With the Lakers NBA Championship tonight, head coach Phil Jackson captured his 10th NBA ring, a new record as he passes Celtics coaching legend Red Auerbach. Phil won 6 Championships with the Bulls and now 4 Finals with the Lakers. Sure he had Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and Shaq O'Neal on all those teams, but as Derek Fisher said after tonight's game, simply having those players doesn't win championships, you have to convince them all to put the jersey on and play as a team.
Phil is the first coach in the 4 major American sports (baseball, basketball, football and hockey) to win 10 Championships and he has now won 10 of the last 19 NBA Finals (appearing in 12 of the 19). Now the question is whether the Zen Master will call it quits or comeback to honor the final year of his contract. But remember, Phil's rings come in bunches of 3 and this could be the 1st ring in the 4th installment of Phil Jackson's Championship journey.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
The Coronation May Have To Wait
The numbers are there, almost to gaudy to overlook. But despite impressive statistics and equally impressive performances from Lebron James this season, Kobe may have delayed what many including myself had been saying...that the torch and title of "Best NBA Player" has already been passed to King James.
We saw a new Kobe in the NBA Finals this year. A different Kobe than even what we saw against Utah, Houston and Denver in the first 3 rounds. I don't know if it was the taste of a 4th ring being closer than its been in awhile, or maybe some horrible memories from last years Game 6 in Boston. But, whatever the change was, we were able to see Kobe Bryant take over a series with more than just scoring (which he still did plenty of).
Kobe's career tends to be defined by his ability to morph into a lethal offensive assassin, but in the 2009 Playoffs, we saw him open up his game on a consistent basis dishing to teammates, fighting for rebounds and showing why he is considered the best closer currently in the game. The Lakers were labeled the favorite to win the Championship early on this year and although the road was filled with uneventful, lackadaisical and sometimes pitiful performances even in the playoffs, Kobe & Co. stepped up down the stretch, won close games including 2 overtime victories and closed out a hot shooting and streaky Orlando Magic team.
Congrats to the Lakers on a 15th NBA ring...keep this team together and we may see this franchise pass the Celtics in the next few years.
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