Revisiting Stephen Jackson’s Warriors Career
One of the main contributors that led the Golden State Warriors back to relevance called it a career on Wednesday.
Stephen Jackson played 14 seasons for 8 teams in the NBA. Other than the “Malice in the Palace” and winning a championship in San Antonio, fans may have recognized him most for his years in Golden State and transforming into “We Believe”.
Before the acquisition of Jackson, the Warriors were the laughing-stock of the entire NBA. They had the worst owner in sports and had not made the postseason over 20 years. But on January 17, 2007, that all changed.
That night the Warriors acquired Jackson along with Al Harrington, Sarunas Jasikevicius and Josh Powell. The Warriors traded two of their most disappointing lottery picks, Mike Dunleavy and Ike Diogu along with Troy Murphy and Keith McLeod to the Indiana Pacers. Jackson provided a toughness that the Warriors had not had in years and the change was immediate right away.
In Jackson’s debut, he registered 29 points, grabbed 7 rebounds, dished out 4 assists and notched 5 steals. From there, with help from Baron Davis, he led the Warriors to a 16-5 record to end the 2007 season and a berth in the postseason for the first time since 1994. The Warriors would face the number one seed, Dallas Mavericks and Jackson would play a huge role in one of the most memorable playoff series in Warriors history.
In a hard-fought series, the Warriors became the third No. 8 seed to beat a No. 1 seed in NBA history. They were also the first team to achieve this in the best-of-7 format. In this series, Jackson’s play and presence impacted every game and earned him the nicknames, “Captain Jack” and “Stack Jack”. In Games 1, 3, 4 and 6, Jackson played phenomenal and the Warriors won every game, including the series-clinching Game 6 where he dropped 33 points, hitting a then-franchise record 7 three-pointers (see: Stephen Curry).
But as we all know with Jackson, there are two sides to him: Captain Jack and Stack Jack. Captain Jack was one of the smartest and toughest players in the NBA, who always came through in the clutch. Jackson exhibited this side in the wins but in the losses, Stack Jack reared his ugly head.
In Games 2 and 5, Jackson got ejected and the Warriors lost both games. This was not new to Jackson, who occasionally had run-ins with referees by voicing his displeasure with certain calls and it was no different in this series. Fortunately for the Warriors, Captain Jack showed up more often than Stack Jack.
After a loss to the Utah Jazz in the Western Conference Quarterfinals, the Warriors had an even better season in 2007-08 but unfortunately did not make the postseason despite a 48-34 record. Jackson was named captain with Davis and Matt Barnes before the season and he did not disappoint, leading the Warriors to their best record in 24 seasons.
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In the beginning of 2008-09 season, the Warriors rewarded Jackson with a three-year contract extension for changing the culture from a loser to a winning franchise. The contract backfired almost immediately as Jackson ended his season early due to bone spurs and the Warriors did not make the postseason for a second consecutive year.
The 2009-10 season would be Jackson’s last in a Warriors’ uniform. After getting fined in the preseason and not seeing eye-to-eye with ownership, Jackson demanded to be traded and Stack Jack was unleashed once again.
The Warriors ultimately dealt Jackson to the Charlotte Bobcats for Raja Bell and Vladimir Radmanovic in early November and thus dooming their season. (One good thing did come of the season and that was future NBA MVP, Stephen Curry.)
Overall, Jackson’s time was successful for the Warriors because he helped lead this franchise to the postseason. Even though his tenure ended ugly, all Warriors fans will remember his play, grit and toughness. He helped turn Oracle Arena into Roaracle and the Warriors franchise into “We Believe”. The Warriors never won a championship with Jackson but he helped propel the Warriors into the franchise they are today.