Gunning for change

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Over the summer, Golden State Warriors swingman Stephen Jackson got a new tattoo that covers part of his chest and stomach. The background is a church window. In front are two praying hands holding a gun.

Jackson says the ink symbolizes his past (the gun) and his future (his new weapon of prayer).

Jackson in the last two seasons has been branded a hothead, a troublemaker, violent and dangerous. And on the court, he's proving himself as a leader, a great teammate and the heart of the highest-scoring team in the NBA.

As a member of the Indiana Pacers, Jackson was a part of the infamous brawl at the Palace of Auburn Hills in November 2004, and this past June pleaded guilty to a felony count of criminal recklessness after he fired a gun outside an Indianapolis strip club during training camp in 2006.

The Pacers grew tired of Jackson's antics and traded him to Golden State for the last 38 games of 2006-07. But since joining the Warriors, Jackson has started forcing critics to do a double-take. He steered clear of trouble off the court and on the court averaged 16.8 points last season while helping Golden State reach the playoffs and then upset Dallas in the first round.

Warriors coach Don Nelson named Jackson one of the team captains this season even though he had to serve a seven-game suspension at the start for his felony plea. Nelson valued the leadership, confidence and passion Jackson brought the team.

"We have great confidence in him as a player and a leader, and I think you'd hear that from most people who have spent time to really get to know Jack," Nelson said after naming Jackson as one of the team captains.

Those intangibles, which were previously overlooked in Jackson, were evidently missing when the Warriors opened the season 1-6 while he served his suspension. They averaged 109.3 points in those games, but something was missing.

Then Jackson returned and everything changed. Golden State won eight of nine games. The Warriors have continued the momentum throughout the season, leading the league in scoring (110.8 points) and ranking eighth in the Western Conference standings through Sunday's games.

"I think a lot of times, [Jackson] gets a lot of bad publicity," said Wizards point guard Antonio Daniels, who was a teammate of Jackson's with the Spurs in 2002. "But people underestimate how much leadership means to a team and what he brings — that emotional lift that he brings and also his timely and big-time shots that he makes."

In addition to adding leadership and confidence, Jackson is averaging 20.9 points and 4.1 assists, both career highs.

Now in the last month of the regular season, he aims to help the Warriors climb a few spots higher Western Conference playoff race and to a playoff charge.

"He's a competitor," Daniels said. "He plays hard night in and night out, and he's a great guy. It's great [to see] for me because I played with him in San Antonio, and it's great to see him out there playing well and with a team that's playing well."