A Three-Level Threat On and Off the Court » Winsidr

Rickea Jackson is a bucket. A walking bucket, in fact, and she’s been that way since she was playing against her brothers in Detroit, Mich. growing up. 

Hitting the blacktop?

Bucket.

Taking her game to Mississippi State and the University of Tennessee?

Bucket.

And now, as her rookie season winds down, WNBA fans are starting to take notice of what Jackson is doing on the court, especially offensively.

Because she is a damn bucket.

And it should come as no surprise, really. The WNBA Draft had no shortage of storylines going in with a star-studded class. Caitlin Clark was a lock to go No. 1. There were questions about Angel Reese and how her game would translate to the WNBA (more than fine, as we have seen), and questions about where Aaliyah Edwards and Kamilla Cardoso would go. 

But the other consensus besides Clark going No. 1 was that Jackson was considered to be the player whose game was the most pro-ready – especially offensively.

And after a slower start to the season where she was “getting accustomed to things, working on her defense and playing within the system at different positions,” she’s been scoring at a high – and efficient – level down the stretch.

“I feel like experience is the biggest teacher. I’ve just been getting more and more comfortable. And with experience just comes great knowledge,” Jackson said. “As the season has gone on, I just continue to grow, continue to be a sponge. And, you know, I just listen to my coaches and my teammates. That’s what’s helping me produce more and be more confident.”

What makes Jackson so special on the offensive end is that she isn’t just a strong finisher (she is) or a pull-up shooter (yeah, that, too) but she’s also a sniper from downtown. She’s a true three-level scorer. (Stats via HerHoopStats)

At the rim: 67.6 percent
Midrange: 38.2 percent
Three-point range: 35.5 percent

“I never wanted to be a one-dimensional player. I wanted to be able to do multiple things,” Jackson explained. “So, like, you know, OK, they take away my layup – I can turn around and do a fadeaway. They take away my three. I can drive to the hoop. Like, I just never wanted to be able to be completely shut down and for the defense to be able to say, ‘OK, take this away she’s off her game.’ So, that’s something that I’ve always just, you know, wanted to do as I continue to grow my game. I feel like it helps our offense as well because it’s like you have to respect me at all three levels.” 

Just like Rickea the scorer can come at you in multiple ways, Rickea the person can, too. Let’s call her a three-level person.

The Person
The Fashionista
The Hooper

Jackson is anything but a one-dimensional player, and it’s because she’s anything but a one-dimensional person.

The Person

To know Rickea is to know her family. Her upbringing. 

Jackson played basketball in Detroit, where she led her high school program to three straight state titles, becoming a 5-star recruit before heading to the SEC.

Jackson, who has three brothers – Rickey Jackson Jr., Ryon Jackson, and Jordan Anderson – may owe her start in basketball to her brothers.

“You suck at basketball,” Jackson told Yahoo Sports that her brothers would tell her. “Well, I don’t play, but if I did play, I’d be better than you!”

Jackson ended up being called the greatest girls basketball player of all time from Michigan by the Detroit Free Press.

And while her brothers may have challenged her by talking the trash that siblings do, it’s her mom, Caryn, who played basketball at the University of Kansas, who is her biggest fan.

“She’s just a tough woman herself, a sweet woman as well, and she’s just so lovable. And I feel like I, you know, get a lot of that from her,” Jackson said. “She’s just like the best person in the world. I’m definitely her twin. Everyone says that we look alike when they see her and I. But you definitely see a ton of me through my mom.”

That comes out in her personality, too. Right before hopping on the call, Jackson was named as the 18th participant in the inaugural 3-on-3 Unrivaled league starting up this offseason. She was sitting in her hotel room in Indianapolis, Ind., unwinding after practice ahead of the Sparks’ Sept. 4 game against the Indiana Fever.

It’s when the topic of always seeming to find the camera during, before, or after the game came up, that Jackson let out a big laugh – especially when it came to a certain shot that was captured during her time at Tennessee.

