The Los Angeles Sparks have re-signed nine year WNBA veteran Tiffany Jackson-Jones. Jackson-Jones signed with the Sparks last offseason and appeared in 26 games.
Jackson-Jones was selected by the New York Liberty with the fifth overall pick in the 2007 WNBA Draft out of Texas. She was traded to the Tulsa Shock during her fourth season for Plenette Pierson.
Jackson-Jones spent four-plus seasons with the Shock, missing the 2012 season as she gave birth to a son. She got her first chance at a starting role in Tulsa, and flourished in her first full season with the Shock. In 2011, Jackson-Jones averaged 12.4 points and 8.4 rebounds in 33.9 minutes per game. Her final years with the team were complicated by stress fractures that put a harsh limit on her minutes.
The next diagnosis Jackson-Jones would receive would affect her beyond the court. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015. Per the USA Today, she got the call on a road trip in Seattle. Jackson-Jones broke the news to her team later that season.
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Jackson-Jones went through more than five months of radiation, then learned in May of 2016 that her cancer was in remission. She went on to play overseas in 2016, officially hitting ‘resume’ on her career.
She signed on with the Sparks coming off their 2016 WNBA championship season, and was with the team through their run to the 2017 Finals.
Jackson-Jones joins an experienced and dynamic frontcourt rotation featuring 2017 1st Team All-WNBA selection Candace Parker, 2016 WNBA MVP Nneka Ogwumike and 2015 All-Star Jantel Lavender.
Sparks general manager Penny Toler said the following about Jackson-Jones in a team release:
"We are glad that Tiffany will be playing with us again this season. Her aggressive defense and rebounding will continue to add to our front line presence."
Jackson-Jones is currently averaging 15 points and 11 rebounds per game for Maccabi Bnot Ashdod in Israel.
Alana Beard, the fourth member of the Sparks’ veteran core and reigning Defensive Player of the Year, re-signed with the team earlier this month. The Sparks signed unrestricted free agent Cappie Pondexter, who played last season for the Chicago Sky, and re-signed starting guard Odyssey Sims.
The Sparks kick off their 2018 campaign in Minnesota against the defending champion Lynx on May 20 on ESPN2.