Following the 2023-24 season, GG Jackson was on top of the world after securing a second-team All-Rookie nod in only 48 games played for the Memphis Grizzlies. His first-team All-Summer League nod following summer league play in 2024 had him on pace to compete for a starting position with last year's squad before an offseason foot injury set his progress back.
He essentially became a star at age 19 due to major injuries to the Grizzlies' stars Ja Morant and Desmond Bane during his rookie year, and he had a hard time adjusting to being a role player during his sophomore season. Missing three months of an NBA season is tough on a young player who never got real time on the court with the Grizzlies' main core.
Mentally, it was hard for him to grasp that as well, with the team at the top half of the Western Conference standings when he returned from the broken foot injury in January. Despite his second-year struggles, the Grizzlies organization has instilled belief in his potential as he prepares for an important third NBA season.
Tuomas Iisalo will give GG Jackson every opportunity to succeed
During summer league, GG Jackson said Tuomas Iisalo told him he was going to coach him harder than anyone else. He continued to say Iisalo didn't want to look back in 20 years and feel like he wasted GG’s talent and didn’t help him reach his potential.
That is a statement for a player who appeared to fall out of favor with Taylor Jenkins last season, before not seeing much time near the end of the season when Iisalo took over as head coach. GG Jackson's problem last season was that he appeared to lack effort on the defensive end, which showed in the team's defensive rating when he was on the court.
After notching 12 games of scoring 20-plus points during his rookie season, GG Jackson only scored over 20 points once last season. The league knows he can score, but when everyone was healthy, the Grizzlies needed him to provide value in other areas.
Now, with Desmond Bane gone, the team will need him to provide that scoring ability. However, to consistently see time on the court, he will need to show strides in other areas of his game, too. Tuomas Iisalo has already told him he won't allow him to fail under his watch, so it's up to GG Jackson to take the critiques and achieve the potential he has.