Clarkson clicks with his roots

Los Angeles Lakers’ Fil-American rookie Jordan Clarkson interact with the kids during the NBA Cares event Saturday in Tondo, Manila. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

FILIPINO-AMERICAN Jordan Clarkson easily made it to the 2015 NBA All-Rookie Team, but the Los Angeles Lakers guard thinks he still needs to work on his game.

And there’s one more he thinks who should do the same —Manny Pacquiao.

The 22-year-old Clarkson has yet to meet Pacquiao, but he knows the Filipino boxing superstar has made it to the professional basketball league here.

So what’s Clarkson’s advice?

“He’s got to work on his jump shot,” he said with a laugh.

The question came during Saturday’s media day, where Clarkson gamely fielded questions: What’s his favorite Filipino food (chicken adobo and lumpia); does he know how to speak Filipino (not yet); if he happens to know any local player (Chris Ross and Gabe Norwood).

Clarkson doesn’t mind being asked these questions, really. The Filipino basketball fans—much like parents whose son has made them proud—have made him feel very much loved.

After all, he’s the first player with Filipino roots who has made a huge impact on the NBA.

Another Fil-Am, Raymond Townsend, made it to the NBA in 1978 but drew sparse attention for three seasons.

“It’s a big thing for me,” Clarkson said of his Filipino lineage. “I want to make everybody proud. I’m working hard everyday just to do that.”

Clarkson was drafted 46th overall but turned out to be a revelation—he wound up second among rookies in points per game at 11.9 and third in assists per game at 3.6.

“The amount of support—I’ve been feeling it the whole year,” said Clarkson. “But actually coming here and seeing it, how many people love basketball and how they’re supportive of me, it’s pretty cool.”

Clarkson, who’s set to leave tomorrow, graced several NBA promotional events with Utah Jazz’s Trey Burke and NBA legend Horace Grant.

They also held an NBA Cares basketball clinic for kids in Tondo, Manila, which Clarkson said was the highlight of his first visit to his mother’s home country.

“Just being with so many kids and being there for them, it was great,” he said. “I might want to go back and run another camp. That’s the best part I’ve done since I got here.”

Clarkson, who was born in Florida, grew up in Texas with his mother Annette, who hails from Angeles City in Pampanga. She’s divorced from his American soldier father Mike.

Although he got his 6-foot-5 frame from his dad, Clarkson thinks resiliency is the Filipino trait he imbibed from his mother.

“The strength, the toughness, that’s what I got,” Clarkson said. “It has been a long year for me. I didn’t start playing until the second half of the season. I sat on the bench for the first half. So it’s just the toughness, staying on it and continuing to work.”