After last season’s playoffs, many fans of the LA Clippers were out on Reggie Jackson. The moment that stood out was Luka Doncic‘s buzzer-beater over him in the first round but many fans just felt that he was too shot happy and didn’t seem comfortable in his role.
Part of that was due to Doc Rivers giving him too long of a leash at times but also was probably due to the limited time he had with the team (17 regular-season games). Whatever the case, when the team brought back Jackson on a one-year deal, no one saw him having as big of a role as he currently does.
Now, Reggie Jackson is making himself look like someone the LA Clippers must re-sign this offseason.
Jackson started the season off on a short leash, not even appearing in a couple of games. That quickly changed due to injuries that have plagued the Clippers this season. Jackson has now started over half of the games he has appeared in (32 of 54) and has looked like a star in his role.
His shots are falling and he has fit next to both Kawhi Leonard and Paul George so well that I wouldn’t be surprised if he keeps the starting spot even when Patrick Beverley is finally cleared to return to play.
Jackson’s stats in 22.3 minutes per game:
- 10.3 points
- 46.0 FG% (42.4 3P% on 3.8 attempts and 49.0 2P% 4.5 attempts)
- 3.0 assists
- 2.8 rebounds
- 0.6 steals
None of those stats are eye-popping but Jackson is doing what he needs to. On nights when one or neither of the Clippers stars are available, he is stepping up even more and leading the team. This was never more evident than on Wednesday versus Detroit where Jackson played 37 minutes and dropped 29 points on 50% shooting which included a game-winning jumper.
https://twitter.com/LAClippers/status/1382695212313501696
The Clippers will need to make some moves this summer with re-signing Kawhi Leonard obviously being the biggest target on their list. While they are likely much more focused on that, they also need to make sure that Jackson is brought back into the fold. Outside of his lockerroom presence (he gets along with everyone and is one of Paul George’s best friends), Jackson has proven how invaluable he is to this team.
If the Clips do decide to move on from Patrick Beverley this offseason (a topic for another day), Jackson has proven he can handle the starting spot with the way this team is currently built. While he won’t garner a ton of money, the team should still consider possibly giving him more than the veteran minimum to ensure they retain his services.
At 31 years old (as of today!), Jackson has proven he still has a little left in the tank. While he’s not doing anything crazy on the court, he has shown enough that proves the LA Clippers must do whatever they can to hang on to him this summer.