Gregory "GG" Jackson II (born December 17, 2004) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player for the

Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division of the ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA). He played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

South Carolina Gamecocks The South Carolina Gamecocks represent the University of South Carolina in the NCAA Division I. The University of South Carolina uses "Gamecocks" as its official nickname and mascot. While the men's teams were traditionally known as the Fight ...

Early life and high school

Jackson grew up in

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is List of municipalities in South Carolina, the second-mo ...

and attended Ridge View High School. As a sophomore, he averaged 15.8 points and 10 rebounds as Ridge View won the South Carolina Class 5A State Championship. Jackson was named the South Carolina Basketball Gatorade Player of the Year after averaging 22.1 points, 10.9 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks per game and leading the Blazers to a second straight state title in his junior season.

Recruitment

Jackson was rated a five-star recruit and was the consensus best collegiate prospect for the 2023 recruiting class. He initially committed to play college basketball at

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

(UNC) shortly after the conclusion of his junior season after considering offers from Auburn,

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

, Georgetown, and

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

. Jackson later decommitted from UNC, becoming the first player to do so since J. R. Smith in 2003. He ultimately reclassified to the class of 2022 and enrolled at South Carolina. Jackson's commitment made him the highest-ranked recruit in school history.

College career

Jackson entered his freshman season at South Carolina as the Gamecocks' starting power forward. He was named the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

(SEC) Freshman of the Week for the first week of the season after averaging 15 points and nine rebounds in his first two career games. Jackson was benched after shooting 0-for-8 and scoring no points in an 85–42 loss to

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

. In the following game he scored 16 points off the bench in a 71–68 win over

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

. Jackson finished the season as the Gamecocks' leading scorer with 15.4 points per game. Following the end of the season he entered the

2023 NBA draft The 2023 NBA draft, the 77th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual NBA draft, draft, was held on June 22, 2023, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The draft consisted of 58 picks instead of the typical 60 for the second ...

Professional career

Jackson was selected by the

with the 45th overall pick in the second round of the

, subsequently joining the team for the

2023 NBA Summer League The 2023 NBA Summer League (branded as ''NBA 2K, NBA 2K24'' Summer League 2023 for sponsorship reasons) was an off-season competition held by the National Basketball Association (NBA) primarily at the Thomas and Mack Center and Cox Pavilion in Las ...

. On August 31, 2023, he signed a

two-way contract A two-way contract is a professional sports contract that stipulates that an athlete's salary is dependent upon the league in which the athlete is assigned to play. This is opposed to a one-way contract that would pay the same salary regardless o ...

with the Grizzlies, splitting time with their

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the Minor league#Basketball, developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of ...

affiliate, the

Memphis Hustle The Memphis Hustle are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in the Greater Memphis suburb of Southaven, Mississippi, and are affiliated with the Memphis Grizzlies. The team plays their home games at the Landers C ...

. Extensive injuries to the Grizzlies roster during the 2023–24 season led to the team recalling Jackson from the Hustle. On February 8, 2024, Jackson scored a then-career-high 27 points during a 118–110 loss to the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded on January 16 ...

, which led to the Grizzlies signing Jackson to a four-year contract the following day. On March 10, Jackson made his starting debut for the Grizzlies against the

Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Confer ...

, where he would score 30 points in a 124–93 loss. On March 20, Jackson scored 35 points with seven three-point shots made in a 137–116 loss to the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...

, becoming the youngest player in NBA history to make seven threes in a game. In the regular season finale on April 14, Jackson scored a career-high 44 points and recorded 12 rebounds in a 111–126 loss to the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA), W ...

, becoming the youngest player in NBA history to record 40 points and 10 rebounds in a game. His 44 points also set the record for the most points by a rookie in Grizzlies franchise history. On August 27, Jackson suffered a broken right foot and underwent surgery on September 4, delaying his start to the season by at least three months.

Career statistics

NBA

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Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Mem ...

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, 29 , , 3 , , 15.8 , , .372 , , .337 , , .725 , , 3.2 , , 1.0 , , .4 , , .2 , , 7.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 77 , , 21 , , 22.0 , , .413 , , .352 , , .746 , , 3.7 , , 1.1 , , .5 , , .4 , , 11.8

College

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, 32 , , 29 , , 31.9 , , .384 , , .324 , , .667 , , 5.9 , , .8, , .8 , , .8 , , 15.4

National team

Jackson played for the United States under-18 basketball team at the

2022 FIBA Under-18 Americas Championship The 2022 FIBA Under-18 Americas Championship was an international under-18 basketball tournament that was held from 6 to 12 June 2022 in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. The twelfth edition of the biennial competition, this is also the qualify ...

References

External links

South Carolina Gamecocks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, GG 2004 births Living people 21st-century American sportsmen American men's basketball players Basketball players from South Carolina Memphis Grizzlies draft picks Memphis Grizzlies players Memphis Hustle players Power forwards South Carolina Gamecocks men's basketball players Sportspeople from Columbia, South Carolina