NBA

Phil Jackson’s five worst moments

By
Social Links for Jonathan Lehman
Published March 10, 2014, 1:59 p.m. ET
Reuters

The Knicks are deep in talks with Phil Jackson about taking over a role in their front office. And it’s hard to argue with the top few lines of the man’s NBA resume.

Eleven title rings as a coach and player. Winning records in all 20 seasons on the bench (career .704 percentage). Famed tutor of Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant. Purveyor of the Triangle offense. So cool and wise he’s known as the Zen Master.

But what about those moments when Jackson’s teams flopped, when his locker rooms became poisonous, when he aired his own personal grievances?

Here’s a look at the worst of Phil Jackson:

  1. 1. Life without MJ

    In his first season without the luxury of coaching Jordan, Jackson sewed controversy between remaining stars Scottie Pippen and Toni Kukoc by designing the final shot of Game 3 in the 1994 Eastern Conference semifinals against the Knicks for the rookie Kukoc. He sank the buzzer-beater while Pippen stewed on the bench, but the Bulls went on to be ousted in seven games. They flunked out of the second round in 1995 after Jordan returned at the end of the season. 

     

  2. 2. See ya, Chicago

    JORDAN
    Jackson won his sixth ring on this iconic Michael Jordan shot, then bolted Chicago. AP

    Yes, he won finished off his second three-peat on Jordan’s iconic pushoff shot over Bryon Russell. Then he dashed into “retirement,” avoiding the post-Jordan project in Chicago and trading personal barbs with GM Jerry Krause.

  3. 3. "The Last Season"

    LAKERS COACH PHIL JACKSON TALKS TO PLAYERS DURING TIME OUT
    The Lakers bench was not getting along during a collapse in the 2004 Finals. Reuters

    A team with four Hall of Famers (O’Neal, Bryant, Gary Payton, Karl Malone) was embarrassed by Larry Brown’s Pistons in a five-game 2004 Finals. But the behind-the-scenes power struggles boiling over made it really bad: Owner Jerry Buss sided with Bryant over O’Neal (traded to Miami), and Jackson left the team, referring to Bryant as “uncoachable” in “The Last Season,” a memoir published that offseason.

  4. 4. No shot

    One of Jackson’s rare early playoff exits was marred by the utter ugliness of the clincher. A team of Bryant, Lamar Odom and little else (hello, Smush Parker) lost Game 7 to the Phoenix Suns by 31 points as Bryant — bristling over accusations of being too shot-happy — sulked into boycott mode, hoisting just three field-goal attempts in the second half.

     

  5. 5. The "last stand"

    Jackson announced he would retire after the 2011 season, and the end came swiftly in a second-round sweep by the title-bound Dallas Mavericks, the first playoff sweep of Jackson’s career. The Lakers came unglued in a 36-point loss in the finale as Andrew Bynum was ejected for clotheslining J.J. Barea.

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