Josh Jackson first attended Consortium College Prep in Detroit, Michigan for high school. In his freshman year, Jackson averaged 17 points, six rebounds, four assists, and four blocks per game. In his sophomore year, he averaged 28 points, 15 rebounds, and six assists per game while also winning the school’s first state title. 

After two years at Consortium, Jackson transferred to Justin-Siena High School in Napa, California following his family moving out to California. In his junior year, his first season at Justin-Siena, Jackson averaged 31.2 points and 5.4 assists per game. In Josh’s senior year, he tallied 26.9 points and 13.1 rebounds per game. He was later named a McDonald’s All-American, and his 19 points in the 2016 game earned him the name of Co-MVP. The top two, 5-Star recruit was then off to Kansas University.

Josh Jackson announced his intent to become a Jayhawk at Kansas University on April 11, 2016. Josh played one season for the Jayhawks. Josh Jackson started at power forward for Kansas, and even though he was out of his normal position, this did not stop him from tallying 16.3 points, 7.4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1.7 steals, and 1.1 blocks per game. These stellar freshman statistics helped Jackson earn his spot on the All-Big 12 First-Team. He was also named Big-12 Freshman of the Year and Second-Team All-American.

Following a great freshman season at Kansas, Jackson declared for the 2017 NBA Draft on April 17, 2017. 

The Phoenix Suns drafted Josh Jackson with the fourth overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. Jackson had previously canceled his workout with the Celtics, who held the 3rd pick in the draft, which may have been the reason he was not selected by Boston. Jackson made his NBA debut on October 18, 2017. In just his third game as a Phoenix Sun, Jackson made a derogatory gesture towards a Los Angeles Clippers fan, resulting in a $35,000 fine. Jackson moved on from this, however, still posting a very solid rookie season. The best game of his rookie campaign came with a 36 point barrage against the Golden State Warriors on St. Patrick’s Day. Following the 2017-18 season, he was named to the NBA-All-Rookie Second Team. 

In the 2018-19 season, Jackson started the year by coming off of the bench, In his season debut on October 17, 2018, Josh tallied 18 points in a win over the Dallas Mavericks. He averaged 11.5 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game over 79 games and 25.2 minutes per game. Following the season, Jackson was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies on July 7, 2019. He was then assigned to the Grizzlies G-League affiliate, Memphis Hustle, to start the 2019-20 season. Before being called back up, Jackson played 26 games for the Hustle, tallying 20.3 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.4 blocks, and 1.3 steals per game. He was also named Midseason All-NBA G League.