- Ex-WNBA New York Liberty player Tiffany Jackson succumbed to cancer on October 3
- She was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015
- She was an assistant coach up to the time of her demise
Ex-WNBA New York Liberty player Tiffany Jackson succumbed to cancer early this week.
The 37-year-old kicked the bucket on Monday after a protracted battle with the ailment. Born in Texas, the deceased noticed a lump in her breast in 2015 while in Israel where she played off-season.
The New York Times reports that she went to the hospital for a checkup immediately after she returned to the US. It is then that test showed that she had breast cancer.
Jackson later revealed that she kept it to herself until the playoffs because all she wanted was to win.
“I didn’t let my teammates know until the playoffs because I knew I was going to have to go back to Dallas, after Game 2, win or lose, to start treatment,” she told ESPN a year after diagnosis.
“I ended up telling everybody via mass text because I was afraid if I did it in person, I would just break down.”
Tiffany Jackson, a former WNBA player for New York Liberty. PHoto by People
Her death comes after playing only nine seasons in the WNBA. In the history of the University of Texas basketball programme, Jackson has a special history.
She is the only player to score 1,000 points, grab 1,000 rebounds, steal 300 passes, and block 150 shots. Further, she is third all-time with 313 steals, seventh all-time with 181 blocks, and fifth all-time with 1,917 points scored.
Jackson is one of only five players in the history of the programme to score over 1,000 points and grab over 1,000 rebounds in her career.
Her college coach, Jody Conradt, says that her versatility was what made her stand out. She towered over her opponents at 6 feet 3, was incredibly agile, and played in a variety of positions.
Conradt says this is admirable, and she doubts there will ever be a player as competitive as Jackson. She could play in different positions and still deliver.
Jackson left the WNBA in 2018 after playing there for nine years. Later, she worked as an assistant coach at the University of Texas for two years.
In early 2022, Jackson led the women’s basketball programme at Wiley College in Marshall, Texas. Sadly, she passed away before ever leading her team in a game as coach.
In Longview, Texas, Tiffany Jackson was born on April 26, 1985. Her father, Marques Jackson, was a tight end at the University of Tulsa, and her mother, Cassie Brooks played basketball for the University of New Mexico.
She coached the Pantherettes to a state championship at Duncanville High School, not far from Dallas, in 2003, scoring a team-high 16 points in the championship game shortly after being selected a McDonald’s All-American.
Tiffany Jackson. Photo by NBC News
More than 60 institutions actively pursued Jackson as a recruit. One coach predicted that the school that signed her would immediately challenge for the championship.
Jackson’s star was unwavering even though the Longhorns never captured a championship. She was selected with the fifth overall pick in the 2007 W.N.B.A. draught by the New York Liberty, and she played for the team until 2010.
She was traded to the Tulsa Shock (now the Dallas Wings). Then, 2017 saw her play her final season of basketball with the Los Angeles Sparks.
Jackson missed the 2012 campaign to give birth to her son, Marley. She skipped the 2016 campaign to undergo radiation and a mastectomy for breast cancer.
She told USA Today in 2017 that she never thought she would play ever again after her first month of radiation.
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