“I’m a bit dramatic,” said Jackson or Kea – we’ll come back to this – as her brothers call her.

The photo in question?

https://t.co/4e0VPGbLsG pic.twitter.com/8FmpOG8EdI

— Jamalama 🧡🏀⚖️ (@MidwestMutineer) July 25, 2024

Jackson knows about the photo from back in February. She still remembers what she was thinking while she was lying there on the ground, making a perfect meme-able moment.

“I was upset at the call, of course. Because I felt like it was a charge,” Jackson said. “So, I’m just, like, really ref? And I just lay there. You know what I’m saying? I’m just thinking about life. Contemplating life, obviously. But the camera always sees me being dramatic. So, it’s not like I’m, like, looking for the camera. But it just always finds me doing something funny. Or, sometimes my ADHD might kick in a little bit. Like in my press conferences and things like that.

“But, literally, I’m just being me.”

Not the kids outing mom. 🤣 @iamthathooper x @LadyVol_Hoops pic.twitter.com/gYAPeEGNMR

— Los Angeles Sparks (@LASparks) September 9, 2024

Absolutely no one: @iamthathooper: pic.twitter.com/7Y2AO1Esdd

— Los Angeles Sparks (@LASparks) August 13, 2024

Being herself is what makes Jackson the standout player – and person – that she is. But that also leads to the second threat that she is.

The Fashionista

Tunnel fits are one of the best parts of the WNBA season. From fem-presenting to masc-presenting, the players just don’t miss with their looks.

Jackson is no different.

She is, already, the first WNBA signature athlete signed to Sketchers, joining the likes of Joel Embiid as the faces of the brand. But until the signature shoe drops in 2025, it’s the fits pre-game that grab the attention.

“I feel like I’ve pretty much always been into fashion, even being a little girl. Like, I just love the skirts, the tutus, the long socks, the high boots, knee-high Converses. Like, everything that I wear in my tunnel picks is literally what I used to love to wear as a child,” Jackson explained. “So being able to showcase my fashion before I go to my job, I feel like it’s pretty cool.”

Because don’t get it twisted – Jackson is a hooper. Her Twitter handle is, after all, @iamthahooper. But she’s also someone who loves – loves – clothes.

“I feel like I’m killing two birds with one stone, you know, showing off my fashion side and then showing off my on-the-court side. And I like to call it beauty and the beast,” Jackson said. “I just love a mini skirt, some heels, and some boots.”

There were no spoilers given, but stay tuned to the fits that Jackson has planned for the rest of this year and beyond.

“I’m going to continue to branch out more with the looks and things like that,” Jackson said. “But it’s just been so fun to, you know, be able to put these looks together with my stylist. It’s just been so fun to do. It’s just like playing dress up, and I just think it’s so fun.”

Model behavior. @iamthathooper x @UrbanDecay pic.twitter.com/ixjWLq5yRA

— Los Angeles Sparks (@LASparks) September 1, 2024

👯‍♀️ pic.twitter.com/OxGH6woLYF

— RJ👑 (@iamthathooper) August 21, 2024

This is a @iamthathooper appreciation post. It should be criminal to have a face card (& effortless style) like this 😭😭😭 like Rickea howwww pic.twitter.com/BfqoigFlaq

— Arielle (Ari) Chambers (@ariivory) May 29, 2024

Jackson has added an element to her looks that has caught some eyes lately, as she revealed on her Instagram story a new diamond necklace that says “Kea” with a Detroit logo on top of it, paying homage to the 313.

According to her instagram story, it looks like Rickea Jackson has some new ice.

📸: r.ickea on IG pic.twitter.com/MEilPO6rEw

— Meghan L. Hall (@ItsMeghanLHall) August 31, 2024

“I just wanted to implement something Detroit. Growing up, you know, my brothers called me Kea – my mom called me Mamacita – so I just went with Kea. Something short, cute,” Jackson said. “And then the Detroit symbol at the top. I love to rep my city. I love my city. I was debating if I should put, like, a 313 or a Detroit symbol at the top. But then, all in all, when I saw the Detroit symbol. I was like, ‘Oh yeah, I gotta go with this.’”

