There isn’t a team in the NBA that has been hit as hard by the injury bug as the Memphis Grizzlies this season. Every player on the roster has missed double-digit games, derailing the team’s chances to continue their ascension into contention this season.
The biggest blow was having All-Star point guard Ja Morant for only nine games, as he served a suspension to begin the season and then suffered a season-ending injury. He was far from the only key player to miss time, as Taylor Jenkins has been using a different lineup and rotation on almost a nightly basis.
The only positive to come out of this is that the Grizzlies have had a chance to see what some of their young players, who normally wouldn’t have had a chance to play, have to offer. In that regard, the season has been a home run.
One of the players who have taken advantage of the situation is GG Jackson. A second-round pick out of South Carolina in the 2023 NBA Draft, Jackson has become a regular part of the team’s rotation.
On Wednesday night against the Golden State Warriors, he had a career night while etching his name into the NBA’s history books. Jackson scored a career-high 35 points against Golden State, going 7-of-14 from 3-point range. According to StatMuse on X, that makes Jackson the youngest player in NBA history to make at least seven 3-pointers in a game.
GG Jackson tonight:
— StatMuse (@statmuse) March 21, 2024
35 PTS (career-high)
5 REB
7 3P
The youngest player in NBA history with 7 threes in a game. pic.twitter.com/Gsvx8jHlI4
Jackson turned only 19 years old in December, making him the youngest player in the NBA currently. What he has accomplished this season is quite impressive for anyone, let alone a teenager who played only one season collegiately.
On the season, Jackson is averaging 12.8 points and 3.7 rebounds in 22.9 minutes per game. He is connecting on 36.3 percent of his 3-point attempts and should factor into the Grizzlies’ rotation even when healthy next season.
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