A shooting guard born in New Orleans, Louisiana, Jackson played at Georgetown University from 1985 to 1989 and graduated with a bachelor's degree in finance.

Jackson would again be waived and wouldn't return to action until the following year for another very short stint with the Houston Rockets before being signed by the Washington Bullets prior to the 1996–97 season.

In the offseason, following a playoff loss to the eventual champion Chicago Bulls, Jackson signed with the San Antonio Spurs, who had suffered a lottery season the previous year but featured superstar David Robinson and the first pick in the 1997 draft, Tim Duncan.

The following year would be shortened to 50 games as a result of a league lockout, but the Spurs would continue to use Jackson as its main back up shooting guard behind veteran Mario Elie.

Jackson would once again serve as the main backup at shooting guard for the defending champion Spurs the following season, playing in 81 games and starting in 12.

The Spurs would end up losing in the first round of the playoffs to the Phoenix Suns mostly due to a season-ending injury to Duncan, and Jackson only played two games in the series.

They are the parents of Jaren Jackson Jr., who played college basketball for Michigan State[5][6] before being selected 4th overall in the 2018 NBA draft by the Memphis Grizzlies.