It’s a rose gold-colored piece, as is the Detroit symbol. Jackson couldn’t remember what the diamonds were called “my uncle and boyfriend helped me with that,” but it achieved what Jackson was looking for with it: a little something cute, that’s not too much, with a little pop of Detroit.

And that last part is what leads us to the third level of Jackson.

The Hooper

Jackson’s game is explosive and eye-catching, but she can appear to be laidback on the court – not in a bad way. But the Detroit in her can come out when she’s on the hardwood.

But not too much.

“I feel like every time someone watches me play, they always fall in love with my game. But even growing up, people would just call me a silent killer. Because, you know, I don’t feel like I have to talk a lot,” Jackson explains, but quickly adds, “I mean, if you poke the bear, like, you’re going to get the bear. But if you don’t poke the bear, I’m pretty chill.”

“If I get a bucket. I’ll make a look or something. I’ll flex a little bit. But I don’t really always have too much to say. You know, growing up in Detroit, playing against my brothers, you know, I do try to talk a little bit, since I personally grew up talking trash, but it has to be brought out of me. You want to talk? We can talk. It’s whatever at the end of the game. It’s just basketball.” 

And that’s where Jackson has thrived.

Basketball.

A simple game on the surface, that is very complex.

Jackson said that having time during her rookie season to get adjusted to the game defensively and offensively within LA’s schemes “helped, honestly,” and we are seeing the fruits of it now.

While Jackson does like to talk, the 6-foot-2 wing prefers to let her game do the talking for her and likes the direction she’s trending. 

When you watch her, you can see that happening, too.

And if you think her game shows flashes of someone past or present, you’re not wrong.

“There’s no specific player that I modeled my game after, actually. But, growing up, I did hear Sheryl Swoopes a ton,” Jackson said. That was pretty cool to even hear her say that out of her own mouth as the legend that she is. That was just so crazy to me. And it meant a lot.” 

There are flashes of Swoopes in her game. As well as Rhyne Howard. But Jackson has always just wanted to be one person.

“I just wanted to be the best me. I just knew that whatever I did, I wanted to be the best at it. I wanted to be fluent at it,” she said. “And I just wanted to have, like, a nice swagger to my game. And I feel like over the years, I just continued to work on that. Now that my name is getting more out there, I’ve been hearing Sheryl Swoopes’ name. Always. But it’s out there, like, more than ever now. But I feel like that is pretty cool.”

Jackson made sure to give love, also, to Candace Parker and A’ja Wilson as taller players who are versatile and can shoot.

The biggest growth that Jackson has shown offensively throughout her rookie season has been as an outside shooter.

“I feel like my three-pointer has come a long way, but I feel like it was more so just confidence for me. And I feel like that’s why I’m shooting it more confidently. I feel like I could always shoot the three, but this is the first time where I honestly feel like I shot it with confidence because my coaches instilled that in me this year,” Jackson said. “That’s something that they really wanted me to focus on. So, just hearing how confident in my three-point shot that they were, it made me even more confident.”

And she offers a warning for the opposition if she’s out about the arc.

Put a hand up.

“I feel like it’s disrespectful if a person doesn’t put their hand up on me or go up under a screen now,” Jackson said. “They have to respect me at all three levels, but it also opens up the floor for my teammates, as well.”

And that respect extends to defenses everywhere in Year 2.

“I’m confident more than ever. I’m going to continue to stay in the gym. And I feel like it’s just only going to get scarier because I’m going to continue to grow on both ends of the floor,” Jackson said. “I want to continue to be a dominant player and in Year 2, I’m coming for it all. It’s going to be pretty fun.”

The confidence. Subtle and not subtle. 

The dominance. Subtle and not subtle.

The s–t talking. Subtle and not subtle.

That’s who Jackson the player is, but that’s also Jackson the person.

She is, after all, just being her.

A true three-level threat.