Life

Phil Jackson - One Bullet Left in the holster for NBA prodigy

In many sports there is debate over the word “greatest”, usually there a three or four names bandied around the room like a rag doll. Conversations become heated; you know when the loser of the argument emerges because they usually come out with a statement like “well you can’t compare different generations of players”.

When it comes to basketball coaching, around the world there is one name that surpasses them all, Phil Jackson. The enigmatic professor of coaching has achieved more in one lifetime of coaching than many of the great coaches of bygone eras before him put together.

His unusual yet canny style’s and methodology will be talked about around the water cooler for years to come.

The son of two devout Assemblies of God Ministers, Jackson had a very sheltered upbringing. Phil’s Father would deliver the sermons in the mornings, and Phil’s Mother would then deliver the message in the evening service.

It was from this upbringing that always had Jackson believing he would be a minister when he became of age. Although this did not exactly pan out, in many ways Phil’s success as a coach of the all famous LA Lakers, was due to his pastoral care skills of guiding some of the toughest young American man in the history of the game.

Phil Jackson’s career achievements include 11 NBA championships, six with the Chicago Bulls and five with the Los Angeles Lakers. Phil’s relationship with Michael Jordan will go down in history as the greatest partnerships ever seen.

In many sports there are great athletes, but it’s the failure of great athletes to become great players that have supporters around the world looking to coaches, to find the necessary means to make this conversion happen. And this is what makes Phil Jackson so great; his knack to see talent and turn talent into achievement is lengths ahead of any other coach.

When Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant reflect on their careers, their work with Phil Jackson will feature heavily in their mental highlight reel.

As Phil’s last regular season winds down and Kobe and his Lakers have one more tilt at the championship, sit back and enjoy Phil’s coaching no matter what happens. With eleven championship rings already, it doesn’t really matter if he loses, it’s not like he can grow another finger to wear the ring.

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