The Zen Master: The Biography Of Phil Jackson, The Winningest And Most Unique Coach In NBA History
This is the biography of Phil Jackson, the winningest coach in NBA history, who won 13 NBA championship in his career.
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The name Phil Jackson goes hand in hand with what an excellent basketball coach should be. Jackson has famously led two dynasties to multiple championships.
First, Jackson led the Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen-led Chicago Bulls to six NBA titles in a span of eight years. Next, he took the Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant-led Los Angeles Lakers to three straight seasons.
After seven years of failing to win, Jackson led the Lakers back to the promised land, as the Kobe Bryant and Lamar Oden-led Lakers won back-to-back titles. All of this is well known even to the younger fans who've never seen Jackson coach a game.
Still, this isn't the end of Phil Jackson's career and his life. There's much more to tell, and in this article, we're going to tell the whole story of the greatest coach in NBA history, Phil Jackson.
Phil Jackson: The Early Years Of The Zen Master
Phil Jackson was born on September 17, 1945, in Deer Lodge, Montana. He was raised in a highly religious home, as his parents, Charles and Elisabeth Funk, were part of the Assemblies of God ministers.
As Jackson grew up and attended Williston High School, he always believed he'd go on to be a monster, following in his parent's footsteps. While in high school, Jackson participated in a bunch of sports.
Jackson played baseball and was a good pitcher, good enough that he had colleges looking at him. He also threw the discus in track and field while also playing football.
Jackson's best sport in high school was basketball. He led his high school to the 1963 North Dakota State Champions during his senior season. There, he'd lead his school to the championship win after defeating Grand Forks 64-50.
Phil Jackson's College And NBA Playing Career
After his stellar high school career, Jackson attended the University of North Dakota, where he earned consecutive All-American honors and averaged 27.4 points per game as a senior. On top of basketball, Jackson also played baseball, where he was gaining attention from Major League Baseball.
When Jackson entered college, he still had plans to follow in his parent's footsteps by becoming a minister and teaching the word of God to people all around the world. Then, something happened that changed Jackson's plans.
As a freshman, Jackson took a biology lesson on Darwinism, and this opened his mind too much more than his religious upbringing. This lesson would impact Jackson's way of thinking and help to make him the person we know him as today.
“I floundered coming to college my freshman year,” Jackson once said. “Discussing evolution and the prospects of a different thought process than what I grew up with was somewhat disturbing. My major of philosophy and religion covered the bases of interest to me, and I added some accounting, business, and law into that,” Jackson explained. “It opened the door to thinking of other things in my solid background of Christian belief, which was a strong influence in my life.”
Jackson would graduate college and enter the 1967 NBA Draft. There, he'd be drafted in the 2nd round as the 5th pick and the 17th overall pick in the Draft.
As an NBA player, Jackson was a role player, coming off the bench in all 807 games that he played in his career. Jackson didn't see much playing time, only averaging 17.6 minutes. He averaged 6.7 points and 4.3 rebounds per game for his 12-year career.
These numbers don't jump off the page for an NBA career; Jackson's was pretty mediocre. Still, Jackson was a part of two championship-winning teams.
Jackson was a member of the 1970 and 1973 championship-winning New York Knicks team. In the 1970 NBA Finals, Jackson didn't see any playing time, but he played in both the 1972 NBA Finals, where the Knicks lost and the 1973 Finals.
Jackson played 10 total games in the NBA Finals and averaged 9.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game. Of course, Jackson's greatest performances in the Finals would come later, on the sidelines.
Phil Jackson Gets His Coaching Big Break
After 10 years in New York, Phil Jackson, who was known as The Happy Hooker, as a player, played two years in New Jersey for the Nets. On top of playing for the Nets, Jackson found himself acting as an assistant coach, making him a player/coach for his two years in New Jersey.
Jackson retired after the 1979-80 season but stayed on as an assistant coach for one more season. After the 1980-81 season, Jackson may have left New Jersey as their assistant coach, but his coaching career was just getting started.
After leaving the Nets, Jackson joined the Continental Basketball Association (CBA), where he became the head coach for the Albany Patroons. He also coached in Puerto Rico for two teams, the Piratas de Quebradillas and the Gallitos de Isabela in the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN).
Jackson saw success in the CBA as he led the Patroons to the 1984 championship. He was also named the 1985 CBA Coach of the Year.
This success by Jackson eventually led him to get hired to a new assistant coach job in the NBA. This time, it was the 1987-88 season, and his new team was the Chicago Bulls.
The first year Jackson became an assistant, Chicago, with Michael Jordan on the roster, won their first playoff series. The Bulls made it to the Semifinals before falling 4-1 to the Detroit Pistons.
The following year, the Bulls advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals before losing 4-2 to the Detroit Pistons once again. Chicago's head coach, Doug Collins, was fired after failing to get the Bulls to take that next step.
