Photo credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
UNC Basketball Champ Lands Contract With Timberwolves
On Wednesday afternoon, the last day of the All-Star break, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the Minnesota Timberwolves have signed 2017 UNC basketball national champion Justin Jackson to a 10-day contract.
Jackson, drafted No. 15 overall following his three seasons as a Tar Heel, has seen action in 278 NBA regular season games across his seven-year pro career spanning six franchises.
However, the 28-year-old Texas native has thus far spent this entire season in the G League. He's averaging 19.9 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 3.1 assists in 35.1 minutes per contest for the Texas Legends. And he's knocked down 41.2 percent of his 3-point attempts as a high-volume outside shooter.
Last season, Justin Jackson played 23 games with the Boston Celtics before getting traded in February to the Oklahoma City Thunder, who waived the 6-foot-8, 220-pound forward the following day.
The Timberwolves (39-16), sitting atop the Western Conference standings, host the Milwaukee Bucks at 10 p.m. ET Friday before facing the Brooklyn Nets less than 24 hours later in Minnesota. There's no guarantee Jackson will see any minutes off the bench, but the back-to-back should help his chances.
Jackson, the 2016-17 ACC Player of the Year on his way to cutting down the nets with that UNC basketball team in April, averaged double-digit points in each of his three seasons with the Tar Heels. He was a starter in all but four of the 118 games he played in college.
Stay tuned to All Tar Heels on SI.com for more updates on NBA Tar Heels and other UNC basketball news.