SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — A television in the Giants’ clubhouse recently was showing a replay of James Harden’s ridiculous crossover-stepback-staredown that left Wesley Johnson lying on the court with nothing to do but smile.

Just one person in the clubhouse was looking up at the screen.

“I know Wesley. He played on my AAU team,” Giants center fielder Austin Jackson said. “I didn’t notice it was him until they kept showing it and showing it.

“‘Hey, that’s Wesley.’”

Jackson could do nothing but smile, too.

His old buddy from Texas not only made the NBA, living a dream Jackson once had, but helped blow up social media. And by the way, Johnson handled the Harden beatdown beautifully. Nothing defuses falling to the court as your man ponders a three-pointer better than a you-got-me smile.

“Pretty cool to have someone you played with make it to the NBA,” Jackson said.

At one time, Jackson was on the fast track to a pro hoops career. In 2005, Athlon Sports ranked him the 10th-best high school point guard in the country. No. 1 was Lou Williams, Johnson’s teammate on the Clippers. No. 4 was Mario Chalmers, now with Memphis.

Jackson was such a special two-sport athlete that he accepted a scholarship to Georgia Tech to play both basketball and baseball, only to withdraw and sign with the Yankees out of the 2005 draft.

“I think about it all the time,” Jackson said when asked how his life would have changed if he had gone to Georgia Tech. “Playing both, it would’ve taken a toll on your body. Just a whole different direction, college in general would’ve been a difference.”

Jackson’s career turned out quite well. He’s approaching his ninth big-league season and joined the Giants on a two-year, $6 million deal to help fill a hole in center field.

“No complaints,” said Jackson, thrilled to be a ballplayer and father of a 14-month-old boy, Bryson. “I’m happy.”

His son is his off-field focus and inspiration — he often emulates dad and actually hits off a tee — but Jackson still gets a kick out of basketball.

As a new employee in the Bay Area, naturally he was asked about the Warriors:

“It seems on any given night, obviously, any of those (four All-Star) guys can go off. It seems they have a good feel for when that night is. That’s what makes them so dangerous.”

And Stephen Curry:

“The skill-set is just unreal, and he seems comfortable shooting the ball from anywhere on the court. It’s amazing to me.”

As a kid growing up outside Dallas in Denton, Texas, Jackson liked Jason Kidd, the Mavericks’ point guard in the mid-’90s. Jackson was in middle school when he met Kidd at a basketball camp and couldn’t get over how much taller he looked (6-foot-4) in real life.

Jackson tried to borrow Kobe Bryant’s approach as an on-court facilitator, citing his “smoothness and demeanor. Obviously, I’m not 6-7 or probably wasn’t going to play like him, but I wanted to lead a team like him.”

Jackson’s basketball prowess at Billy Ryan High School made baseball scouts hesitant, and he fell to the eighth round before the Yankees grabbed him. He still was determined to go to Georgia Tech, but the Yankees offered $800,000, a then-record amount for an eighth-round pick.

Still, Jackson wasn’t sure. He flew to Tampa, Fla., to sign, had second thoughts and went back home.

“It was tough to let go,” he said. “It was kind of overwhelming. I had a change of heart. I felt like I needed some more time to think about it. They understood.”

Eventually, Jackson signed and joined the Yankees’ farm system and was traded to the Tigers four years later. He broke into the majors in 2010 and faced the Giants in the World Series in 2012.

He also had stops with the Mariners, Cubs, White Sox and Indians before joining the Giants, who figure to play him often, especially against left-handed pitchers.

Jackson made one of last season’s greatest catches when leaping over the Fenway Park wall in right-center, then tumbling head over heels to the other side, to rob Hanley Ramirez of a home run.

He still has hops. In fact, he can still dunk. In the final stages of rehab from 2016 knee surgery, Jackson leaped above the rim and threw one down.

“I had to make sure I could still do it,” he said.