Paige Bueckers Sends Powerful Message After Rickea Jackson's Return to Unrivaled
Just three weeks ago, it was made public that WNBA star Rickea Jackson was involved in a domestic dispute that ended when her ex-boyfriend, Atlanta Falcons edge rusher James Pearce Jr. crashed his vehicle in an attempt to flee from local police in South Florida.
It was later released that Pearce Jr. had allegedly intentionally crashed his Lamborghini into Jackson's car multiple times in an effort to prevent her from reaching a local police station. He was arrested by local officials and is now facing five felony charges, including aggravated battery of a law enforcement officer.
Many fans feared for Jackson's safety following the incident and thankfully news came out that she walked away from the scary situation unharmed. Her status for competing in the remainder of the Unrivaled season was understandably up in the air, so when it was announced that she would be returning for Breeze BC, all eyes were on how Jackson would jump back in to competition.
RELATED: Rickea Jackson's Mom Has Emotional Reaction Amid Return After James Pearce Jr. Arrest
Unrivaled Teammate Paige Bueckers Praises Rickea Jackson's Performance After Return
In Jackson's return for Breeze Saturday evening she put on one of her best Unrivaled performances. Her spark brought inspiration to her teammates, including Paige Bueckers, who provided some insight on players' mental health during her post game presser.
"I think basketball for a lot of us is our safe haven. We come here to just get into a different place mentally and just lock in, and it didn't look like she missed a beat," Bueckers said.
Many would agree with Bueckers' comments after Jackson finished with 22 points and 3 rebounds in her team's 77-56 win over Vinyl BC keeping their hopes for a playoff bid alive. It was unknown if Jackson would return to basketball so soon given the circumstances, but her return was met with overwhelming support from teammates and fans in attendance.
Paige Bueckers on Rickea Jackson’s 22-point performance vs. Vinyl BC:
— Wendell Epps (@epps_wendell) February 22, 2026
“I think basketball for a lot of us is our safe place in our safe haven — we come here to just get into a different place mentally and just lock in, and it didn’t look like she missed a beat.” #Unrivaled pic.twitter.com/ks1xFNdRmZ
"I've always learned in life when you're going through something, it's so much better to go through it with the people around you and the people you love," Bueckers added.
Putting up big numbers isn't the important thing to be taken away from Rickea Jackson returning to basketball, but it was certainly good to see her back on the floor. Hopefully Bueckers' words rang true, because Jackson indeed didn't miss a beat in getting back into action and thriving.
Lindsay Burke covers women’s basketball for Indiana Fever On SI and Women’s Fastbreak On SI. She graduated from Purdue University Fort Wayne with a Bachelor's Degree in journalism and a minor in media production. Early in her career she covered ECHL hockey, the NFL and college football and has since expanded her expertise to the WNBA and the Fever franchise.
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