Garrett Jackson, an assistant coach on the staff of Ime Udoka in Houston, will serve as head coach when the Rockets participate in the NBA’s 2024 summer league next month. The league’s annual summer showcase will take place from July 12-22 in Las Vegas, with mini-camps held in each home city in the days prior to those games.
Game dates and times for the 30-team event have yet to be released.
Jackson made the announcement as part of a new interview with Vanessa Richardson, courtside reporter for Space City Home Network (Houston’s regional television broadcast partner).
Among Jackson’s comments to Richardson:
We’re doing a lot of group workouts right now. Our other development coaches and staff have done a good job of putting together a plan for each of our guys, so we’re just following through on it, this summer.
Also, I’m coaching summer league. So, we’re looking to have some carryover from the summer workouts — bring it over to Vegas — and improve it.
It’s about continuing to build relationships with the guys. It’s just about getting out there, growing, and pushing our guys… and myself.
More commentary from Jackson’s interview can be viewed below, and the complete interview can be viewed on SCHN’s latest Rockets All Access program (which debuts Wednesday at 6 p.m. Central).
Some fun @HoustonRockets news: assistant coach Garrett Jackson will serve as summer league coach👏🏼
Jackson began his NBA coaching career in the Spurs video room before spending two seasons as a player enhancement coach with the Celtics. He also played internationally.
We’ll… pic.twitter.com/Pk9zcB2Y7s
— Vanessa Richardson (@SportsVanessa) June 5, 2024
Jackson, 32, was first hired by Udoka as part of Boston’s player enhancement staff in September 2021. Before that, he worked in the video department of the San Antonio Spurs and legendary head coach Gregg Popovich starting in 2019 — when Udoka was there.
Jackson played college basketball with USC and Saint Mary’s before a brief professional career with international clubs. From 2015 to 2018, he played for North-West Tasmania Thunder, Melbourne United, Sydney Kings, Dandenong Rangers, and TG s.Oliver Wurzburg.
As for Jackson’s summer-league roster in Las Vegas, that remains to be seen. Any rookies selected in the 2024 NBA draft are likely candidates to be included, as are a handful of undrafted free agent prospects; players from Houston’s NBA G League affiliate (the Rio Grande Valley Vipers); and recent two-way contract players such as Nate Hinton, Jermaine Samuels Jr. and Nate Williams.
It’s worth noting that then-sophomores Jabari Smith Jr. and Tari Eason played in two of six summer-league games in 2024. With that in mind, it’s at least plausible that current second-year players Amen Thompson and Cam Whitmore could briefly play this year.
Houston’s 2023 summer-league team finished in second place after a 5-1 stint and a loss to Cleveland in the 2023 championship game. That team was coached by Ben Sullivan, who remains on Udoka’s staff.
