They told Pierre Jackson that he’d never make it. That he was too short, that kids born in Las Vegas never made it out, and that the Achilles injury he suffered in the opening minutes of last year’s Summer League opener would serve as the death blow to an NBA career that had yet to even begin.

But on Wednesday, he took a massive leap in the winding NBA journey that has taken him across the globe and forced him to overcome more hurdles than any 23-year-old should ever have to endure, signing a multi-year contract with the Philadelphia 76ers.

Jackson is hard not to root for. Generously listed at 5’10” with a frame that’s equally underwhelming, he was as under-recruited as he is undersized. Despite being a standout at Desert Pines High School in Las Vegas, Jackson began his collegiate career at Southern Idaho, a two-year community college in Twin Falls. His strong play with the Golden Eagles was good enough to catch the eye of Baylor head coach Scott Drew, who offered Jackson an opportunity to transfer as a junior.

It was at Baylor that his outstanding potential was realized. In his two years in Waco, he established himself as one of the top guards in a stacked Big 12 Conference. In 2012-13, he led the Bears to an NIT Championship, earning tournament MVP honors in the process.

Many expected Jackson to be selected somewhere near the top of the second-round in the 2013 Draft, possibly even late in the first. But when draft night came, he fell to pick #47, where he was scooped up by the Sixers, selecting for the Pelicans as part of a larger deal agreed upon during the first round.

The Pelicans, whose roster at the time featured 2012 lottery pick Austin Rivers as well as veterans Tyreke Evans and Holiday at the point guard position, wanted Jackson to hone his skills abroad in 2013-14 rather than take up a spot on the team’s 15-man roster. Jackson signed that summer with French Pro A club ASVEL Villeurbanne, but after spending training camp in France he returned to the States before ever playing a game.

That fall, he entered the NBA Development League Draft and was selected fourth-overall by the Idaho Stampede. He immediately took the league by storm, scoring 29 points in his debut game and following that up with a 32-point outing one night later. In 31 games with the Stampede, he led the NBDL in scoring at 29.1 points per game and set the league record for points in a game with 58 against the Texas Legends on February 4, 2014.

But still the Pelicans declined to call him up to the parent club, and two weeks after his historic performance he signed a deal with Turkish club Fenerbahçe Ülker for the remainder of the 2013-14 season. That was short-lived though, as he and the team parted ways after Jackson logged just 65 total minutes through his first month in Turkey.

Jackson was effectively stuck. The Pelicans owned his rights, precluding him from signing a deal with another NBA team, and until those rights were either dealt or waived he was at the team’s mercy. That’s where the Sixers re-entered the picture.

On draft night in 2014, Philadelphia dealt a pick used to select Louisville point guard Russ Smith to New Orleans in exchange for Jackson’s rights. It was a dream for Jackson, an opportunity to earn playing time on the team perhaps most devoted to player development in the entire league. He arrived in Philadelphia the next day, beaming as he hoisted a #55 Sixers jersey and posed for official photos at the team’s practice facility.

One week later, he joined the team in Florida for the Orlando Pro Summer League. It was supposed to be a dress rehearsal of sorts, a way to get back into game shape before traveling with the Sixers to his hometown of Las Vegas for the longer, more involved Samsung NBA Summer League.

At the 7:03 mark in the first quarter of game one in Orlando, Jackson entered the game for the Sixers. Immediately, he heat-checked and missed a three-pointer. His next attempt was a driving layup that was swatted by Orlando big man Vernon Macklin.

But then, as so often the case for Jackson, something clicked, and no Magic player could stop him. He scored seven points on three consecutive buckets in just over one minute, getting clean looks both inside and out. It looked like we were in for another electric performance from the demonstrative point guard, but in an instant that pleasure was sapped and Jackson’s career was once again thrown into turmoil.

With less than 30 seconds left in the first quarter, Jackson made an innocent off-ball cut towards Nerlens Noel to receive a handoff from the rookie big man. He heard a loud pop but figured he had simply taken a step on a loose part of the court. He then planted his right foot down again and felt a sharp, stabbing pain in his calf. He hobbled backwards and collapsed to the floor, fearing that he’d broken or badly sprained his ankle.

He was immediately attended to by team trainers, who ordered teammates Ronald Roberts, Jr. and Ed Daniels to help carry Jackson to the locker room. As he was being lifted, Jackson heard one of the trainers mutter the word “Achilles.” He knew then the severity of the injury, and he covered his face with a towel and wept.

The 2014-15 season was supposed to be his opportunity to prove to all those people who doubted him, from high school, to Division I, to the NBA, to Turkey, and everywhere in between, that they had been wrong. It was supposed to be his coming out party. Instead, he spent the year at his home in Las Vegas, recovering from surgery and watching the Sixers on television at night after grueling days of rehab.

Throughout the year, he remained in contact with his would-have-been teammates as well as Sixers General Manager Sam Hinkie and head coach Brett Brown. Soon after Jackson suffered the injury, the Sixers signed him to mostly guaranteed, one-year minimum contract, providing the young point guard with the resources to get the best medical care possible on his road to recovery.

“They didn't have to do that at all. That means a lot about the organization and what Sam has got going on here. I'm just glad to be a part of it,” Jackson told reporters after inking a new, four-year deal with the team on Wednesday. “I was just keeping my faith up and knowing that they were still interested in me and were ready for me to get back right.”

His faith was well-placed. On Wednesday, the Sixers signed Jackson to a four-year deal, providing some security to a player whose career has been a roller coaster ride of ambiguity.

Joining the youngest team in the NBA, and one whose four point guards under contract have combined for just 52 career NBA starts, Jackson will be given the opportunity to earn minutes right away in Philadelphia. For Jackson, after a lifetime of pushing and grinding to earn respect, now would seem to be the perfect time to sit back and allow himself to breathe. But he also knows that nothing, including his contract, is guaranteed.

“I'll never stop working, and it's been obvious throughout my basketball career since college,” he said. “Obviously, I want to support my family, and I want to continue to do that while playing in the NBA.”