Why Refusing to Make a ‘Plan B’ Made Pistons Guard Reggie Jackson Great
Reggie Jackson wasn’t trying to give his childhood teacher a hard time or be disobedient. He was being real—but doing so was getting him in real trouble on his assignment.
“I definitely remember in second grade that our teacher told us to write down what our dreams were,” the Detroit Pistons guard recalls. “When she saw that mine was to make it to the NBA, she said I couldn’t, and that I needed a Plan B. I told her I don’t make Plan Bs.”
Jackson says he dreamed of being a pro baller since he was 4 years old. For him, the NBA was the only place he ever wanted to be. The product of a military family—he was born to American parents in Italy, where his father served at an Air Force base—he understood the value of sacrifice and hard work. So from an early age, Jackson set out to achieve his dream by working harder than anyone.


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Why Refusing to Make a ‘Plan B’ Made Pistons Guard Reggie Jackson Great
Reggie Jackson wasn’t trying to give his childhood teacher a hard time or be disobedient. He was being real—but doing so was getting him in real trouble on his assignment.
“I definitely remember in second grade that our teacher told us to write down what our dreams were,” the Detroit Pistons guard recalls. “When she saw that mine was to make it to the NBA, she said I couldn’t, and that I needed a Plan B. I told her I don’t make Plan Bs.”
Jackson says he dreamed of being a pro baller since he was 4 years old. For him, the NBA was the only place he ever wanted to be. The product of a military family—he was born to American parents in Italy, where his father served at an Air Force base—he understood the value of sacrifice and hard work. So from an early age, Jackson set out to achieve his dream by working harder than anyone.

