Jackson, Mark A.
Basketball
b. April 1, 1965, Brooklyn, NY
As a senior guard at St. John's University in 1986-87, the 6-foot-3, 192-pound Jackson led the nation with an average of 9.11 assists per game. He also averaged 18.9 points per game.
The New York Knicks chose him in the first round of the 1987 NBA draft. An immediate starter, Jackson set a rookie record with 868 assists and averaged 13.6 points per game to win the league's rookie of the year award.
After averaging 16.9 points in his second season, Jackson slipped badly in 1989-90, when he had only 604 assists and 9.9 points per game. He became a backup the following season, but was moved back into the starting lineup in 1991-92.
The Knicks traded him to the Los Angeles Clippers in 1992. Since then, Jackson has been a well-traveled player. After two good seasons in Los Angeles, he went to the Indiana Pacers in a multi-player trade.
Jackson also spent two season with Indiana, then was traded to the Denver Nuggets. But the Nuggets traded him back to the Pacers before the 1996-97 season ended. Jackson averaged 11.4 assists per game to lead the NBA that season.
The Pacers sent him to the Toronto Raptors in 2000 and he was traded back to the Knicks in February of 2001. In his first appearance back in New York, Jackson received a standing ovation from the crowd at Madison Square Garden.
After spending the entire 2001-02 season as the Knicks' backup point guard, Jackson joined the Utah Jazz as the back to John Stockton, the NBA's all-time career assist leader. Jackson ranks fourth on the all-time list, behind Stockton, Magic Johnson, and Oscar Robertson.