Jackson gives Spurs much-needed flair

SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- Stephen Jackson gets ready for an NBA Finals game the way a model prepares for a runway fashion show.

The San Antonio Spurs guard arrives at the arena wearing some sort of non-basketball jersey, perhaps something from his collection of baseball threads or maybe he'll go with a contemporary football look. If it's not topped by a matching baseball cap, then he probably has on a black do-rag.

Home games are preceded by soaking in the hot tub, and even that requires some dressing up. Jackson slips on a grungy white do-rag he keeps specifically for this purpose.

Once it's time to hit the court, Jackson laces up his black sneakers with "Jack 3" stitched on both tongues and makes sure that each wrist has a silver rubber band that reads "RIP Grandpa" and "RIP Lil Don," honoring a grandfather and older brother who died in the past year.

For the games played in New Jersey, Jackson also wore a silver, white and black headband, with the NBA logo snug over his right eye. He had been wearing an all-black headband during home games, but stopped during the Western Conference finals.

"I'm not superstitious," he said. "I just didn't like the way it felt."

While Jackson might not be a dominant player like Tim Duncan, he certainly has the two-time MVP beat when it comes to being flashy. The expressive, quirky Jackson stands out on the Spurs as a refreshing dose of pizzaz.

"Tim just goes out and plays basketball," Jackson said. "He doesn't worry about looking good. I like to look good, too."

After opening the series with two strong games, Jackson has turned out to be more style than substance heading into Game 6 Sunday night. The Spurs led 3-2 and were a win away from the championship.

Jackson went in having committed a team-worst 20 turnovers and shooting just 33 percent.

His most memorable moment was missing a 3-pointer at the end of a Game 2 loss after hitting several jumpers that put the Spurs in position to win at the end.

Still, Jackson's personality and gap-toothed grin have won so many admirers that he even earned a guest spot on the television show NBA Inside Stuff.

Jackson has become a popular interview, too. He spiced up a conversation before the opener by talking about how coach Gregg Popovich "knows I have a lot of rage in me," then threatened to show it after a bad outing in Game 4, saying, "Right now, I really want to hurt somebody."

While Jackson could be labeled a free spirit, it also could be argued that he's earned that right.

After starring in the prestigious McDonald's high school all-star game alongside Kobe Bryant, Jackson was supposed to go to Arizona in the same freshman class as Mike Bibby. Low SAT scores prompted him to enter the draft, and he went to Phoenix in the second round in 1997.

He didn't make it to the NBA until 2000-01, playing first in the CBA, Australia, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic.

After playing 77 games for New Jersey, he signed with the Spurs last season. They stashed him on injured reserve for all but 23 games to refine his attitude as much as his skills. He now considers that a turning point in his career.

Jackson moved into the starting lineup for good in December and has been a solid contributor.

And quite a character, as the following nuggets further illustrate.