Triple Vision: Jaren Jackson Jr. is telling his story, his own way
Jaren Jackson Jr. was fitted with a Dolce & Gabbana suit to wear to Fashion Week in Milan, Italy in 2024. (Courtesy David Herrera)
‘Triple Vision,’ is a four-part behind-the-scenes look at Memphis Grizzlies star Jaren Jackson Jr.’s summer YouTube vlog series. In it, Jackson shares details about his growing passion for videography, its connection to basketball and the unique experiences he produces by pushing creative boundaries. The series begins Monday and runs through Thursday.
Act 1, Scene 1
Jaren Jackson Jr., dressed in a forest-green jumpsuit, sat in an upscale sushi restaurant in downtown Dallas.
After his dinner was served, 20 minutes passed without the Memphis Grizzlies star touching his food.
Instead, he fiddled with a pair of chopsticks in one hand. In the other, Jackson scrolled through his YouTube history to find a video on his phone.
The 6-foot-11 25-year-old couldn’t hide his excitement as he riffled through options for the perfect choice. He passed on at least 15 before finally clicking one, spinning his phone around in giddy celebration.
It was a Jada Smith music video.
“You see this?” Jackson said as he held his phone up. “This is so fire. Like, this is what we do. We sit around and watch stuff like this, and we say to each other, ‘Yeah, he’s got it.’
“You can’t pinpoint exactly what it is, but you just know he’s got it.”
Jackson, who has released music albums and has a song featured on the NBA 2K soundtrack, was not talking about the music.
He was talking about the cinematography.
“Still camera, wide shots,” he said as the video played out loud at the table. “You see how they have him moving around these shots? Everything about it is so weird, but it’s so interesting. It’s like you can’t stop watching.”
For several more minutes, Jackson extolled the virtues of the YouTube clip. He praised its abstract nature, its bright colors and its willingness to look unlike any other rap video of its kind.
Until, eventually, Jackson put the chopsticks down and got serious.
That, he explained, matched the image he has spent most of his adult life trying to establish.
It took him hours — literally — to spell it out.
Memphis Grizzlies fans have watched Jackson grow his game to become a two-time NBA All-Star. This season, Jackson’s game has taken another massive step.
He is scoring more points than he ever has on a team that is trending toward the playoffs. He’s transformed into a go-to isolation scorer — the best on the team. He’s dominating fourth quarters and doing so on both the offensive and defensive ends.
“I wanted to have control of what the narrative about my life will be when it’s over. I wanted to be able to show, not just tell, what it is that I actually do.”
Jaren Jackson Jr.
About why he makes videos
By almost every metric, this is the best season of Jackson’s career. His usage rate tops every player on the roster (27.7%), and Memphis is more than six points better per 100 possessions with him on the court than when he is off it.
The remarkable thing about this is that Jackson’s growth as a basketball player has taken place alongside his growth as a human being. Indeed, Jackson might tell you he has grown more off the court than on it.
Jackson has always been known as someone who is more than an athlete. On draft night in 2018, he wore a “Rock the Vote” suit to promote civic duty. But this past season, even as he worked to elevate his game to a whole new level, he expanded his interests into entirely new dimensions.
Some athletes are distracted by things outside of sports. The unique thing about Jackson is that he is growing in all directions, simultaneously.
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Memphis Grizzlies Jaren Jackson Jr. NBA Subscriber Only Triple VisionThank you for supporting local journalism.
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Drew Hill
Drew Hill covers the Memphis Grizzlies and is a top-10 APSE winner. He has worked throughout the South writing about college athletics before landing in Memphis.
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