The Los Angeles Lakers have had some of the best players and coaches in NBA history, resulting in 17 championships during their time as a franchise.
And perhaps no one honors current and past members of their organization better than the Lakers, whether that be with retired numbers, statues outside Crypto.com Arena or various other ways.
This season is a special one as the Lakers are set to retire Michael Cooper’s No. 21 jersey after he finally made the Basketball Hall of Fame. Additionally, the organization also recently announced plans for a statue honoring former coach Pat Riley in the coming years.
Riley was the architect of the Showtime Lakers, winning four championships as their head coach. When news of his statue came out though, many people wondered if the Lakers would eventually do the same for Phil Jackson. According to NBA insider Marc Stein, a statue for Jackson is indeed in their plans:
Another rumble about down-the-road matters: The Lakers’ recent announcement that they have begun work on a statue for Pat Riley to be erected outside Crypto.com Arena is believed to be a prelude to an eventual announcement about a statue for Phil Jackson. Riley coached the Lakers to four championships in the 1980s; Jackson coached the Lakers to five in two stints with L.A.
This is great news and well-deserved for Jackson, who had two different stints with the organization and won five championships. He joined the organization in 1999 and began his tenure by winning three straight championships with Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal.
After taking some time off, Jackson returned for a second stint and won two more championships with Bryant in 2009 and 2010.
Between his two stints, Jackson accumulated a 610-292 record, which is the most wins in franchise history. His five championships and seven NBA Finals appearances are also the most among Lakers coaches.
It remains to be seen when the Lakers will construct and unveil Jackson’s statue since Riley’s won’t be done until 2026, but whenever that day comes, it will be a well-deserved celebration for the Zen Master.
Jeanie Buss recalls Phil Jackson building family dynamic with Lakers
Jeanie Buss was recently talking about Phil Jackson’s time with the Lakers and credited him for building a family dynamic within the organization.
“I saw it on the other side when I dated Phil [Jackson] for 15 years and so when I was his significant other I learned how to look at the team through the lens of a coach. And I remember getting in a fight with him because he was bringing the team in on Thanksgiving to practice. And I’m like ‘why are you doing this? Give them one day off.’ He’s like settle down, he said, ‘Jeanie, what I’m trying to show them by having them practice on Thanksgiving, I want to establish that this is their family as well. And you have to be with your family on a holiday.’ And that’s powerful. When a coach can harness that and create that family dynamic then you know you have something really special.”
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