SPORTS GLAZE

The Ultimate Champion: Phil Jackson

By: Menachem Ickovitz

The NBA is celebrating its 75th Season. When writing the history of the NBA, there are some players, coaches, and teams that have elevated themselves over others. One such person is former player and coach, Phil Jackson.

Jackson played in the NBA from 1967–1980, after getting drafted in the 2nd round of the NBA Draft by the New York Knicks. He was a role-player for the Knicks and was a member of two Championship teams in 1970 and 1973. Additionally, he was named to the NBA All-Rookie Team in 1968.

During the 1969–1970 Championship season, Jackson sustained a back injury and was unable to play. Knicks coach Red Holzman asked Jackson to be a part of the team as an unofficial assistant coach. Jackson sat by Holzman’s side and learned a lot, which would help Jackson later in his second act in the NBA. About Holzman, Jackson once said, “But he had a lot of common sense about people. I think that’s more than anything else I picked up on.”

Had his NBA story ended with his playing career, he would have been one in a very long line of solid players that are mostly forgotten. However, his excellent relationship with his former New York Knicks head coach Red Holzman helped lead Jackson to his next passion, coaching.

Jackson’s first head coaching job was in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) for the Albany Patroons from 1982–1987. In 1984, the Jackson-led Patroons won the CBA Championship. During this same time, Jackson coached numerous teams in Puerto Rico during the CBA off-season.

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Menachem Ickovitz has written for numerous sports websites and enjoys taking an historic look at sports topics. He is a contributing editor for Mochers Magazine.

Photo courtesy of Steve Simoneau/ Associated Press

In 1987, the Chicago Bulls hired Jackson as an assistant coach under Doug Collins, and he was promoted to head coach in 1989 after the Bulls fired Collins. With the Bulls, Jackson coached future Hall of Famers such as Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Toni Kukoc, and Dennis Rodman. The Bulls won six NBA Championships with Jackson as their coach. After the 1998 season and their 6th Championship, Jackson was not retained by the Bulls, ending the Team of the ‘90s dynasty.

After taking a year off from coaching, Jackson resurfaced with the Los Angeles Lakers, a team with young talent ready to win an NBA Championship. With stars Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant, as well as role-players like Robert Horry, Derek Fisher, Ron Harper, and many more, Jackson was able to lead the Lakers to three Championships.

After the 2004 season, the Lakers went in a different direction from Jackson and hired Rudy Tomjanovich, a long-time successful NBA coach to replace him. However, Tomjanovich resigned after only coaching 41games for the Lakers due to health reasons. Jackson was rehired and coached the Lakers to two more Championships in 2009 and 2010.

Many people don’t give Jackson the credit he deserves. They say, “Anyone can coach the greatest players in the NBA to a championship.” Quite frankly, that is totally untrue. Both the Bulls and Lakers had coaches with the talent that Jackson had and they didn’t win. Doug Collins, Dell Harris, and Kurt Rambis were good coaches, but they didn’t have the missing piece that Jackson brought. It was not just about strategy; it was about dealing with the players and their egos. Jackson did that very well and has the 11 NBA Championships to show for it.

Photo courtesy of Charles Krupa/AP Photo