Phil Jackson is considered one of, if not the best coaches in NBA history. He helped form two dynasties with the Chicago Bulls and later the Los Angeles Lakers, winning multiple NBA titles with both teams over the course of 19 years. He led teams to three straight championships on three occasions and was regularly the mastermind behind some of the best offences in the association.
He got his start as a head coach in the NBA with the Bulls, taking charge in 1989 after a couple of years working for the franchise as an assistant coach. Once he got his foot in the door, he ran with it and within two years, Chicago won their first ever title and he played a key role in that. He didn’t do it alone, though, and he was blessed to have Michael Jordan in the squad.
The former shooting guard is considered by most to be the greatest basketball player of all time. He dominated the NBA and was instrumental to the Bulls’ success, maybe even more so than Jackson, during the 1990s. His impact on the coach’s career cannot be overstated and while he went on to coach the likes of Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant later in his career, there’s no doubt that Jordan was the best player he ever worked with.
Despite this, the two haven’t always been the most positive about one another. In fact, Jordan once named a different NBA coach as the best he ever worked with and Jackson has revealed that he doesn’t think his superstar is the greatest player of all time. Instead, he named someone else.
Jackson Named a Former Boston Celtics Player as the GOAT
Considering he witnessed Jordan’s greatness up close, you’d be forgiven for thinking that Jackson would naturally regard him as the greatest NBA player of all time. After all, so many others feel that way about the former Bulls star, but his head coach has different ideas and actually thinks former Boston Celtics centre, Bill Russell is the all-time best player ever.
As quoted by Essentially Sports, Jackson said: