Happy 80th Birthday, Phil Jackson
- Jake C
- Sep 17
- 5 min read
*Cover photo: Phil Jackson coaching Michael Jordan in 1996 with the Chicago Bulls. Photo credit: Steve Simoneau, Associated Press.
Arguably the greatest coach in NBA history celebrates a milestone birthday on September 16 as Hall of Fame head coach Phil Jackson turns 80.
Before he was an 11-time champion head coach, Jackson was a slender forward from Montana who would carve out a niche 13-year career as a key role player on the New York Knicks teams of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Born in Deer Lodge, Jackson attended Williston High School in Williston, N.D. So long-limbed was Jackson that he could sit in the middle back seat of a car, reach to the front, and open both front car doors.
Jackson played at the University of North Dakota from 1964-1967. In 86 college games, he averaged 19.9 points (51.0% from the field) and 12.9 rebounds. Twice he was an Associated Press Little College All-American (‘67, ‘68), and United Press International Small College All-American (‘66, ‘67). He was named to the ‘66 NCAA Division Championship All-Tournament Team and was chosen to the NCAA Elite Eight 50th Anniversary Team. In ‘65 and ‘66, North Dakota made the NCAA College Division Championship Semifinals.
In the 2nd round in the 1967 NBA Draft, Jackson was selected by the New York Knicks. He was the second selection by the Knicks in that draft, twelve slots behind Hall of Fame point guard Walt Frazier, who was drafted fifth.
As Frazier, Willis Reed, Bill Bradley, and Dave DeBusschere provided the core of the 1970 and 1973 championship Knicks, Jackson was a role-playing power forward, putting up 8.1 points and 4.3 rebounds in 17.4 minutes per game in the ‘72-’73 season. When the likes of DeBusschere and Jerry Lucas needed rest, Jackson provided relief off the bench. In the ‘73-’74 and ‘74-’75 seasons, Jackson averaged double digits in points - 11.1 points and 5.8 rebounds and 10.8 points and a career-high 7.7 rebounds. He played his final two NBA seasons - ‘78-’79 and ‘79-’80 - with the New Jersey Nets before retiring at age 34.
From 1978-81, Jackson was an assistant coach with the Nets. In 1982, he took a job in the Continental Basketball Association, coaching the Albany (N.Y.) Patroons, whom he coached until 1987. He led the Patroons to the 1984 CBA title and was the league’s Coach of the Year in 1985. One of Jackson’s assistant coaches in Albany was author Charley Rosen, who recently passed away (September 13) at age 84. Jackson and Rosen would play pick-up games together at the YMCA in Kingston, N.Y. (Rosen lived in nearby Accord, N.Y.).
After coaching in Puerto Rico until 1987, Jackson was at the Ulster County (N.Y) Unemployment Office when he got a call from the NBA’s Chicago Bulls. The Bulls brought Jackson in as an assistant on Doug Collins’ staff, and after two seasons as an assistant, Jackson took over as head coach for the 1989-90 season.
Implementing the triangle offense made famous by former Kansas State head coach and lead Jackson assistant Tex Winter, “The Zen Master” emphasized psychological advantages by way of meditation and reading for his players. Jackson’s Bull teams, anchored by Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, won six championships (‘91-’93, ‘96-’98) in eight years. His Windy City squads won 60 or more games five times - 61 in ‘90-’91, 67 in ‘91-’92, 72 in ‘95-’96, 69 in ‘96-’97, and 62 in ‘97-98. In ‘93-‘94, while Michael Jordan was retired trying his hand at baseball, the Bulls won 55 games. In ‘94-‘95, the team won 47.
Chicago Bulls Records - Championship Seasons
1990-91: 61-21 (7th in PPG, 4th in opponent PPG)
1991-92: 67-15 (5th in PPG, 3rd in opponent PPG)
1992-93: 57-25 (15th in PPG, 2nd in opponent PPG)
1995-96: 72-10 (1st in PPG, 3rd in opponent PPG)
1996-97: 69-13 (1st in PPG, 6th in opponent PPG)
1997-98: 62-20 (9th in PPG, 3rd in opponent PPG)
After his six championships in Chicago, Jackson took a one year reprieve before returning to the sidelines in 1999-00 to coach another superstar duo - this one consisting of Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant - in Los Angeles with the Lakers. The 1999-00 Lakers went 67-15 and defeated the Indiana Pacers in six games in the ‘00 Finals. The franchise proceeded to 3-peat. After the team lost in six games in the 2003 Western Conference Semifinals to the San Antonio Spurs, Jackson had his squad back in the Finals in 2004, where they lost in five games to the Detroit Pistons. After one year off, Jackson returned to the Lakers for the 2005-06 season. He led the franchise to a Finals’ appearance in 2008, and consecutive championships in 2009 and 2010, the latter of which was payback to the Boston Celtics for a six-game Finals loss two years prior. Jackson coached his final season in 2010-11, winning 57 games.
Los Angeles Lakers Records - Championship Seasons Under Jackson
1999-00: 67-15 (6th in PPG, 6th in opponent PPG)
2000-01: 56-26 (3rd in PPG, 23rd in opponent PPG; one playoff loss - Game 1 of Finals)
2001-02: 58-24 (3rd in PPG, 10th in opponent PPG)
2008-09: 65-17 (3rd in PPG, 13th in opponent PPG)
2009-10: 57-25 (9th in PPG, 8th in opponent PPG)
Jackson’s 1,155 wins are eighth all-time, while his winning percentage (.704) is the best among coaches who have coached at least 500 games. His eleven championships are a record, two more than Red Auerbach’s nine. Jackson’s 229 postseason victories rank number one all time, as do his 13 conference titles. Along with Winter, other venerable assistants that Jackson had throughout his career included Johnny Bach, Frank Hamblen, and Jim Cleamons.
In the pantheon of basketball coaching, Jackson’s name endures alongside the likes of Gregg Popovich, Auerbach, John Kundla, Mike Krzyzewski and Dean Smith. After the Celtics of the 1950s and 1960s, Jackson’s Bulls were the last long standing dynasty that the league has seen. From 2014-2017, Jackson served as President of the Knicks. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007.
Said Jackson’s superstar Jordan in 1998:
“The main reason we do so well is Phil. I like him because of the atmosphere he creates. Sometimes he can say one word, one sentence, and shake you up, make you think.”
Dennis Rodman, who in 1995 came to the Bulls via a trade from San Antonio and became a vital piece to the Bulls’ second 3-peat, has in the past credited Jackson for saving his life and getting him straight when he was going through difficult times.
Former Laker superstar Bryant said at one time of Jackson:
“People don't understand that he is a genius in every sense of the word. The way he sees the game and the spirituality of the game. People don't understand that and even worse than that, they are intimidated by that. They also try to discredit that because they don't have the level of passion and obsessiveness to get to that level.”
Perhaps the best coach in the history of the NBA, and someone whose approach was unique and yielded ultimate success in harnessing some of the league’s greatest players, and personalities.
These days, Jackson lives on Flathead Lake, in Western Montana. Prior to the 2024-25 NBA season, Dallas Mavericks’ head coach Jason Kidd visited Jackson for advice and to pick the brain of the legendary coach. Certainly, a guy that anyone would like to learn from.
Happy 80th, Phil Jackson.
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