Very overrated.. not saying he is a bad coach but he never had a roster without one of the all time greats.. Jordan, Kobe, Shaq.. If he was the Grizzlies coach this offseason then yes, but with his rosters no one will ever know if he was really a great coach
Maybe, maybe not, who knows? Fact is, none of those greats had rings before he coached them (and yes, those two duos were together and did have more than capable coaches running the show in Doug Collins/Del Harris). So it can't be as easy as you seem to think that it is.
I don't have a "greatest coach" of all time. People want to say Michael Jordan is the greatest player of all time, but I agree with Jordan himself when he doesn't consider himself the greatest player since Wilt, Russel, the Big O, Jerry West, and all those great players didn't play at the same time as him. Same here. I feel that other coaches would have died to have the talent that he's gotten. You seriously do not think some other coaches couldn't have done the same?
Try this team on for size I'd consider Pippen an all-time great but no where near a Jordan, Kobe or Shaq but look at that, 55 wins without a Jordan, Kobe, or Shaq. And before anyone tells me Kukoc was an all-star this year, the ROOKIE played only 24 minutes a game and didn't become The Waiter in the US until the year after.
If we're going to play the what if game, then what if he was really right man that was in the right place/right time? I think the Bulls/Lakers could have won with a different coach but it had to be with someone that MJ/Kobe/Shaq had to believe in. Really it can't be just any joe schmoe, someone on par like Jerry Sloan or that ilk. IMO, those teams would have lost a few rings with another coach at the helm. Play the what if games all you want, scoreboard is scoreboard (11).
To deride a coach's accomplishments with his team because "other coaches could have done the same" is a bit outlandish don't you think? I think in the NBA history books there was a team that had Wilt Chamberlain and Jerry West in there some where that didn't win it all. You can probably be skeptical about a coach's impact if his team got one ring (i.e. Doc Rivers). You can probably even be skeptical about a coach's impact after a couple of rings. But 11? A derivative analogy would be like saying Robert Horry is just another role player on those championship teams of his and that any other player would have filled his spot just as well.
How many rings did Kobe or Michael win without Phil? How many did Shaq win before Phil came to LA? Phil has coached 11 champions. He's never failed to get his team to the playoffs. That's all we have to go by. Maybe someone else could have done the same with his level of talent, but how can anyone argue that another coach could have done more? Regardless, it would just be speculation. Phil's the one with the rings, give the man his due.
I think the onus was on Jordan to step up once Collins was ousted. That's why I think PJ was in a good spot. Once he won the rings in CHI, he automatically had the respect he needed when he took over in LA. That wasn't going to be an issue.
When Dell Harris was coaching Kobe and Shaq, they were a mess. Phil came in and led them to glory. Not overrated by any stretch of the imagination.
So what if Phil wasn't the one who was promoted and Tex Winter was? You think MJ would have bought into what Tex was saying (keep in mind that MJ wasn't a big fan of the triangle at first, calling it an "equal opportunity offense")? The things I read about Tex was he was an eccentric grandfather type with weird habits, I personally can't see MJ buying into that type of person. PJ just knew how to push the right buttons at the right time in saying what to the players where other coaches failed.
That isn't a good analogy. It would be like saying that Robert Horry could be replaced by another role player of comparable skill, which I believe is true. Phil Jackson could be replaced by a coach of comparable skill, which means he was only a great coach, not the greatest ever. Just like Horry, Phil jackson was an important piece, not an irreplaceable one.
Never having a losing season and making the playoffs every year he coached. Even with great players that's tough to do. Overrated? My answer is no
This doesn't make sense to me. You're saying that just with having Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen on one team and having Shaq and Kobe on the other and making the play-offs is something that cannot be accomplished by many coaches? Really?
You know if we did a vote of who's better Rudy or Phil Jackson Rudy would've got more votes than he deserves and nobody would question Rudy T coaching ability and contribution to winning 2 champions and how good is he without Hakeem Don't get me wrong nobody should question Rudy T coaching abilities and credentials and most definitely nobody should question Phil Jackson. Winning a championship is not easy just ask Jerry Sloan so imagine winning 12 !!
No, I did not say that. They SHOULD make the playoffs with them. Do they always...NO. Check out the Suns in 93. Barkley, Kevin Johnson, Dan Majerle, Tom Chambers. Pretty damn good team, didn't win the title. Check out the Jazz, the Trailblazers in early 2000's, Kings early 2000's. Just because you have great players doesn't mean you always win....
absolutely not overrated. if you think he is you have no idea what it takes to be a coach, let alone coaching the huge personalities he managed.