Chicago's upper management knew they needed a change in order to get the Bulls' roster to reach its full potential. They decided to give this challenge to Phil Jackson.
Phil Jackson Builds A Dynasty In Chicago
Phil Jackson had a different game plan in mind for the Chicago Bulls offense compared to how Doug Collins ran the offense. Collins' game plan was to give Jordan the ball and let him work his magic.
Jackson didn't agree with this style of offense, as he believed a team had a better chance of winning compared to one player. Jordan wasn't a fan of this idea, and of Jackson.
“I wasn’t a Phil Jackson fan when he first came in… Because he was coming in to take the ball out of my hands,” Jordan said.
Jordan didn't adapt to Jackson's offense in Jackson's first year. In Collins's last season as head coach, Jordan averaged 32.5 points per game. When Jackson took over, Jordan raised his points average to 33.6.
The Bulls made the Eastern Conference Finals once again, and once again, they lost to the Detroit Pistons. This time, the Bulls took the Pistons to seven games before falling.
People started to worry about the Bulls' chances to win with Jordan on the roster. They didn't believe a scoring juggernaut like MJ could lead a team to a title.
When the 1990-91 season began, Jackson decided to use his assistant coach's offensive system known as the triple-post offense, otherwise known as the triangle offense.
At first, Jordan wasn't sure about trusting Jackson's new offense, but he eventually gave in, and instantly, the team saw success like it never had before. In Jackson's second full year as head coach, the Bulls won 61 games, which was a franchise record at the time.
The Bulls stormed through the playoffs, meeting the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals once again. This time, the Bulls would sweep the Pistons to reach their franchise's first NBA Finals.
The 1991 NBA Finals saw the marquee matchup of Magic Johnson vs. Michael Jordan. During the Finals, the Bulls took a 3-1 lead. In Game 5, an important moment occurred that would change Chicago's fate forever.
During a timeout of Game 5, Jackson asked Jordan who was open, and Jordan replied Paxson, referring to John Paxson. Magic Johnson kept leaving Paxson to double Jordan, but Jordan was forcing tough shots.
So, Jackson, being the Zen master he was, wasn't afraid to call out any player, even the greatest player of them all.
“I wasn’t happy with what I was seeing. Despite our discussions, Michael was leaving Paxson in limbo. Magic often left his man (Paxson) to help other players on defense. He was gambling that Michael wouldn’t give up the ball. Paxson was a strong clutch shooter, and Michael trusted him more than others in tight situations. But with the championship in our sights, Michael was reverting to his old habit of trying to win games by himself. So I called a timeout and gathered the team together. 'Who’s open, MJ?' I asked, looking directly into Michael's eyes. He didn’t answer. So I asked again, 'Who’s open?' 'Paxson,' he replied. 'Okay, so get him the damn ball',” Jackson replied.
Jordan did what Jackson asked, and Paxton went on to score 10 points on 5-5 shooting in the final minutes of the game. The Bulls prevailed with their first NBA championship in their 108-101 victory.
Phil Jackson was now a championship-winning head coach in the NBA. He had done what no other coach had done, getting Michael Jordan over the hump to become the greatest player of all time. And this was just the start.
The Bulls, led by Jackson, would win two more titles in a row to complete a three-peat. At this point, Jackson had solidified himself as the best coach in the game. In a few years, he'd arguably earn the claim as the greatest coach the league has ever seen.
Michael Jordan surprised the works when he retired before the 1993-94 season. The Bulls played great, thanks to Jackson's coaching, finishing with a 55-27 record. This was only two wins less than the previous season with Jordan.
The Bulls would fail to four-peat as they lost in the Semifinals to the New York Knicks in seven games. After falling in the Semifinals the following year against the Orlando Magic, something magical happened in the 1995-96 season.
The Chicago Bulls went on a tear during the regular season. Their star, Michael Jordan, retired before the 1993-94 season and returned to play just 17 games in the regular season.
Now Jordan was back, and the team was out for redemption. Chicago won 72 games, which was a record before the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors broke the record by winning 73 games.
The Bulls, unlike the Warriors, would go on to win the championship. In fact, Chicago would win three more titles in a row, bringing Phil Jackson's total to six coaching championships.
Jackson's Turmoil With Chicago Leads Him To LA
Phil Jackson was living the good life in Chicago. He was leading his team to six championships while bringing his team closer to each other and themselves.
Jackson routinely had the team participate in mediation practices, which the players found strange but yet helpful to their success. Jackson wrote this in his book, Sacred Hoops, about teaching his players how to use their minds to their advantage:
“The secret is not thinking. That doesn’t mean being stupid. It means quieting the endless jabbering of thoughts so that your body can do instinctively what it’s been trained to do without the mind getting in the way.”
This insight was crucial to the team's success. If Michael Jordan, the game's best and most highly profiled player, can buy into Jackson's ways, then the team can buy into it, and they did.
