Philip Douglas “Phil” Jackson (born September 17, 1945) is an American professional basketball executive, former coach and former player, currently serving as president of the New York Knicks in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Widely considered one of the greatest coaches in the history of the NBA, Jackson was the head coach of the Chicago Bulls from 1989 until 1998, during which Chicago won six NBA championships. His next team, the Los Angeles Lakers, won five championships from 2000 until 2010. In total, Jackson has won 11 NBA titles as a coach, surpassing the previous record of nine set by Red Auerbach. He also won two championships as a player with the Knicks in 1970 and 1973, and holds the NBA record for the most combined championships (13) as a player and a head coach. He also has the highest winning percentage of any NBA coach (.704).
Jackson is known for his use of Tex Winter‘s triangle offense as well as a holistic approach to coaching that is influenced by Eastern philosophy, earning him the nickname “Zen Master“. Jackson cites Robert Pirsig‘s book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance as one of the major guiding forces in his life. He also applies Native American spiritual practices as documented in his book Sacred Hoops. He is the author of several candid books about his teams and his basketball strategies. Jackson is also a recipient of the state of North Dakota‘s Roughrider Award. In 2007 Jackson was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. In 1996, as part of celebrations for the National Basketball Association‘s 50th anniversary, Jackson was named one of the 10 greatest coaches in league history.[1] He retired from coaching in 2011 before joining the Knicks as an executive in March 2014.
NBA playing career
In 1967, Jackson was drafted in the second round by the New York Knicks. While he was a good all-around athlete, with unusually long arms, he was limited offensively and compensated with intelligence and hard work on defense. Jackson eventually established himself as a fan favorite and one of the NBA’s leading substitutes. He was a top reserve on the Knicks team that won the NBA title in 1973. Jackson did not play during New York’s 1969-70 championship season due to spinal fusion surgery; however, he authored a book entitled Take It All, a photo diary of the Knicks’ 1970 championship run.
Soon after the 1973 title, several key starters retired, creating an opening for Jackson in the starting lineup. In the 1974-75 NBA season, Jackson and the Milwaukee Bucks‘ Bob Dandridge shared the lead for total personal fouls, with 330 each. Jackson lived in Leonia, New Jersey, during this time.[9] After going across the Hudson in 1978 to play two seasons for the New Jersey Nets, he retired as a player in 1980.
Coaching career
In the following years, he mainly coached in lower-level professional leagues, notably the Continental Basketball Association and Puerto Rico‘s National Superior Basketball (BSN). While in the CBA, he won his first coaching championship, leading the Albany Patroons to their first CBA title in 1984. In Puerto Rico, he coached the Piratas de Quebradillas (1984 and 1987) and the Gallitos de Isabela (1984–1986), both teams with great tradition in the league. He regularly sought an NBA job, but was invariably turned down. He had acquired a reputation for being sympathetic to the counterculture during his playing years, which may have scared off potential NBA employers.
Executive career
In 2014, Jackson was in discussions for months with the New York Knicks regarding an executive position with the team. On March 18, he was introduced as the president of the Knicks after signing a five-year, $60 million contract.
Awards
In 1996, Jackson won the NBA Coach of the Year Award. In the same year he was named one of the ten greatest NBA coaches of all time by vote in an unranked compilation. At the time he was in his 8th year coaching; in the seven years prior he coached 574 games and won 414, with only 160 losses, and had a win-loss percentage of 72.1% – the highest of any coach on the list at that time. He continued his success in his later career; cumulative careers in perspective, he retains the highest win-loss percentage of any coach on this list at 70.4% (1155 wins, 485 losses).
In 2002 and 2010 the United States Sports Academy awarded Jackson the Amos Alonzo Stagg Coaching Award.
Head coaching record
Jackson has had a winning record every year as a head coach, and currently has the highest winning percentage of any Hall of Fame coach, and further the highest of any NBA coach coaching 500 games or more. Along with his NBA-record eleven championships, he is the only coach to win at least ten championships in any of North America’s major professional sports.
At the end of the 2010 season he had the fifth most wins of any NBA coach, and was one of only six to have over 1,000 wins. Of those six he was the only one who had not coached over 1,900 games, and likewise the only one not included in the top ten total games coached
Personal life
Jackson has five children and seven grandchildren. He married his first wife, Maxine, in 1967. They divorced in 1972. He married his second wife, June, in 1974, but they have also divorced. He has been dating Jeanie Buss, the daughter of Lakers owner Jerry Buss, since 1999. The two became engaged on January 3, 2013. He owns homes in Playa del Rey, Los Angeles, and Lakeside, Montana.
Jackson has admitted to using marijuana and LSD in the past. In 2010, he said he did not believe that prisons should be filled with people prosecuted for marijuana, but called California’s Proposition 19, which would have legalized marijuana, poorly written.
Jackson was diagnosed with prostate cancer in March 2011. He told the Lakers players in May 2011, when they were involved in a second-round playoff series against the Mavericks. Jackson decided to delay his surgery until after the playoffs.
