Is Phil Jackson...

[panther15z30]

Best ever hands down.

[Statmaster]

I'd like to see him have a winner with a team without the best player in the league. A team like a Memphis. Jackson is no better then a lot of other coaches.He's always had the best player in the league on his team.(Jordan and Kobe)

[MJAlltheWay24]

Funny...this is the first year Kobe was named MVP.

[HammerTime]

Whats funny about that?

[FairFan]

If he can win it this year, he just might be.

[MJAlltheWay24]

Whats funny about that?

 

If Phil has always had the best player in the league...wouldn't Kobe have won the MVP title before now? Just proving a lil point.

[Log Mountain Boy]

Jackson is a very good coach, but hes always been loaded. Is he a better coach than say Jerry Sloan? Who knows. Jackson does have the numbers to back it up though!

[Statmaster]

Whether LA wins or not, Kobe is the best player in the league. Just like Jordan, Kobe can score anytime he wants.

[MJAlltheWay24]

Jackson is a very good coach, but hes always been loaded. Is he a better coach than say Jerry Sloan? Who knows. Jackson does have the numbers to back it up though!

 

 

Jerry Sloan had a very strong team with lots of talent in the 90's and he couldn't get it done. Stockton is one of the best point guard to ever play the game, his numbers prove it. And then Malone is a HOF Forward and also a great player. Throw in some solid players like Russel, Ostertag and Hornecek and you have a great team, a loaded team. Jerry Sloan had great talent and couldn't get it done.

[ScarHeel]

If Phil has always had the best player in the league...wouldn't Kobe have won the MVP title before now? Just proving a lil point.

 

The award is not given to the best player in the league but rather the Most Valuable player to their particular team...That why it's called the MVP award.

[MJAlltheWay24]

The award is not given to the best player in the league but rather the Most Valuable player to their particular team...That why it's called the MVP award.

 

Yeah, you are right and I knew someone would eventually say that. But, Phil has had "the best player" for years when they didn't win the title too. This arguement can go on for ages, but the numbers won't lie. Some great coaches have had great players and still couldn't get it done, like I was saying about Jerry Sloan.

[AverageJoesGym]

the best coach of all time or the coach that has had the best talent on his teams???

 

The man has won 9 NBA titles in an era in which the talent level has been it's highest ever.

 

Phil won his first titles with Jordan & Pippen but somehow Doug Collins couldn't win titles when he was coaching Jordan & Pippen or even reach the finals for that matter.

 

Phil also won titles with Shaq & Kobe but somehow Del Harris & Kurt Rambis couldn't win titles in the 3 years they coached the dynamic duo. BTW, they didn't reach the NBA finals either.

 

It's not the players, it's the coach.

 

There are some mitigating factors that you aren't considering there. In both circumstances the second banana was very young and not as effective or mature as when Phil took over. Kobe was in his teens when Harris and Rambis didn't win it and Pippen was only 22 when Collins last coached him and in his second year. As for the talent being at an all-time high, that is very debatable. Yeah, there is more international talent in the league but that is offset by expansion teams and a bunch of high school to the NBA players. During Jackson's first sting of titles expansion had diluted the league and during his second tenure with the Bulls and his run with the Lakers the High School Factor played a major role, teams just didn't have nearly as many experienced veterans that knew how to play. Add in the fact that he had 4 of the top 50 NBA players off all-time on his roster and it was more about talent. Give me Auerbach, he coached when there were only 8 or 9 teams and the talent was concentrated. Plus he also scouted and drafted his players as well as serving a GM and President. He presided over 3 different Celtic dynasties, he was simply the best basketball mind the NBA has ever seen.

[MJAlltheWay24]

AJG,

 

I agree very much with a lot of what you say. But, wouldn't you say that there is a difference between best coach, and best basketball mind?

[AverageJoesGym]

AJG,

 

I agree very much with a lot of what you say. But, wouldn't you say that there is a difference between best coach, and best basketball mind?

 

Yeah, there is but back in the 50's and 60's Red was drafting and coaching his team, he picked the players that fit his style and dominated with guys that weren't as highly rated as some others. He managed to dominate Wilt Chamberlain's teams back then. I think Phil does a great job but a lot of people say that Tex is responsible for his team's ability to run the triangle offense and he seems to be a coach that stays out of the way of his players. He reminds me of Joe Torre, his teams win at a historic pace but it is more because he doesn't do anything to hurt his team's chances rather than him doing anything to win the games with his coaching.

[MJAlltheWay24]

You make a pretty good point about the Joe Torre thing, not that I exactly agree with it, but it is definitely a good arguement. It is always to compare coaches/players like this from different eras.