It's really difficult to call anyone who wins 11 Championships lucky, but there are some that can argue it. With the Los Angeles Lakers being swept from the NBA Playoffs on Sunday night, it's likely that we've now seen the last of Phil Jackson, the head coach of the Lakers. Throughout his 20 year head coaching career, Jackson won 11 NBA Championships. Six of those championships were won with the Chicago Bulls, which included two separate "three-peats." The other five championships came during Jackson's time as the head coach of the Lakers. That's 11 titles in 20 seasons. That is incredibly impressive!
The argument forms around "how" Jackson was able to win those 11 titles. During his stint with the Bulls in the early '90's, Jackson was the beneficiary of having Michael Jordan, the man widely considered by many to be the greatest player of all time. Along with Jordan, the Bulls had the likes of Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman (Rodman for the last three of Jackson's titles with the Bulls.) Leaving the Bulls after the 1998 season, Jackson "retired" from coaching, which didn't last but one year. He decided to give coaching another shot, this time with the Lakers in 1999. In 2000, he won the first of three more championships, this time with both Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal as the leaders of his team. After the Lakers decided to go forward with Kobe Bryant as the focal point of their team, sending O'Neal away, Jackson won two more titles with just Kobe. Not necessarily your average "stars".
With the superstars he had, there are many that say it would've been difficult NOT to win the championships he did. That's where the "legit vs. lucky" debate comes in. Was it Phil's coaching that led those teams to become NBA Champions, or was it the fact that he was coaching the best players in the game in their primes?
Let's take a look at a couple of things. For starters, since 1989 (the year Jackson took over the head coaching job for the Bulls), there have been only seven (7) different teams to win NBA Titles: Chicago Bulls (6), Los Angeles Lakers (5), San Antonio Spurs (4), Detroit Pistons (3), Houston Rockets (2), Miami Heat (1), and Boston Celtics (1). Of those 22 Championships, it could be argued that each of them had at least one "superstar" to lead the team, with the possible exception of one. That one exception could be the 2004 Detroit Pistons. That team had a great collection of players, but none that would be considered "superstars" by the normal standard. At that time, Chauncey Billups was just coming into his own, and Rasheed Wallace was a proven big man, but not someone you would build a team around if you were a general manager.
With that being said, every team in the NBA that wins an NBA Championship has a superstar player or two, or in some cases, even three. It might be Tim Duncan, it might be Hakeem Olajuwon, or it might be Kevin Garnett. Regardless, there have been superstars to win titles. So, does that make Greg Popovich, the coach of the San Antonio Spurs, "lucky" because he won four titles with Tim Duncan (two of those coming with the help of David Robinson, one of the greatest centers to ever play the game)? There are some that would say yes. Those people need to re-evaluate whether or not they actually understand sports, in general.
I am definitely not a fan of Phil Jackson's. To me, he's been a very arrogant, very smug coach. Some used to complain about the "Jordan Rules" when Michael Jordan played during those championship runs with the Bulls, but I'm one who believes in the "Jackson Rules." Jackson played the media to his advantage, making statements during interviews and press conferences that would seemingly change the officiating of the next game. His smug looks sitting on the bench would often silently scream "are you really making that call against MY team? Do you know who I am?" I've never been a fan, and that hasn't changed over the last 20 years.
Regardless of what you think of Jackson's attitude or personality, his coaching prowess can't be questioned. To win 11 championships in 20 seasons is something you haven't seen in any other sport from a coach/manager. To be able to harness the explosive personalities of Michael Jordan, Dennis Rodman, Kobe Bryant, and Shaquille O'Neal is something that not just any coach would be able to do. Jackson garnered respect from his players, regardless of what any may think of him. It's that respect that led him to those 11 championships, not the "superstars" he coached.
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