Jaren Jackson Jr.
Born 1999 · Age 26
American professional basketball player (power forward/center) for the Memphis Grizzlies. Noted defensive specialist, two-time NBA blocks leader and 2023 NBA Defensive Player of the Year. Played college basketball at Michigan State; drafted 4th overall in 2018.
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Life & Career Timeline
Born in Plainfield, New Jersey
Jaren Walter Jackson Jr. born in Plainfield, New Jersey.
Began high school career at Park Tudor School (approx.)
Started his high school career at Park Tudor in Indianapolis and played varsity for three seasons.
Won IHSAA state championships with Park Tudor
While at Park Tudor Jackson won two IHSAA state basketball championships (article reference March 28, 2015).
Transferred to La Lumiere School for senior year
Transferred to La Lumiere School in La Porte, Indiana for his senior year and started varsity; teammates with Jordan Poole.
Won gold with USA U17 team
Member of the United States U17 team that won gold (source citation July 3, 2016).
Committed to Michigan State
Announced intention to play for Tom Izzo and Michigan State on Sep 15, 2016.
Signed National Letter of Intent to Michigan State
Signed his letter of intent to attend and play for Michigan State (Nov 9, 2016).
High school top recruit rankings (2017 class)
Ranked highly by Scout/247Sports/ESPN across national position and regional lists (Scout #5 nationally, ESPN #8 overall).
Selected for McDonald's All-American Game
Invited to and selected for the McDonald's All-American Game (played March 29, 2017).
Michigan State collegiate debut
Collegiate debut vs North Florida: 13 points and 13 rebounds in 98–66 win (Nov 10, 2017).
Notable early college game vs Duke
Scored 19 points in an 88–81 loss to #1-ranked Duke (Nov 14, 2017).
Career-high 8 blocks in college
Recorded 11 points and a career-high 8 blocks in a 62–52 win over Rutgers (Dec 5, 2017).
13 rebounds vs Southern Utah
Recorded 17 points and a career-high 13 rebounds in an 88–63 win (Dec 9, 2017).
Dominant 21-point, 11-rebound, 6-block game vs Illinois
Recorded 21 points, 11 rebounds and 6 blocks in an 87–74 win over Illinois (Jan 22, 2018).
Career-high 27 points vs Minnesota
Scored a career-high 27 points in an 87–57 win over Minnesota (Feb 13, 2018).
Big Ten awards (Defensive Player & Freshman of the Year)
Named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, Big Ten Freshman of the Year, All-Big Ten Third Team and Big Ten All-Freshman Team (end of 2017–18 season).
Declared for 2018 NBA draft
Declared for the 2018 NBA draft after freshman season at Michigan State (Apr 2, 2018).
Drafted 4th overall by Memphis Grizzlies
Selected with the 4th overall pick in the 1st round of the 2018 NBA Draft by the Memphis Grizzlies (June 21, 2018).
Signed multi-year rookie contract with Grizzlies
Signed his rookie-scale multi-year contract with Memphis (July 1, 2018).
Named to NBA All-Rookie First Team
Selected to the NBA All-Rookie First Team for the 2018–19 season.
Shut down for remainder of season (thigh bruise)
Was shut down by the team for the rest of the 2018–19 season due to a deep bruise to his right thigh (Mar 29, 2019).
Career-high 43 points and 9 three-pointers
Scored a career-high 43 points and made 9 three-pointers (tied franchise record) in a 127–114 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks (Dec 13, 2019).
Recorded 7 blocks vs Denver
Recorded a career-high 7 blocks in a 104–96 win over the Denver Nuggets (Jan 28, 2020).
Suspended one game for leaving the bench
Suspended one game without pay by the NBA for leaving the bench during an altercation (Jan 30, 2020).
Torn meniscus in left knee (Bubble)
Suffered a torn meniscus in his left knee during a game in the NBA Bubble and was expected to miss the remainder of the season (Aug 4, 2020).
