Phil Jackson was able to coach and win with two of the best players of all time at the shooting guard position in Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. Some might contend that it could have been anyone in Jackson’s shoes and they would have enjoyed the same level of success with that kind of talent, but coaching strong talents and personalities like Michael and Kobe takes a unique fortitude.
In his interview with ESPN’s Charley Rosen, Jackson recalls the animosity he once felt from Kobe in his first stint coaching the Lakers:
In an interview in GQ, Kobe didn’t have anything nice to say about you. In fact, he said that he disliked you. Your reaction?
Jackson: “Ah, my good friend Kobe Bryant. … Yes, quite often I could feel his hatred. I’m sure Kobe was pissed when I wrote in “The Last Season” that he was uncoachable. And, yes, we were often at loggerheads. He wanted more freedom and I wanted him to be more disciplined. This is a normal source of friction thing between coaches and players on just about every level of competition. But when I came back for my second stint with the Lakers, Kobe and I worked it all out. I gave him more of a license to do his thing, as long as it stayed within the overall context of the triangle. And we did win two more championships. Anyway, I’ve always seen Kobe as a truly great player, an intelligent guy and a remarkable person.”
Nice things are much easier to say after you’ve won multiple championships. After winning NBA titles from 2000 to 2002, Kobe and Phil reunited for a back-to-back repeat with the Lakers in 2008 and 2009.
In that first title run, especially at the end, it was the Kobe-Shaq rift that dominated headlines. Bryant’s desire to take charge as the proverbial alpha dog became the infamous clash between an upcoming superstar and a dominant big man, with Phil Jackson right in the middle of it, trying to play mediator. That was Jackson’s great challenge, and for all intended purposes, particularly when it came to Kobe’s growth, he still succeeded.
