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Fantasy Basketball: Was Reggie Jackson Worth The Wait?

By Steve Krebs

Nov 21, 2014; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Reggie Jackson (15) reacts after losing to the Brooklyn Nets at Chesapeake Energy Arena. The Nets defeated the Thunder 94-92. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 21, 2014; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Reggie Jackson (15) reacts after losing to the Brooklyn Nets at Chesapeake Energy Arena. The Nets defeated the Thunder 94-92. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports /
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As of now, we are all aware about that the move that sent Reggie Jackson from Oklahoma City, to the Detroit Pistons. What fantasy basketball fans want to know is, was this stash a situation where big dividends will be paid down the stretch, or just another case of fool’s gold.

Even before the season started, the feeling around the Thunder camp was that any contract regarding Jackson in a long-term situation would not be coming from the likes of Oklahoma City — basically needing an act of god to keep him on the team by season’s end.

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Both parties were pretty much interested in the same thing, because Reggie himself requested to be traded, choosing to even sit out the third game of the season, out of spite. Jackson feels he is a starting point guard, and now he has that opportunity.

Apparently the whole ordeal has Thunder forward Kevin Durant utterly heartbroken — he had this to say when asked if the day was challenging to get through, because of all the moving parts; “”It was pretty easy,” Durant said. “We felt like everybody wanted to be here except for one guy.”

After a solid first month, without Durant or Russell Westbrook, any kind of fantasy production was sporadic at best. Average wise, the 12/4/4, with a 0.9 in both three-pointers made, and steals, makes it appear that RJ is at least somewhat serviceable in a deep 12-team, or a 14-team league.

But is he the kind of guy that needs to be stashed for almost three months? Man, if you said yes to that, just hang up your fantasy basketball shoes now (unless you were just completely dominating) …

Now if you chose to pick Jackson up off the wire, or acquired him (for pennies) via trade either this week or the last, you played it smart — avoiding risk, as well as, all those empty nights for over more than half the season.

Lest we not forget, when Jackson was asked to take the reins as a starter in November, his field-goal percentage was at its lowest of the season, as evidence in the shot chart below.

Shotchart_JACKSON
Shotchart_JACKSON /

So What Is The Best, And Worst Case Scenario Of Having Jackson On Your Fantasy Basketball Roster For The Home Stretch?

  • Best case, is that he returns to the top 50-60 production owners were getting in November, but this time around, shoots at a higher clip than 41%.
  • Worst case, how could it possibly get worse than the last three months — from December to February, his shots attempts regressed from 11.6, to 5.7, in other words, yuck!

Just like the Detroit Pistons, fantasy basketball owners are looking to catch lightning in a bottle over the next month or so. Jackson, himself, knows that this is the shot he has been asking for, and now the floor is all his, to prove one way or another, if the man is a legitimate starting point guard in the NBA.

Next: NBA: 50 Greatest Players Of All Time

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