Getty Images By Ben Chew:
It’s been about 48 hours since Lakers coach Phil Jackson walked off the American Airlines Arena floor in Dallas to a sweep by the hands of Mavericks. Sure, it’s the not the picture perfect ending that everyone wanted for the Zen Master but as in life, the endings are never what we expect.
The NBA has had numerous great coaches from Chuck Daly to Gregg Popovich to Pat Riley to Red Auerbach, but Phil Jackson was something different. As a second round draft pick, Jackson was part of the Knicks title-winning teams of the 1970s, but was never a key component. He was a scrapper who just did things to help the team win, but his coaching style in the NBA wasn’t scrappy at all.
When he took the Chicago job in 1989, he was taking over a perennial underachieving team that had arguably the best player in the NBA. He soon guided the Bulls to three straight championships and then almost had a chance at fourth in ’94, except for a phantom foul which cost the Bulls a shot at another finals appearance. After Jordan returned from retirement, Jackson’s teaching brought the Bulls to pantheon levels where they won three more titles and cemented his legacy as one of the greatest coaches of all time.
After the Bulls were blown up, Jackson then went to another team in need of guidance, the Los Angeles Lakers. With two volatile superstars, it appeared to be a recipe for disaster, but Jackson somehow turned rags to riches as the Lakers won five titles in the 2000s, bringing back the Laker aura.
Jackson was a chemist who was able to add/mix and match players to fit the Triangle system and preached that the team was more important that any individual. He used role players in the biggest situations and used what he knew about the game to his advantage. Before Phil, there were coaches who used mind games on players and opposing coaches but Phil took to a whole other level. He somehow was able to use the media to motivate his own players and sometimes even posit certain information into referees’ minds whether it was needed or not.
There has not been a coach in recent memory who has been more successful or even better known that Phil Jackson. If you were to go out onto the street and ask the average person to name a current NBA coach, Phil would be the first name you hear. He was a manager of the NBA rock stars of the 90’s/00’s and for whatever you thought of his players, you had to respect him.
For some reason, there is still debate among NBA fans about how impressive his record of titles has been due to the great level of talent that he got to coach. For better or worse, players win championships and coaches are along for the ride. But for Phil, the ride he got to take was a pretty good one.
As the ABC cameras in Dallas panned to the shots of Phil Jackson walking off an NBA court for the final time, he showed no signs of tears or sorrow. Just a slight smile as he walked off into the NBA coaching sunset.
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Ben Chew is a sports reporter for KIEM-TV News Channel 3 and author of the blogs Outside the Boxscore and That NBA Lottery Pick.
