Jaren Jackson Jr. sends message to Grizzlies fans
By Mark Nilon
Jaren Jackson Jr. may currently be gearing up to serve as a member of Team USA for the 2023 FIBA World Cup, but he believes the faithful followers of the Memphis Grizzlies organization should still be keeping tabs on his summer activities.
During a recent interview at the club’s training facilities out in Las Vegas, when asked by Michael Wallace of Grind City Media what the big man’s message to Grizzlies fans is as they watch him “with that Team USA over these next several weeks,” Jackson encouraged everyone to have fun watching the festivities.
“Just enjoy it. We’re playing for the country, we’re playing for everybody at home. Putting that ‘USA’ on your chest means a lot. It’s important to us. We’re going to go out there and try to make y’all proud. Get this done and then it’s back to our regularly scheduled programming,” Jackson said.
https://twitter.com/memgrizz/status/1688211985987481600?s=20
The 23-year-old would continue on to tell Wallace that he’s excited to see the newly constructed Grizzlies take to the hardwood for the start of NBA training camps in September.
He also revealed in the interview that there’s one thing, in particular, that is motivating him enormously heading into the new season: Memphis’ first-round loss to the Los Angeles Lakers during last year’s playoff run.
“I’m motivated by [the loss to the Lakers] every day,” Jackson said. “[I] Probably won’t ever stop being motivated by that until we get to where we want to go which is a championship and we know that. I probably think about it more than I probably should.”
Jackson is coming off a career-best season in 2022-23, as he capped off the year with sensational per-game averages of 18.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 3.0 blocks per game while shooting 50.6 percent from the field and 35.5 percent from deep.
With his efforts, he was rewarded with his first All-Star nod, his second consecutive All-Defensive selection, and was bestowed the league’s Defensive Player of the Year award.
