Latest news with #PhilJackson
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11 hours ago
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"I'd pull him to the sideline and start saying, 'Hey, don't try to do too much yet'"- Phil Jackson on when he realized he couldn't treat Kobe Bryant the same way he did Michael Jordan
"I'd pull him to the sideline and start saying, 'Hey, don't try to do too much yet'"- Phil Jackson on when he realized he couldn't treat Kobe Bryant the same way he did Michael Jordan originally appeared on Basketball Network. Phil Jackson's career as an NBA head coach gave him the rare and possibly impossible to replicate task of managing not one, but two fiercely driven superstars with eerily similar skill sets and even more explosive competitive fire. Hint: they both were glabrous above and stuck their tongue out as adrenaline roared. However, as the years unfolded and the rings stacked up, Jackson began to understand that similarity in playstyle didn't mean sameness in personality — or coaching approach. Holding him back Jackson first arrived in Los Angeles when Kobe Bryant was barely 21. The young guard was already a three-time NBA All-Star, known for his aggressive scoring instincts and almost maniacal obsession with the game. Phil wasn't walking into a developmental situation; he was walking into a fire that had already been lit. He just had to tone it down a little bit. "I had a relationship with Kobe that started 21, 20 years of age when I got to the Lakers," Jackson recalled. "And it was like he was there to learn and he was very attentive. When the game started going, I had to kind of hold him back at times, because he would go out and he'd want to get himself in a situation. "I'd pull him to the sideline and start saying, 'Hey, don't try to do too much yet." Bryant's will to dominate every second of play was aimed at control. He believed in his ability to bend games to his will and he wanted that responsibility early, every night. Jackson had to temper that instinct without muting it. A balancing act he hadn't dealt with in quite the same way during Michael Jordan's formative years. Jackson once famously called Bryant "uncoachable," but it wasn't a slight. It was an acknowledgment of a fundamental truth: The Los Angeles Lakers icon may have mirrored Jordan's game and approach to offense almost to the detail, but internally, he burned with something different — something sharper and more consuming. Jackson had sculpted the greatest dynasty of the 1990s around Jordan's brilliance. Walking into the Lakers' locker room in 1999 with the triangle offense and Jordan-tested wisdom in hand wasn't a guaranteed formula for control. And perhaps that was the key difference. The Chicago Bulls legend had matured into a surgical closer by the time Jackson took over the Bulls in 1989. Bryant, by contrast, was still trying to carve his identity out of the Jordan mold while fighting to assert himself alongside Shaquille O'Neal, one of the most dominant big men in league for the system Jackson's approach to coaching was built around the triangle offense, a system designed to maximize team cohesion and minimize ego-driven, one-on-one play. Before he arrived in Chicago, Jordan was the best individual player in the league. He had already claimed a Defensive Player of the Year, five scoring titles and an MVP — brilliant, but incomplete as the Bulls were playoff casualties. Jackson helped him understand that less can lead to more, the same thing he wanted Bryant to learn early on. "That's one of the reasons I brought Michael and said, 'Wait until the fourth quarter," Jackson said. "Wait until there is a need and the game demonstrates that there is a need for individual action, then go into your game and go into the things you can do well." It was a system built on trust. Trust the offense. Trust the team. And the moments of brilliance will still find you. Jordan embraced it, even as his scoring average dipped from 37.1 points per game in 1987 to a more sustainable 31.5 by 1992. But those years brought championships — six of them. Bryant, though, wasn't just trying to win. He was trying to define himself. When Jackson implemented the same structure with the Lakers, he initially chafed. In his eyes, holding back was self-limiting. Phil wanted him to wait for the right moment. Bryant wanted to be in the moment. Still, the system worked. From 2000 to 2002, the Lakers won three straight titles. Bryant adjusted enough to fit, learned when to dominate and when to defer. But friction remained. Even in later years, when Jackson returned to L.A. in 2005, the tension between Bryant's hyper-focused individuality and Jackson's system-first ideology never fully dissolved. It simply evolved. By the time Bryant won two more titles in 2009 and 2010, he had fully taken on the closer role Jackson once reserved for Jordan. But unlike the five-time MVP, Bryant never quite accepted being just a piece of the system. He respected it, but he never surrendered to it. That was the compromise. And it story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jul 17, 2025, where it first appeared.
