
Jackson averaged 11.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.6 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game for the Spurs in 2002-03. He became a key piece for the team (58 starts) and played his part in them winning the title in 2003.
Jackson became a free agent in the following offseason and hoped to re-sign with the Spurs. The offer on the table wasn’t up to his liking, however, and he ended up going to the Atlanta Hawks.
That wouldn’t be the end of Jackson’s Spurs career, though. The Golden State Warriors would trade him to San Antonio in March 2012 to reunite him with Duncan and Popovich.
Unfortunately for Jackson, the emergence of Kawhi Leonard meant he had to settle for a spot on the bench. He’d be with the Spurs for just over a year before being waived in April 2013.
Jackson retired in 2015 to drop the curtain on a 14-year NBA career. While he has a lot of love for Duncan, the same cannot be said about Tony Parker. Jackson has ripped Parker over the years, and you shouldn’t expect these two to mend fences anytime soon.
