Phil Jackson leaves Auerbach in the past

Red Auerbach loathed Phil Jackson. He never hid it. Every word out of the Boston Celtics patriarch about the Los Angeles Lakers coach dripped with dismissive sarcasm, downright disdain. Deep down, Auerbach believed his record of nine NBA coaching championships was invincible. Times had changed, and dynasties were at the mercy of free agency and expansion. Even the great coaches no longer stood the test of time and turmoil.

Roll over Red. Phil Jackson is the greatest coach ever. He passed Auerbach with his 10th NBA title Sunday night and he will go down as the greatest coach in NBA history. For everyone who says they would've won with Michael Jordan and Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, understand this: There are few coaches alive who could've commanded the respect of those players for all those years, all those championships. Maybe just one, just Jackson.

Full article: Jackson leaves Auerbach in the past

Just wondering what people thought of this? Is Phil Jackson the best coach ever?

Topic #20198 | Report this topic

shame shame shame
Years ago

Lol, is this a joke? Did April fools come late?

Reply #239957 | Report this post

thedoctor
Years ago

When I first read the title, I thought maybe there had been another Bill and Ted movie.

Bad jokes aside, Jackson must at least be in serious contention as GOAT. Not a topic that one thinks of too often, but his ability to command respect, resurrect veterans careers, recruit for specific need and put it all together time and again (not to mention the triangle offence) must rank him up there with the best.

Reply #239960 | Report this post

Jesus
Years ago

Is the triangle Kobe one on one or am I misguided?

Reply #239965 | Report this post

Fezlington
Years ago

ur misguided

Jackson will go down as the greatest coach whenever his time ends

Any coach that can keep Rodman in line deserves it..lol

Reply #240016 | Report this post

DB5
Years ago

Interesting stats from yesterday. Phil has won and coached the most NBA Finals games.
He has won 51 playoff series, less than 20 coaches have won 50 playoff games or more.

Reply #240034 | Report this post

Loco
Years ago

Chuck Daley kept Rodman in line. Granted, that was pre-cross dressing...

...or we may have a chicken and egg situation here.

Reply #240035 | Report this post

DB5
Years ago

Good article on Phil here with interview straight after the game.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs/2009/columns/story?columnist=broussard_chris&page=philjax-090615

Pretty humble guy really.

Reply #240152 | Report this post

DB5
Years ago

Also, any fans of lol motivation poster emails may like this.

http://thatnbalotterypick.blogspot.com/2009/06/lol-nba-finals-lakers-win.html

Reply #240155 | Report this post

Gheorghe Muresan
Years ago

Phil is certainly one of the greatest coaches of all time. Yes, the triangle offence wasn't his, but the way he developed and got Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen in Chicago and Shaq and Kobe to accept it defines him.

Michael, Kobe and Shaq and to a lesser extent Pippen did often go against it during games, but it remained the centre piece of their offensive plays and it is an offence that many have since tried to copy.

You also need to remember that many, many average players enjoyed their greatest individual success while playing for Phil.

Just to name a few - Bill Wennington, Luc Longley, Randy Brown, Craig Hodges, BJ Armstrong, Steve Kerr, Jud Buechler, Scott Williams, Tyronn Lue, Brian Cook, Devean George, Samaki Walker, Mark Madsen, Kareen Rush and Trevor Ariza did litle either before or after hooking onto teams coached by Jackson.

It certainly takes a unique individual to get the most out of the superstars of the game, but it is just as difficult to get role players to rise to another level.

The confidence he installed in his lesser players and the productivity he got out of them is one of his greatest achievements.

Reply #240157 | Report this post

Hoops

Phil Jackson leaves Auerbach in the past

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