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11 hours ago
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LeBron James gave Kobe Bryant his due after long-awaited MVP: "He's been the best player the last five, six years"
LeBron James gave Kobe Bryant his due after long-awaited MVP: "He's been the best player the last five, six years" originally appeared on Basketball Network. In 2008, after 12 years of highlight reels, clutch buckets and All-Star nods, Kobe Bryant finally secured the one trophy that had long eluded him — the regular season MVP. It wasn't his best statistical season, but with the Los Angeles Lakers sitting atop the Western Conference under his leadership, the recognition felt inevitable. Even LeBron James, who finished fourth in voting that year, knew there was no one more deserving. "I've said since two, three years ago that Kobe Bryant is the best player in the league," James said before the Cleveland Cavaliers faced the Boston Celtics in the second round of the 2008 playoffs. "He's been the best player the last five, six years. I'm glad he won it. His team had a great year, finishing first in the West." Team accomplishment It's not only James who thought Bryant becoming the league MVP was a long time coming. Kobe's head coach, Phil Jackson, echoed the same sentiment. "I don't know anybody that has ever deserved this more," The Zen Master stated after the NBA announced the award. However, as much as James and Jackson thought Bryant was the best in the Association, that doesn't guarantee anything as far as championships go. How the team does in the regular season matters; without it, even a guy averaging 50 points wouldn't be in the conversation. "This is a team award. This is not an individual award. The special thing about this award is that we did it together. I couldn't have done it without them," Bryant said. In 2008, Kob' had the most help from a team perspective in years. After the Purple and Gold traded Shaquille O'Neal to the Miami Heat, they were forced to start Kwame Brown, Smush Parker, Jumaine Jones and Chris Mihm at various points. Then, Derek Fisher returned in 2006, Andrew Bynum came into his own, Pau Gasol fell into their lap and Bryant finally found a decent squad. As brilliant as Kobe was on his own, the Lakers still missed the playoffs once and suffered two first-round exits during that stretch. Even though 2008 ended in disappointing fashion, it started a string of three straight Finals appearances for Los Angeles. They won in 2009 versus the Orlando Magic and got their revenge against the Boston Celtics in 2010, while Black Mamba won Finals MVP on both did Kobe only have one MVP? Bryant jokingly blamed the media for having only one MVP despite being considered the best player in the league for a good chunk of the 2000s. It was said in jest, but it also carried weight. Media people who had votes to decide the award often favored players who were easier to deal with — the ones who smiled during interviews, played nice with reporters and gave them good copy. That was never Bryant's game. He wasn't chasing headlines or handshakes. His intensity, while magnetic on the court, could be standoffish off it. In a league where likability often swayed MVP narratives, Kobe didn't always fit the mold. And for years, it may have cost him. Nonetheless, Bryant did a 180 in that department in 2008, as evidenced by his gesture during the award acceptance. He called the rest of his teammates with him in the center court and high-fived every single one of them. "I couldn't have won this award without the play of my teammates… This is one of the awards that I couldn't have won on my own. This gets done because we all do it as a unit," a smiling Bryant acknowledged in a press conference. "I can't thank these guys enough. These are my guys, are my brothers and WE have won MVP," added Kobe. For a player once defined by isolation — both in playing style and public perception — Kobe's lone MVP became a symbol of something bigger. It wasn't just recognition of his brilliance, but of the rare season where performance, team success and narrative finally aligned. And when it did, he made sure the spotlight wasn't solely pointed at story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jul 22, 2025, where it first appeared.
