The Grizzlies will host the Pelicans on Monday evening as part of the annual celebration of the life of Martin Luther King Jr. around the NBA.
MLK Day carries an extra weight in Memphis, the city in which the civil rights activist was assassinated, and the Grizzlies have hosted a number of community events over the past week to honor Dr. King, culminating in Monday’s game against New Orleans. The Grizzlies will honor the recipients of the 14th annual National Civil Rights Museum Sports Legacy Award prior to the game along with presenting the Earl Lloyd Sports Legacy award to Chris Bosh, Wayne Embry, Candace Parker, and Bill Walton, and a halftime tribute to Dr. King featuring Anthony Hamilton.
Grizzlies rookie Jaren Jackson Jr. got his first opportunity to participate in some of Memphis’ community outreach surrounding the holiday last week, including hosting a MLK Jr. panel discussion for 100 students in the area with Mike Conley. Jackson, who is in the midst of a tremendous rookie campaign, spoke with Dime over the weekend about that experience, what it means to play on MLK Day in Memphis, the first half of his rookie season, learning patience and efficiency on defense from Marc Gasol, and what the Grizzlies need to do to turn things around and re-enter the playoff conversation in the West.
What does it mean to you to be able to take the floor on Martin Luther King Jr. Day and honor him, both by playing and with the community outreach programs the team’s doing around the game?
It’s gonna be great. It’s just gonna be something that’s bigger than basketball, as well as basketball. I think it’s just gonna be great for the community and Memphis. I think they’re really going to appreciate it just because it’s at home and it kind of really hits home for a lot of people and you’re playing for something bigger than yourself.
You got to host a student panel recently. What was that experience like for you and what were you able to take away from it?
It was great. I think I just learned a lot from the kids as well as they learned from me and I think it was just important for me to share some of my experiences ’cause I can relate to most of them just because I’m not that much older than them. Even though we’re in different stages in our lives, a lot of things I’ve done and have gone through can relate to them in different ways. Now they can apply it in their lives.
Something we’ve seen a lot recently is NBA players using their platform to speak for social awareness issues and other things like that. Is that something you’re finding that you’re becoming more interested in doing and getting the chance to do things like that and speak with kids?
Just to continue to enforce messages that are about positivity. Just continuing to promote just peace and positivity really. I think that’s just always important just to continue to stay positive and promoting positive message just instills that in the community and those who follow me on social media and stuff like that.
You’re now a half season into your NBA career, who on the team have been kind of your biggest veteran mentors and what are the things that you think you’ve learned the most over the first 40-plus games of the season?
They all really are and a lot of things I’ve learned is just patience and how the league works. It’s a marathon and just to continuing to do something every day even if you’re exhausted or something. There’s always something you can do to get better whether that’s stretching or film or working out or conditioning or strength or all that type of stuff. There’s always something you can do.
You came into the draft as the consensus best defender among that top group of big prospects and now you’ve gotten the chance to play alongside of former DPOY in Marc Gasol. What are some of the things you’ve been able to pickup from him on that end of the floor that you feel have made you a better defender in defending the NBA game?
Just his positioning. He really knows where he needs to be at the right times and he uses his hands really well to deflect a lot of balls and deflect a lot of passes and strip defenders when he has to. Not relying on his athleticism because as he got older, he didn’t really rely on it as much. But definitely being in the right place and using his body efficiently. He’s efficient with just everything he does. He doesn’t waste any movements.
Do you have any specific moment or game early on in the season that you felt like things clicked or you were able to say, “Oh, I can really do this at a high level?”
Maybe like … Shoot, I don’t really know. I think it was just progressive. I don’t think I’d pick any one game. I just, every time I go out there, I’m just doing what do in practice. So if you don’t practice it, you’re not gonna be able to just do it. So I just think I just got that confidence from just practicing and working.
Guys sometimes talk about “Welcome to the league” moments. Have there been any guys like that, where you just kind of early on you were even a maybe a little overwhelmed or it just took a second to kind of settle in to your game because you were playing one of these very top guys?
Well, you can only do so much film work and then you gotta get out there, but probably just playing like LeBron or KD, those two. Those probably were just two that stood out to me just in general.
What’s more satisfying for you? A big dunk, a big block, or hitting a big three and why?
Shoot, I don’t know. They all are all hype. They’re all just … I think I’ve probably had more threes this year than anything, than any of those categories. So, I mean, they all feel good in different senses. I’ve had all three and I’m telling you, it’s crazy when you’re out there.
The margin for error in the West is so slim as you know. The team had a hot start to the season and things have slowed down. What do you think you need to do as a team to get back on track and back to that form you were in early in the year?
Just you gotta stay patient and stick to the game plan. You gotta know it’s not gonna come in one run in a game and it’s not gonna, not everything’s gonna be solved in one game, so you just gotta be patient in continuing to do what we do in practice, just replicate it better.
