With 11 NBA titles to his credit as a head coach, many believe Phil Jackson is the greatest coach in the history of the league. Jackson coached arguably two of the greatest teams the league has ever seen with Michael Jordan leading the way in Chicago through the ’90s and Kobe-Shaq duo dominating the competition in Los Angeles almost immediately after the Bulls’ run.
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One of Jackson’s former players that knows a thing or two about winning championships talked about the greatest coaching moment he witnessed from the 11-time NBA champion. Robert Horry believes it was when Jackson simply couldn’t be heard due to the noise in Sacramento that the team excelled because of the knowledge instilled by Jackson, via TWCSportsNet:
“My greatest Phil Jackson coaching moment actually happened in Sacramento. He had called the town a cow bell town and they brought all these cow bells. He was trying to yell but we couldn’t hear a word he said so we just had to off instincts. I think his greatest coaching moment was the fact that he instilled in us the knowledge of the triangle the knowledge of being one with your teammates.”
Under Jackson, the Lakers went on to win three straight titles during the Kobe-Shaq era in Los Angeles. The Lakers were virtually unbeatable during that era with only the Sacramento Kings and Portland Trail Blazers standing in their way.
Although both the Blazers and Kings gave the Lakers trouble during their three-year run, Los Angeles always prevailed adding to Jackson’s coaching legacy.
As if winning three straight titles in Los Angeles wasn’t impressive enough, after winning six in Chicago, Jackson led the Lakers to two more championships a few years later after Shaquille O’Neal was traded to the Miami Heat.
Needless to say, Jackson makes a strong case for the greatest NBA head coach of all time with milestones that will likely stand the test of time.
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