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11 hours ago
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"I don't know if I'm gonna be a Hall of Fame player if I'm only averaging 19 points a game," Jackson says. Kobe used to doubt he'd ever become an all-time great
"I don't know if I'm gonna be a Hall of Fame player if I'm only averaging 19 points a game," Jackson says. Kobe used to doubt he'd ever become an all-time great originally appeared on Basketball Network. The weight of greatness often announces itself early. It didn't take long for Kobe Bryant. At just 18 years old, fresh off being drafted straight out of Lower Merion High School, he stepped into the Los Angeles Lakers spotlight. But he wasn't alone. Standing in the middle of the paint was Shaquille O'Neal, already a league titan and a generational force. In that dynamic, Kobe wasn't yet a co-star, because he was still learning how to fit into a machine that revolved around one dominant figure. And that didn't sit easily with someone wired the way Bean was. Bryant's commitment Phil Jackson, who would later become the architect of their three-peat dynasty, recalled a conversation that revealed the inner workings of a young Bryant's mind. "His first year was like, 'I don't know if I'm gonna be a Hall of Fame player if I'm only averaging 19 points a game. Shaq's averaging 30," Jackson said, recalling what Bryant felt. "He calls up Jerry West and says, 'How did you and Elgin [Baylor] both score 30 points during your careers? They must have done it four or five years consecutively, they averaged 30-plus points those two guys." Jerry West was the man who had drafted him and seen potential that few others recognized. Bryant wasn't just trying to survive the NBA; he was strategizing how to thrive in a rarefied space. At a time when most rookies are content just finding minutes, he was already plotting how to carve his name into history books. West and Elgin Baylor coexisted in the 1960s as dual engines of the Lakers' offense, managing to each post over 30 points per game for multiple seasons despite the absence of the 3-point line. For Bryant, understanding that blueprint meant unlocking the coexistence of two supernovas, himself and O'Neal, without having to shrink his own light. It also showed his early obsession with legacy, numbers, and the subtleties of team balance. Even as a teenager, Bryant believed in his own potential without external validation. He craved a map that would show him how to express his full self while playing within a system and sometimes in the shadow of a dominant post player. His rookie season saw him average a modest 7.6 points per game, but he knew that wasn't the full picture. The following year, he doubled that output to 15.4 points per game as his minutes expanded and his presence on the court became more of a staple than a rise There were signs early on, flashes, even that something special was forming beneath the surface for Kobe. He was voted an All-Star starter in his second season, the youngest ever at the time and he didn't shy away from the spotlight. Then came 1999. That year, everything shifted. Jackson took over the reins of the Lakers, bringing with him the triangle offense, the championship pedigree from the Chicago Bulls and a sense of order to what had been a chaotic, underachieving roster. Jackson saw in Bryant a reflection of Michael Jordan's obsessive nature, his will to dominate, dissect opponents, and find ways to make scoring look effortless. Phil understood what few coaches could, that Kobe didn't need to be told what to do. He needed guidance on how to channel the fire that burned through him every time he stepped onto the hardwood. "So I know that Kobe's itching to score and when he comes back the second year, he's determined that he's going to be in the scoring," Jackson said. In the 2000–01 season, Jackson's second year in charge, Bryant's scoring numbers jumped from 22.5 to 28.5 points per game, a six-point leap. He was the other half of a two-headed monster that would lead the Lakers to three straight championships. His scoring came with rhythm, timing and knowing when to assert himself within his famously intricate triangle system. Bryant's evolution was designed, methodically, intensely and with intention. From the early call to West to the fierce battles behind closed doors with O'Neal, he was always building. He was laying a foundation that would support five championships, two Finals MVP awards, one of the game's greatest scoring legacies, and an eventual Hall of Fame story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jul 24, 2025, where it first appeared.
