For most of his career, Stephen Jackson wore his durability like a badge of honor. “My whole career, I’ve never had no serious injuries or no surgeries,” he told SLAM back in 2016, just a year after retiring from the NBA. But now? That line feels like it’s coming back to haunt him. Because in 2025, it’s not just the wear and tear from 14 seasons that’s catching up—it’s the untreated damage, the ignored signs, the stubbornness to push through. And on Thursday night, Jackson finally gave fans a raw look at what he’s dealing with now, posting a long message straight from his phone’s notes app to Instagram.

“They gotta clean some s— up in my back,” the Spurs legend wrote. “Torn labrum in my hip. Cyst on my hip and arthritis in my hip. All from my back sitting on my nerve. My foot went numb. Mild scoliosis in my back. All from a sport and getting hit by a car.” The worst part? He waited. “He said if I would came when I first felt it woulda been good. I waited too long, so they gotta go in Tuesday. Any longer, it woulda been needed life-changing surgery. Prob wouldn’t walk the same again.” You can hear the weight in his words—the regret, the pain, the reality of years spent ignoring what his body was trying to tell him.

But it wasn’t just basketball that did this to him. Jackson also referenced the 2006 car incident—one that started as a night out and ended with him being run over outside a strip club. Back then, the headlines called it “minor.” Jackson says otherwise. “He knocks all my teeth out, all my gums, and stuff with my lips shattered,” he once recalled. Bloodied, unconscious, and waking up in handcuffs in a police car, he had to undergo plastic surgery on his mouth and lips without anesthesia. “They ripping skin out my gums, uh, debris out my gums, cutting skin off my lips, trying to stitch it up,” he remembered. It’s a horror story, and he lived through it with barely anyone knowing the truth.

And now, when you lay out his injury history, the picture gets even clearer. As reported by Sports Forecaster, in 2013 alone, he missed games for a sprained right ankle multiple times. In 2012, he sat out 14 games due to a finger injury. Go back to 2011? A long stretch of absences thanks to a strained left hamstring. The years before that are packed too—hamstring issues in 2010, a toe injury in 2009 that kept him out for ten games, wrist and hand injuries in 2008, and ankle sprains in 2006. Earlier in his career, he missed an entire playoff run in 2002 with a sprained thumb. From knees to toes, hips to hamstrings, Jackson played through more than he let on. But now, at 46, his body is demanding answers—and rest—that it should’ve gotten long ago.

Stephen Jackson’s surgery update

Before things could take a turn for the worse—medically, physically, or even mentally—Stephen Jackson made sure he was already on the road to recovery. Last Thursday, he gave fans a heartfelt heads-up about his health issues, and by Tuesday morning, he was right back on Instagram with a new update. This time? A candid airport selfie with his wife, Tammy Jackson, both en route to the hospital. “Let’s get this over with. En route. Surgery 7am. Pray everything goes as planned InshaAllah. #Naptown,” he wrote. The love poured in from everywhere—Shaquille O’Neal’s ex-wife Shaunie, Jermaine O’Neal, NBA and WNBA stars, and fans from all corners sent prayers and support his way.

And just a day later? Stak was back again—this time from a hospital bed, looking way too upbeat for someone who just went under the knife. “What up world. Amen, I’m doing good, man. Made it out of surgery,” he said, sounding more like he was hosting All the Smoke than recovering from surgery. In a post captioned, “Thank u all. MashaAllah,” he was calm, thankful, and fully present. “I thank y’all for all the prayers, all the texts. Everybody that reached out, all my brothers and sisters. Q, you’re going through your own battle, you still thinking about so much. We in this together.”

Stephen made it clear that while the surgery was successful, this is only the beginning. “Journey starts now,” he said. And he’s not just talking about healing physically—he’s talking about showing up for others, too. He ended with a message straight from the heart: “I just appreciate all the love and support. And, try to bounce back. But everything went well in my surgery. I appreciate all of y’all. Same prayers all y’all praying for me, make sure y’all praying those prayers for my girl Q.” As he focuses on healing, he’s also asking everyone to keep Tammy in their prayers, the rock by his side. If we know Stak, he’ll be back sooner than we expect—probably with a mic in hand and a story to tell.