Jaren Jackson Jr. has been an impact player for the Memphis Grizzlies since being drafted in 2018. However, he recently revealed on Tony Allen’s Out the Mud podcast that he almost put his NBA dreams on hold to return to Michigan State for his sophomore season. It had to take Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo and Spartans legend Draymond Green some convincing for JJJ to change his mind.
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Jackson says Izzo laughed at him when he began signing up for things for his sophomore year. “He made me leave. I wouldn’t have left,” Jackson said in disbelief. JJJ then got a call from Green, even though he says he didn’t really even know the Warriors star. He recalled the details of that call, saying,
“Draymond called me and started cussing me out about how high did I wanna go in the draft, and I’m like, ‘Yo who is this guy?’ Then I’m like, ‘Alright, I guess I’m out.'”
Green has more than earned his reputation for speaking his mind, and his words helped convince Jackson to declare for the draft, where he was eventually taken fourth overall by Memphis.
Like Green, JJJ has been one of the most impactful defensive players in the league, even winning the Defensive Player of the Year award in 2023. This year, he’s averaging a career-high 22.7 points per game to help his Grizzlies to a 24-13 record, which is currently good for third in the West.
Jackson gives Green example to prove Spartan Brotherhood is real
It’s no wonder that Michigan State has had so much success under Tom Izzo over the years. Sparty has reached eight Final Fours since 1999, the most of any school, and its alumni have gone on to create successful NBA careers for themselves. In addition to Green and Jackson, Miles Bridges, Gary Harris, Max Christie, and Xavier Tillman are also former Spartans who are in the league.
Jackson made an appearance on Podcast P with Paul George last year, and he used it to illustrate how close the Michigan State family is.
Asked if there’s a group chat for former Michigan State players and if Green is in it, Jackson laughed, “He’s in it, and he made it.”
Green’s phone call changed the trajectory of Jackon’s career, and the fact that he did it at Izzo’s behest says a lot about the Hall-of-Fame coach wanting the best for his players. Even today, everyone who’s worn Spartan green shares a special bond. Jackson said, “If you go to that school, it’s just an automatic family. There’s nothing to ease into, everybody just talks to each other the same way, everybody’s been through the same process. That group chat is crazy.”
