SUMMARY
- Phil Jackson's coaching career stands as the most successful in NBA history, marked by an unprecedented eleven championships.
- Jackson's journey from a player to becoming one of the most influential head coaches in NBA shows his versatility.
Phil Jackson is undeniably the most successful coach in the history of the NBA. His journey has been a remarkable one, marked with endless milestones and success. Jackson’s ability to understand each player and make use of their unique skill set to win is admirable. Interestingly, he was a part of the league for more than a decade serving roles as a player, executive, and head coach.
During this time, he has won an impressive number of NBA Championships. Each ring that Jackson has won tells a story of his resilience and determination. It is noteworthy that in 1996, Jackson was named NBA Coach of the Year. In addition to this, he was inducted into the prestigious Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame when he was still coaching the LA Lakers.
Chicago forever loves Phil Jackson ❤️ pic.twitter.com/11YayHVsPy
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) January 13, 2024
Furthermore, Jackson grew up in the small town of Deer Lodge, Montana, and had humble beginnings. His love for basketball ignited at an early age, and he became a sensation by the time he graduated high school. Notably, the sports complex of the high school is now named after him. He chose to go to the University of North Dakota for his college career and became a key player for the Fighting Sioux.
Recently after being retired for more than a decade, Jackson was back at the United Center. He attended the first-ever Ring of Honor class of the Chicago Bulls at the United Center. Jackson was honored as he is a former Bulls head coach who made the team a celebrated one. In the same ceremony, Jerry Krause who has a dark history with Jackson was booed because of the infamous ‘The Last Dance’ documentary.
Phil Jackson has two rings as a player and eleven as a head coach
Phil Jackson had a successful stunt both as an NBA player and as the head coach. The thirteen Championships to his name are just one of the proofs of this success. Out of these thirteen rings, Jackson won two as a player and the remaining as the head coach. Furthermore, his transition from being a player to an assistant coach to the position of head coach was impressive.
In 1967, Jackson entered the league as a player after being picked by the New York Knicks. He played for twelve seasons wherein he had an average score of 6.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.1 assists. During his playing career, Jackson became one of the league’s most popular sixth-men at the time. He made use of his basketball IQ and experience as a player in his coaching career.
Notably, the Zen Master embarked on his coaching career as an assistant coach for the New Jersey Nets. He joined the Bulls as the head coach at the same time as Michael Jordan’s debut and the two together changed the course of the team and basketball. After being the head coach for the Bulls for nine seasons during which he led them to six NBA Championship titles, Jackson joined the Lakers.
Furthermore, he was a part of the LA Lakers team as the head coach for twenty seasons. Jackson coached and transformed players into extraordinary players. He guided the team to five rings before retiring after the 2010-2011 season. Notably, during his coaching career, Jackson had numerous health issues and he decided to retire after being diagnosed with prostate cancer. Since then his focus has been on his personal life and writing.