Stephen Jackson’s Swagger Still Fully Intact

The denizens of Charlotte are quickly finding out about their player’s fearless approach to the game: “It was Sunday night in Cleveland and I’d just asked Charlotte Bobcat Stephen Jackson what he was thinking as he stepped to the foul line with 21/2 seconds left, the game in his hands. I thought I heard him say, ‘I make love to pressure.’ Mind repeating that? ‘I-make-love-to-pressure,’ Jackson repeated, knowing he sounded glib and provocative, but also accurate. I later heard that Jackson used that line before as a Golden State Warrior. It fits him. Jackson is a character. But he also has character. He and, to a lesser extent, Flip Murray have added swagger to the Bobcats. That’s an ingredient they very much needed. To me, swagger is a way of saying, ‘Don’t mess with me. I can back it up.’ That’s different from bravado, which is pretentious – faux confidence.”