Pierre Jackson
Pierre Deshawn Jackson is an American professional basketball player for the South Bay Lakers of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the College of Southern Idaho and Baylor University in which he was one of the top college players in the 2012–13 season.
High school and junior college career
Jackson attended Desert Pines High School in Las Vegas. Following a standout career, where he led the state of Nevada in assists as a senior, he went to the College of Southern Idaho. At CSI, Jackson led the Golden Eagles to a National Junior College Athletic Association National Championship in 2011, earning tournament MVP honors. He averaged 18.6 points and 4.4 assists per game in 2010–11 and was named a first-team All-American and the NJCAA Player of the Year at the conclusion of the season.College career
After concluding his junior college career, Jackson moved to Baylor to complete his college career. He had a strong junior campaign for the Bears, averaging 13.8 points and 5.9 assists in the 2011–12 season. He helped lead Baylor to the Elite Eight of the 2012 NCAA Tournament, where they lost to eventual champions Kentucky. Jackson was named second team All-Big 12 Conference and an honorable mention All-American by the Associated Press.Jackson returned to Baylor for his senior season in 2012–13. He was named the Big 12 preseason Player of the Year and was named to the preseason watch lists for the Wooden and Naismith national player of the year awards.
On April 4, 2013, Jackson ended his college career with a championship win over Iowa at the National Invitation Tournament. As a senior, he averaged 19.8 points and 7.1 assists per game.
Professional career
D-League and Turkey
Jackson was selected with the 42nd overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft by the Philadelphia 76ers. On July 12, 2013, his draft rights were traded, along with Jrue Holiday, to the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for Nerlens Noel. Two days later, he joined the Pelicans for the 2013 NBA Summer League.On July 27, 2013, Jackson signed a one-year deal with ASVEL Villeurbanne of the LNB Pro A. However, he left the team in September 2013 before appearing in a game for them.
On November 1, 2013, Jackson was selected with the fourth overall pick in the 2013 NBA D-League draft by the Idaho Stampede. On February 3, 2014, he was named to the Futures All-Star roster for the 2014 NBA D-League All-Star Game. On February 1, 2014, he recorded a career-high 18 assists in a 127–123 win over the Los Angeles D-Fenders. On February 4, 2014, he scored 58 points against the Texas Legends, setting the D-League single-game scoring record. This surpassed the previous record of 53 by Morris Almond and Will Conroy.
On February 20, 2014, Jackson left the Idaho Stampede in order to sign in Turkey. The next day, he signed with Fenerbahçe Ülker for the rest of the 2013–14 season. On April 10, 2014, he parted ways with Fenerbahçe after just six games. He averaged 3.3 points and 1.3 assists over those six games.
Philadelphia 76ers
On June 27, 2014, the Pelicans traded Jackson's rights back to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Russ Smith's draft rights. On July 1, 2014, he joined the 76ers for the 2014 NBA Summer League. In game one of the 76ers' Orlando Summer League schedule on July 5, he ruptured his right Achilles during the first half of their 77–83 loss to the Orlando Magic. Despite the injury, he signed a one-year, partially guaranteed contract with the 76ers on July 24, 2014, only to be waived on September 30 after he was ruled out for six to 12 months.On July 15, 2015, Jackson re-signed with the 76ers after averaging 12 points per game in two Las Vegas Summer League games. However, he was later waived by the 76ers on October 26 after appearing in three preseason games.
Return to the D-League
On January 6, 2016, Jackson was reacquired by the Idaho Stampede. He made his season debut for the Stampede three days later in a 98–92 win over the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, recording six points, one rebound, two assists and one steal in 11 minutes of action off the bench. On March 4, he was traded to the Texas Legends in exchange for the returning player rights to Eric Griffin. On March 20, he waived by the Legends before appearing in a game for them.In July 2016, Jackson joined the Portland Trail Blazers for the 2016 NBA Summer League.
Croatia
On October 18, 2016, Jackson signed a one-month deal with Croatian club Cedevita Zagreb. In his time with Cedevita, he appeared in two EuroCup games and five ABA League games.Texas Legends and Dallas Mavericks
On November 30, 2016, Jackson was reacquired by the Texas Legends. After appearing in 10 games for the Legends, he signed with the Dallas Mavericks on December 27, 2016. That night, he made his NBA debut in a 123–107 loss to the Houston Rockets, recording seven points, one rebound and two assists in 11 minutes off the bench. On January 6, 2017, he was waived by the Mavericks. Two days later, he was reacquired by the Texas Legends. He returned to the Mavericks on January 15, signing a 10-day contract with the team. On January 25, he signed a second 10-day contract with the Mavericks. He made his first career start in the Mavericks' game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on January 26, and recorded nine points, two rebounds and four assists in 13 minutes before leaving the game in the first half with a left hamstring strain. He was subsequently waived two days later, and immediately re-joined the Legends. On February 6, 2017, he was named in the Western Conference All-Star team for the 2017 NBA D-League All-Star Game.Israel
On July 14, 2017, Jackson signed a one-year deal, with an option for another season, with Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israeli Premier League and the EuroLeague. In his first Euroleague game for Maccabi, Jackson starred with 27 points, 9 assists and 7 rebounds in an 88–71 win over Brose Bamberg. He was subsequently named MVP of Round 1. On March 2, 2018, Jackson participated in the Israeli League All-Star Game, where he recorded 18 points and 6 assists and was named All-Star Game MVP. That season, Jackson helped Maccabi to win the Israeli League Cup and the Israeli League Championship.China
On July 4, 2018, Jackson signed with the Beijing Fly Dragons of the Chinese Basketball Association. On October 25, 2018, Jackson scored a career-high 67 points and 10 assists in a 136-137 loss to the Shenzhen Leopards. He left the team in late December 2018.In July 2019, Jackson signed with the Shenzhen Leopards.