Fact-Checking Stephen Jackson’s Rant on Tony Parker and the ‘2014’ Playoffs

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So former NBA veteran Stephen Jackson recently appeared on The Herd with Colin Cowherd to discuss the Kawhi Leonard/Spurs situation. And if you missed it, then you missed Jackson completely going postal on Tony Parker.

While he did say that Parker (and Manu Ginobili) don’t have “the balls” to call a meeting on their own, the loudest statement he made came later in the show. Jackson, who had two stints with the Spurs, said that Parker is “selfish” and the “reason why we lost in ’14 to OKC”. He added that Parker “didn’t wanna pass the ball in Game 6 AFTER I hit six threes in a row”.

Yes, the interview was radio gold, but at the same time, was Parker really ball-hogging in Game 6 of the 2014 NBA Finals? Or did Stephen Jackson actually hit six threes in a row? Well, we did some digging and here’s what we found:

First, Jackson didn’t hit six threes in the 2014 playoffs because, well, he was out of the NBA at that point (Jackson was waived by the Clippers in January of 2014 and never signed with another team). And whatever Parker was doing in the 2014 playoffs obviously worked because the Spurs beat the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals that year.

What Jackson was referring to was the 2012 Western Conference Finals against the OKC Thunder, and in that game, he may have a point.

In Game 6 of that series, the Spurs lost 107-99 to the Thunder after blowing a 15-point halftime lead — the Spurs actually led by 18 right before the first-half ended. And yes, Stephen Jackson was red-hot in that game, hitting, you guessed it, six consecutive three-balls throughout the game. For the record, Captain Jack shot 60.5 percent from three during the 2014 playoffs (26 for 43). But at the same time, Tony Parker was also really good in Game 6, as well as the rest of the playoffs. He scored 29 points on 12-27 shooting, dishing out 12 assists while only turning the ball over once.

If anyone is to blame for their Game 6 loss, it’s not Parker. Instead, Jackson should probably turn his ire towards his team’s defense or OKC’s Big 3 (Durant, Westbrook, Harden). The trio combined for 75 points in the game on 51.1 percent shooting, while the Spurs’ defense sent the Thunder to the line for 31 free-throw attempts (compared to just 18 of their own).

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In closing, let me say this. The rant did its job…it was entertaining as hell and even Colin Cowherd appreciated it. However, Cowherd even cut Jackson’s Game-6 speech out of the video he released on Twitter…so yeah, that part was definitely a fail. Gotta have them facts straight, Jack.