Phil Jackson, one of the most successful coaches in NBA history has a record of 11 NBA titles. Chicago Bulls won six championships under his guidance. Despite such an impressive record, the American coach was fired from the team. Isn’t it shocking? Why did it happen?
Jackson’s stint at the Chicago Bulls came into the limelight after the release of The Last Dance. It is a miniseries co-produced by ESPN Films and Netflix. The series revolves around the career of Bulls superstar Michael Jordon. The American documentary has 10 episodes in total.
Its first episode aired on 19th April 2020. This sports TV series mainly focused on the 1997-1998 NBA season. It was the last time Jordan represented the Bulls. And, so was Jackson.
Phil Jackson always had a theme for each NBA season. The bulls went through significant changes post this season. The Head coach wanted a united team for this one. It was the last run of the champion team. Hence, he called it The Last Dance.
Phil Jackson – The Greatest Coach of All Time
Phil Jackson was born on 17th September 1945. The 77-year-old American Coach was a player too. Phil’s first interaction with basketball started in his high school in Williston, North Dakota. He played football and baseball as well.
The school now has a sports complex after his name. At the University of North Dakota, Jackson continued his spell under Bill Fitch. His playing career in NBA started in 1967 with New York Knicks. In the years 1970 and 1973, his team won the championship.
Jackson was a fan-favorite player. After a period of over a decade, he went ahead in 1978 to play for New Jersey Nets. His journey as an athlete ended after the 1979-1980 season. In total, Jackson played for 12 NBA championships.
Jackson’s journey as a coach started soon after the end of his playing career. But, his NBA coaching career went on in 1987 when he was appointed the assistant coach of the Chicago Bulls. Soon after, he became the head coach in 1989. Post his Bull’s journey, he worked with Los Angeles Lakers from 1999 to 2004.
In 2005, the charismatic coach again joined the Lakers. The year 2011 was his last spell as a coach. During his coaching career, he was awarded as the NBA All-Star Game Head Coach four times. He was also the NBA coach of the year in 1996.
In 2007, Jackson became a part of the Basketball Hall of Fame. Jackson is also known as the Zen Master for using native American and Eastern techniques in his coaching career. Jackson worked as an executive for Knicks in 2014. However, his executive career wasn’t very impressive.
New York Knicks went on a spree of losses under his regime. Hence, in 2017, Knicks replaced Jackson with Steve Mills. The basketball legend retired from all his roles after this. Jackson documented his career and team strategy in his books. So, this was all about one of the greatest basketball coaches in history. Let’s know what happened to him while working with Chicago Bulls.
Jackson as Bulls’ Head Coach – Here’s Why He Was Fired
Jackson’s first job as an NBA coach started with Chicago Bulls. During his time, the Bulls were one of the strongest NBA teams. From 1990 to 1993, the team won three championships in a row. The winning spell again started in 1995.
The team again won three titles consecutively. Also, they made it to the playoffs every year. However, Jackson’s relationship with the team’s general manager grew sour over time. The team’s success was not enough to cover this up.
Reportedly, GM Jerry Krause felt overshadowed under Jackson. He believed that Jackson took all the credit for the team’s performance. It was all confirmed when Krause did invite Jackson to his stepdaughter’s marriage. According to The Last Dance, Michael Jordan urged to play under Jackson only.
Hence, Krause made it clear that even if the team won the championship of 1997-1998, Jackson will not come back. He also presented Jackson as a double-faced personality who did not respect his assistant coaches. It all happened as said. Michael Jordan led the team to win the championship.
Both Jackson and Jordan left the team. After this, the Bulls could not maintain the legacy. The decision to remove Jackson backfired. Jackson even decided to retire.
But, a year later, he got another break with Los Angeles Lakers. Jackson’s magical round continued with the Lakers too. The Lakers went on for their three-peat run from 2000 to 2002. However, Jackson was shown an exit in 2004 over his differences with Kobe Bryant.
He later reunited with Lakers owner Jerry Buss in 2005. It was all due to the efforts of Jeanie Buss. Jennie and Jackson were engaged at that time. After the reunion, the star coach again named two championships in his record.