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3 days ago
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"Shaq was pretty hard-headed, there's no doubt about it" - Phil Jackson on why Shaq may have been the toughest superstar he ever coached
"Shaq was pretty hard-headed, there's no doubt about it" - Phil Jackson on why Shaq may have been the toughest superstar he ever coached originally appeared on Basketball Network. Kobe Bryant wasn't the only personality Phil Jackson had to handle during his first stint with the Los Angeles Lakers. In fact, contrary to popular belief, Kobe might not have even been the toughest to manage. At least in Jackson's view, that distinction may have belonged to the 7'1", 325-pound centerpiece of the Lakers' early-2000s dominance, Shaquille O'Neal. It had little to do with ego or off-court theatrics and everything to do with the constant battle of harnessing talent that was both generational and, at times, uncontainable. Handling O'Neal Jackson arrived in L.A. in 1999, and O'Neal was already a dominant force and a walking mismatch who had bullied his way to multiple All-NBA First Team selections. But what Jackson saw wasn't just raw talent. It was potential that still hadn't been fully shaped into a championship mold. And that became one of his biggest coaching challenges. "Shaq's pretty hard-headed, there's no doubt about it," Jackson said. "But it was pretty easy to be positive with him, because everything in this offensive system looks to get the ball in the middle, you are looking to find the ball in the post, that's your first priority. Get the ball inside and see the best penetration way to get the ball close to the basket. That's the goal of almost every game." Jackson's triangle offense was tailor-made to spotlight a dominant interior player, and O'Neal became the focal point with his unmatched presence in the paint. But getting O'Neal to commit — mentally and physically — was a different kind of coaching effort. There were days when Jackson had to balance patience with pressure, managing the rhythms of a player whose conditioning and focus could swing with the season. What made O'Neal unique wasn't just his size. It was the finesse that lived within his power. His footwork and basketball IQ often got overshadowed by his brute force. And for Jackson, the mission was about aligning his game with the demands of a system that required discipline over dominance. The Lakers' three-peat from 2000 to 2002 didn't happen simply because they had stars. It happened because Jackson managed to fuse superstar energy with structured philosophy. And keeping O'Neal on the line was the thread that held the plan together. Even in moments of friction — be it with teammates, media or staff — O'Neal's role in the triangle offense remained untouchable. Everything started and ended with him on the integral part During that Lakers run, the towering Lakers big man averaged 28.5 points and 12.3 rebounds in the regular season and elevated those numbers even further in the playoffs. In 2000, he led the league in scoring and was named MVP. But what made him invaluable was his gravity and the way defenses collapsed, shooters got open and the way the triangle system could breathe, because he occupied so much attention and minutes on the floor. "With Shaq, it was more about getting yourself ready to play for a duration," Jackson said, That 1999–2000 season remains the statistical high-water mark for O'Neal's endurance. Averaging 40 minutes per game over an 82-game season — and even more in the postseason — was a grind. Yet it was also a necessity. Jackson needed him out there, anchoring both ends of the court, not just for the physical impact but for the psychological edge. When O'Neal was on the floor, the Lakers were a different team — tougher and less vulnerable. But that also meant Jackson had to constantly monitor O'Neal's health, practice intensity, and in-game stamina. Unlike Michael Jordan, who thrived on nonstop competition, or Bryant, who lived in the gym, O'Neal required a tailored approach, one that preserved his body but sharpened his edge. The payoff came in the form of one of the most dominant playoff stretches the league has ever seen. In the 2000 postseason, O'Neal averaged 30.7 points and 15.4 rebounds. He had three 40-point games in the Finals alone. And yet, beneath the highlights and hardware, Jackson never forgot just how tough the process story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jul 16, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
6 days ago
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"I'd pull him to the sideline and start saying, 'Hey, don't try to do too much yet'"- Phil Jackson on when he realized he couldn't treat Kobe Bryant the same way he did Michael Jordan
