Stephen Jackson was involved in one of the most infamous fights in NBA history.
Now he’s stoking the flames of another controversy.
Jackson called out Spurs guard Tony Parker for throwing the injured Kawhi Leonard under the bus and said it may be part of a larger push from up top.
Leonard has played all of nine games this year while nursing a quad injury. Parker told reporters last week that his own quad injury last year was “100 times worse,” but he battled through it to play again.
“I know the type of person Tony is,” Jackson said on Fox Sports 1. “He can be selfish. And by this comment, I wouldn’t be surprised if this makes Kawhi want to leave. When your teammates are going against you in the media like that, not having your back, and you know that’s coming from up top, why would you want to be there?”
Jackson, who played with Parker and the Spurs from 2012-13, said any message that coach Gregg Popovich wants to get out to the media comes through Parker or veteran Manu Ginobili.
The Spurs reportedly held a players-only meeting last week, led by Parker, as they tried to get answers from Leonard about his injury and a potential return for the playoffs. Jackson had his theory about that, too.
“Y’all might not believe this, but the meeting that was [thrown] on Kawhi after a game, that came down from Pop to those guys,” said Jackson, a prime figure in the Malice at the Palace. “They didn’t do that on their own. Tony don’t have the [guts] to do that. Ginobili don’t have the [guts] to do that. They’re just not outspoken guys, and I don’t think nobody fear them to respect their word. That came from up top, no question.”
Leonard’s injury has created tension around the team with conflicting reports about whether Leonard has been cleared to play through the injury and how he went about getting treatment for it. ESPN reported in January that Leonard has been “distant” and “disconnected” during his rehab.
There are still two years left on Leonard’s contract with the Spurs, but Jackson believes he’s being pushed out anyway.
“Kawhi might not say nothing, but he’s smarter than a lot of people think,” Jackson said. “He don’t have to say it. I know a lot’s going on in his mind right now. Nobody wants to play the game more than Kawhi. Nobody wants to be great or go down as one of the greatest more than Kawhi. His heart and his passion and if he wants to play basketball should never be questioned.
“By the fact that came from Tony like that, that’s super low. I lost a lot of respect for Tony, because they always say, ‘This is the class act, this is the class organization.’ That was low coming from one of your teammates.”