Jordan once told ESPN in an interview back in 1998 about what he learned from Jackson:
“That is something I’ve learned from Phil. Calming the body. No matter how much pressure there is in a game, I think to myself: It’s still just a game. I don’t meditate, but I know what he’s getting at. He’s teaching about peacefulness and living in the moment, but not losing the aggressive attitude. Not being reckless, but strategic.
"What I do is I challenge myself in big games. I try to find a quiet center within me because there’s so much hype out there, and I don’t want to fall into it. I don’t want to rush. I’ll start off rebounding or getting everybody else involved until I get an easy shot, a layup, or a free throw or something, then boom, I’m off and running. I will have controlled my emotions and not gotten over-hyped or lost my focus. These are things Phil has taught me. And I’ll tell you, it all works, in big games more so than anything. It works when I’m sick, like in the Finals against Utah last year. I try not to focus on the sickness, just on being part of the situation. I am the situation. I have a game within a game. I will not expend great energy until I can find out where I fit in the scheme. That is a game in itself. It keeps me sharp.”
Despite all this success, Jackson found himself in a dispute with Chicago's management, especially Jerry Krause. This tension led to Jackson retiring from coaching after the 1997-98 season.
Many thought this would be it for Jackson. He won six titles as a coach in the NBA, and this is on top of the two he won as a player. What else did he have to prove?
The answer is nothing, but Jackson had a fiercely competitive spirit, and when the Los Angeles Lakers came knocking at his door with an offer to coach a young Shaquille O'Neal and an even younger Kobe Bryant, Jackson jumped to that offer.
Jackson found success right away in Los Angeles, as he led the Lakers to a 67-15 record and a championship. Like his time in Chicago, Jackson won three titles in a row, bringing his coaching total to nine championships.
More drama would occur, this time between Phil Jackson and Kobe Bryant, as Kobe was having problems with Shaquille O'Neal. This ordeal led to Shaq demanding a trade, and the Lakers organization decided to fire Jackson.
This didn't last long, as only one year after being hired; the Lakers rehired Jackson as their head coach. Jackson was happy to be back in Los Angeles.
“This is something I never thought could possibly happen,” Jackson said. “It's a pleasure to come back.”
Jackson would help turn things around in Kobe's career, helping The Black Mamba prove to his doubters that he could win a title without Shaq. Kobe's relationship with the Zen Master was repaired, and he even bought into Jackson's Zenful tactics.
Still, there were times when Kobe thought what Jackson was doing was a bit far-fetched. Like the time Kobe recounted in an interview for Valuetainment, about the time Jackson brought a Tai Chi master to the Lakers' practice.
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“He had a Tai Chi master come to practice once. I walked out there, and I saw a Tai Chi master standing on center court and tell us to take our shoes off and when I took them off, I was pissed. I was ready to play basketball and he's standing right up there and said everybody close their eyes and do stuff like monk gazing at the moon and letting the fingertips touch and all the spirituality behind that, and I'm peeking around and thought is everyone doing this shit? What the hell is going on? And then big ass Phil was there doing it himself and I'm like damn.”
Jackson and Kobe led the Lakers to back-to-back titles in 2009 and 2010, pushing Jackson's coaching championship total to 11. Phil Jackson is the winningest coach in the NBA, having two more coaching titles than Celtics legend Red Auerbach.
Phil Jackson's Retirement, Front Office Experiment, And Retirement Again
After winning his 11th coaching title in the 2009-10 NBA season, Phil Jackson coached one more season in 2010-11, where his Lakers were swept in the Semifinals by the eventual NBA champions, the Dallas Mavericks.
Jackson retired after the season, which he had dubbed “his last stand,” citing health issues as the main cause of his retirement. This includes being diagnosed with prostate cancer.
After leaving coaching, Jackson remained retired until 2014, when he became the president of the team he formerly played for, the New York Knicks. When he was first hired, Knicks fans praised his arrival, believing he was the key to turning the franchise around... This would not happen.
Jackson would run the Knicks until 2017 when he and the team mutually parted ways. The reason for this was that Jackson underperformed in the Knicks' front office.
Fans, who normally loved Jackson, turned on him as they believed Jackson was making every wrong decision for the Knicks. This includes hiring Derek Fisher in 2014, giving Carmelo Anthony a no-trade clause in his 2014 contract, and trading for the injury-prone Derrick Rose in 2016.
After leaving New York in 2017, Jackson returned to Montana to spend his time relaxing and getting in touch with nature, as he always had. Jackson was named one of the 10 greatest coaches of all time in 1996. In 2022, he was named one of the top 15 best coaches of all time.
In 2007, Jackson was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach. For his NBA coaching career, Jackson finished with an 1155-485 record. In the postseason, Jackson finished with a 229-104 record.
Phil Jackson is the greatest coach in NBA history. To be able to take the talent he had and get his players to work together as one unit was special. We'll never see another coach like Phil Jackson again.
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