'I saved us in the Western Conference Finals' - Stephen Jackson feels disrespected for not getting credit during Spurs title run in 2003

Stephen Jackson was a key contributor to the 2003 San Antonio Spurs championship team. He started for Gregg Popovich the whole postseason, which was huge for the squad because Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili were still trying to find their footing. Nevertheless, Stack feels his impact during that title run was often overlooked.

"For me, bro, I watch that series a lot because I didn't get the credit I deserve," "Cap'n Jack" said about the 2003 Western Conference Finals on a recent episode of the Club 520 podcast. "I saved us in the Western Conference Finals. Ginobili was the only person being solid. Tony wasn't playing well because they had to bring Speedy Claxton in. Tim (Duncan) was getting doubled, and David (Robinson) was old."

"If you look at the games, I'm making all the big shots, and even when we're going through droughts, I'm the only one scoring. So, when it came to Game 6, when they ended up putting Steve Kerr, and he hit four threes, it was big for us. But if you look at the whole game, I carried us the whole game and still making big shots," Jackson continued.

Breaking down Game 6 of the 2003 Dallas series

Jackson hit the bulls-eye when he talked about his carry job in Game 6 against the Mavericks. He finished with a game-high 24 points on five-for-seven shooting from deep. The Spurs were down by as much as 15 in the third quarter, 48-63, but Jack refused to lay over. He was responsible for San Antonio's last eight points of the quarter, making five straight and assisting on a Kerr three-pointer. Without him making those plays, the Spurs may just have looked ahead to a Game 7.

Jackson drilled consecutive shots from rainbow territory to pull Silver and Black to within three, 68-71, at the 8:53 mark of the fourth. He never made more buckets after that, but as he said, he damn near carried the whole team that night because the stars weren't playing well. Parker went down with a stomach bug, while Ginobili and Tim Duncan shot a combined 11-for-29.

His refusal to lose was the catalyst of the Kerr show in the fourth. The former Bulls guard made four threes that allowed San Antonio to take the lead, one that they never relinquished. They eliminated the Mavs, 90-78.

Manu consoled Stephen

Jackson recalled getting emotionally crushed after "they get him (Kerr) the MVP at the end of the game." The 14-year veteran may have meant the "Best Player of the Game" award or the game ball, but he admittedly felt he did enough to get recognized. Instead, the whole of San Antonio celebrated how a seldom-used veteran guard saved the Spurs' day.

That said, Jackson quickly got over everything when Manu consoled him and recognized his efforts.

"Ginobili came to me when I was in my locker when I was about to start crying. He came, like, 'Bro, you deserve to be the MVP.' After that, I was cool. That was the only person on the court that whole series that was riding with me, and it meant a lot," the 1997 second-round pick remarked.

Grain of Salt

Jackson pretty much hit the nail on the head about what happened in Game 6. However, before that, he must have forgotten how well Parker and Duncan played in earlier wins.

For instance, the Big Fundamental stepped up with 32/12/5 with three blocks in Game 2. Then, he followed that performance up with an even better one in Game 3: 34 points, 24 rebounds, six assists, and six blocks! TP added 29 points and eight rebounds on a 13-for-23 clip from the floor.

Sure, San Antonio wouldn't have gotten the job done without Stack's contributions in Game 6. Nobody knows what would happen in a Game 7. Remember, the Mavs already won two road games, so they know what it took to succeed at the SBC Center.

Nevertheless, things like these happen in every championship run. Michael Jordan had to rely on John Paxson and Kerr to hit shots, the same way Duncan had to count on "Jax" to do his thing when it was his time.