Grizzlies exercised team option
Memphis exercised the team option on Jackson for 2021–22 (Dec 16, 2020).
Returned from injury vs Clippers
Returned to action putting up 15 points, 8 rebounds and 4 blocks in a loss to the LA Clippers (Apr 21, 2021).
Season-high 23 points
Scored a season-high 23 points in a 130–128 win over the Portland Trail Blazers (Apr 23, 2021).
Postseason career-high 21 points
Scored a postseason career-high 21 points in a Game 4 loss to the Utah Jazz (May 31, 2021).
Signed four-year, $105 million extension
Signed a reported four-year, $105 million contract extension with the Memphis Grizzlies (Oct 18, 2021).
Led NBA in blocks (2021–22 season)
Led the league in blocks per game (2.3) and total blocks (177) for the 2021–22 season.
21 points and 12 rebounds vs Lakers
Scored 21 points and tied a career-high with 12 rebounds in a 127–119 win over the Lakers (Jan 9, 2022).
7 blocks in playoff game — Grizzlies franchise playoff record
Logged 12 points and 7 blocks in Game 1 of the first round vs Timberwolves; 7 blocks set a Grizzlies franchise playoff single-game record (Apr 16, 2022).
Playoff career-high 33 points vs Warriors
Scored a playoff career-high 33 points with 10 rebounds in a 117–116 Game 1 loss to Golden State (May 1, 2022).
Named to NBA All-Defensive First Team (2022)
Selected to the NBA All-Defensive First Team for the 2021–22 season (announced May 20, 2022).
Underwent surgery for stress fracture in right foot
Had surgery to repair a stress fracture in his right foot and was ruled out 4–6 months (June 30, 2022).
2022–23 season debut after injury absence
Made his season debut after missing first 14 games: 7 points, 6 rebounds, 5 blocks (Nov 15, 2022).
Career-high 8 blocks in regular season
Recorded a career-high 8 blocks along with 15 points in a 128–103 win over Atlanta (Dec 12, 2022).
Season-high 31 points vs Orlando
Scored 31 points with ten rebounds and three blocks in a 123–115 win over Orlando (Jan 5, 2023).
Selected to first NBA All-Star Game
Named an NBA All-Star (reserve forward for the Western Conference) for the first time (Feb 2, 2023).
Season-high 40 points in overtime loss
Scored a season-high 40 points along with nine rebounds and four blocks in a 138–131 OT loss to the Pelicans (Apr 5, 2023).
Led league in blocks for second consecutive season
Finished the regular season averaging a career-high 3.0 blocks per game, leading the NBA for the second straight year (2022–23).
31 points in playoff opener vs Lakers
Scored a game-high 31 points on 13-of-21 shooting in a 128–112 loss to the Lakers in Game 1 (Apr 16, 2023).
Named NBA Defensive Player of the Year (2023)
Awarded the Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year for the 2022–23 season (announced Apr 30, 2023).
Named to NBA All-Defensive First Team (2023)
Selected to the NBA All-Defensive First Team for the second consecutive season (May 10, 2023).
Member of USA national team at 2023 FIBA World Cup
Named to the United States roster for the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup; Team USA finished fourth.
2023–24 NBA season continued standout play
Continued as Memphis starter, strong statistical season (2023–24 season stats reported).
Named NBA All-Defensive Second Team (2025)
Included on the NBA All-Defensive Second Team for 2025.
Reported career earnings milestone
Basketball-Reference reports he has made at least $110,587,045 playing professional basketball (cumulative earnings reported on profile).
Selected to second NBA All-Star Game (2025)
Named an NBA All-Star for the second time (listed as 2025 All-Star).
Agreed to five-year, $240M extension with Grizzlies
Sources reported he agreed to a five-year, $240 million contract extension with Memphis (June 30, 2025).
Underwent turf-toe surgery (right foot)
Underwent successful surgery to repair turf toe injury in right foot; team announced re-evaluation timeline (Jul 2, 2025).
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