"I'd pull him to the sideline and start saying, 'Hey, don't try to do too much yet'"- Phil Jackson on when he realized he couldn't treat Kobe Bryant the same way he did Michael Jordan originally appeared on Basketball Network. Phil Jackson's career as an NBA head coach gave him the rare and possibly impossible to replicate task of managing not one, but two fiercely driven superstars with eerily similar skill sets and even more explosive competitive fire. Hint: they both were glabrous above and stuck their tongue out as adrenaline roared. However, as the years unfolded and the rings stacked up, Jackson began to understand that similarity in playstyle didn't mean sameness in personality — or coaching approach. Holding him back Jackson first arrived in Los Angeles when Kobe Bryant was barely 21. The young guard was already a three-time NBA All-Star, known for his aggressive scoring instincts and almost maniacal obsession with the game. Phil wasn't walking into a developmental situation; he was walking into a fire that had already been lit. He just had to tone it down a little bit. "I had a relationship with Kobe that started 21, 20 years of age when I got to the Lakers," Jackson recalled. "And it was like he was there to learn and he was very attentive. When the game started going, I had to kind of hold him back at times, because he would go out and he'd want to get himself in a situation. "I'd pull him to the sideline and start saying, 'Hey, don't try to do too much yet." Bryant's will to dominate every second of play was aimed at control. He believed in his ability to bend games to his will and he wanted that responsibility early, every night. Jackson had to temper that instinct without muting it. A balancing act he hadn't dealt with in quite the same way during Michael Jordan's formative years. Jackson once famously called Bryant "uncoachable," but it wasn't a slight. It was an acknowledgment of a fundamental truth: The Los Angeles Lakers icon may have mirrored Jordan's game and approach to offense almost to the detail, but internally, he burned with something different — something sharper and more consuming. Jackson had sculpted the greatest dynasty of the 1990s around Jordan's brilliance. Walking into the Lakers' locker room in 1999 with the triangle offense and Jordan-tested wisdom in hand wasn't a guaranteed formula for control. And perhaps that was the key difference. The Chicago Bulls legend had matured into a surgical closer by the time Jackson took over the Bulls in 1989. Bryant, by contrast, was still trying to carve his identity out of the Jordan mold while fighting to assert himself alongside Shaquille O'Neal, one of the most dominant big men in league for the system Jackson's approach to coaching was built around the triangle offense, a system designed to maximize team cohesion and minimize ego-driven, one-on-one play. Before he arrived in Chicago, Jordan was the best individual player in the league. He had already claimed a Defensive Player of the Year, five scoring titles and an MVP — brilliant, but incomplete as the Bulls were playoff casualties. Jackson helped him understand that less can lead to more, the same thing he wanted Bryant to learn early on. "That's one of the reasons I brought Michael and said, 'Wait until the fourth quarter," Jackson said. "Wait until there is a need and the game demonstrates that there is a need for individual action, then go into your game and go into the things you can do well." It was a system built on trust. Trust the offense. Trust the team. And the moments of brilliance will still find you. Jordan embraced it, even as his scoring average dipped from 37.1 points per game in 1987 to a more sustainable 31.5 by 1992. But those years brought championships — six of them. Bryant, though, wasn't just trying to win. He was trying to define himself. When Jackson implemented the same structure with the Lakers, he initially chafed. In his eyes, holding back was self-limiting. Phil wanted him to wait for the right moment. Bryant wanted to be in the moment. Still, the system worked. From 2000 to 2002, the Lakers won three straight titles. Bryant adjusted enough to fit, learned when to dominate and when to defer. But friction remained. Even in later years, when Jackson returned to L.A. in 2005, the tension between Bryant's hyper-focused individuality and Jackson's system-first ideology never fully dissolved. It simply evolved. By the time Bryant won two more titles in 2009 and 2010, he had fully taken on the closer role Jackson once reserved for Jordan. But unlike the five-time MVP, Bryant never quite accepted being just a piece of the system. He respected it, but he never surrendered to it. That was the compromise. And it story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jul 17, 2025, where it first appeared.
