Growth in the NBA is rarely loud at first. It does not always arrive with a 30-point night or a viral highlight. Sometimes it shows up in what a player stops doing. The rushed pull-up. The heat-check three early in the clock. The gamble defensively that leaves a teammate exposed.
For the Memphis Grizzlies, the maturation of 20-year-old GG Jackson has been less about fireworks and more about discipline. The flash is still there; but the foundation is forming.
From Highlight to Habit
When Jackson first entered the league, his confidence jumped off the screen. Long strides. High release. The comfort of a player who never doubted whether he belonged.
Now the evolution is subtler.
“Few years ago, it was a lot more trying to be flashy, less contact; now, it’s trying to go through somebody’s face a little bit,” Jackson said recently, after a game.
That shift is not cosmetic. It changes the geometry of the floor. Instead of drifting into contested jumpers, he is attacking seams. Instead of avoiding bodies, he is finishing through them. Instead of chasing the spectacular, he is hunting the efficient.
There was a moment recently when that difference felt undeniable. Jackson caught the ball on the wing, jabbed once, and instead of settling, lowered his shoulder into a bigger defender. The contact was solid. He finished through it anyway. No celebration. No stare. Just a quick turn upcourt, already locked into the next possession. A year ago, that play might have ended in a step back three. Now it ends at the rim.
Head coach Tuomas Iisalo has framed it clearly. “GG has made big strides throughout the season. His superpower is getting to the paint. He’s been doing a great job of touching the paint. His efficiency is his career high right now.”
Efficiency is rarely glamorous. It is built possession by possession. It is restraint. It is choosing the better shot over the harder one.
Jackson credits the staff for reinforcing that shift. “This coaching staff… emphasizing aggressive but patient and not settling… just using my size to my advantage, trying to get to my spots. That spot downhill.”
Aggressive but patient. For a young scorer, that may be the hardest lesson of all.
Accountability at 20
The maturation is perhaps most visible after losses.
Following a 24 point performance against the Golden State Warriors, Jackson did not talk about rhythm or shot making. He talked about possessions. “Turnovers for sure… I contributed, what, like four of them.”
Four turnovers in a vacuum is a statistic. In context, it is ownership.
Memphis has operated much of this season with a thin margin for error. Injuries have forced smaller lineups. Defensive mistakes are magnified. Extra possessions swing momentum quickly.
Jackson has understood that.
Instead of separating his scoring from the result, he connected them. Production without control is incomplete. Points without ball-security do not guarantee impact.
He also leaned into the emotional discipline required.“We always preach next-play mentality, next-game mentality… Kind of just rub it off your shoulder, get to the next one.”
At 20, detaching ego from outcome is not instinctive. It is growth.
Embracing the Uncomfortable
The development is not confined to the offensive end.
With Memphis often undersized due to injuries, Jackson has absorbed minutes in unconventional roles, including stretches functioning as the five.
“I feel like I’m compact enough … to hold the fort down for some time, if that’s needed.”
That willingness speaks volumes.
He knows he is not a traditional center. He knows the matchups are physical. But he is no longer measuring himself by positional labels. He is measuring himself by responsibility.
Iisalo has acknowledged defensive improvement, particularly at the point of attack, while noting areas that still demand growth. Awareness. Rebounding consistency. Staying connected within team schemes.
Encouraging, but unfinished. That word matters. Because what makes Jackson’s trajectory compelling is not that he has arrived. It is that he understands he has not.
The Balance He Is Building
“All my life, I’ve been a score first guy… Got to try to find a balance.”
Balance between instinct and structure. Between confidence and control. Between the shot he can make and the shot the team needs.
There are still moments when the game speeds up on him. Still possessions where the read is late. Still defensive rotations that reveal youth.
But there are also possessions where he makes the extra pass instead of forcing the shot. Where he fights for inside position before leaking out. Where he absorbs contact without seeking the whistle.
The difference is subtle. It is also significant.
Inside FedExForum, there is a different kind of anticipation now when Jackson catches the ball. Not just curiosity about whether he will shoot, but expectation about what decision he will make.
That shift is trust.
Iisalo called him “a real weapon” offensively. Weapon implies reliability. It implies something that can be deployed strategically, not just unleashed sporadically.
More Than a Scorer
Jackson’s evolution is not about becoming someone else. It is about refining who he already is.
The scoring instinct remains. The confidence remains. The willingness to take difficult shots remains.
Layered on top now is accountability. Physicality. Professionalism.
“We’re going to hear the outside noise all the time, but the show must go on, and we have always got to be professional.”
Professionalism at 20 is not assumed. It is earned in small ways. In film sessions. In accepting coaching. In admitting mistakes publicly. In resetting after losses.
For the Grizzlies, the significance extends beyond this season. A disciplined Jackson changes lineup flexibility. It strengthens secondary scoring. It deepens long-term options around the core.
Talent got him on the floor early in his career. Discipline is beginning to keep him there. And if the current trajectory holds, Memphis may not just be watching a young scorer mature.
It may be watching a cornerstone learn, possession by possession, what it takes to stay.