Phil Jackson to Be Inducted into Hall of Fame

With ten NBA championship rings, nine as a coach, and over nine-hundred regular season victories and counting, it should be no surprise to basketball fans to expect Phil Jackson to eventually land in the Hall of Fame. So when ESPN announced that the Zen Master would join a horde of Laker greats in the Hall at the end of this season, it wasn't the biggest shock in the world. Those who think Jackson simply was lucky because of the talent he had, however, shouldn't overlook how hard Phil worked to get to the position he is in today.

Phil Jackson's NBA career started with the New York Knicks. Phil had the smarts and the savvy to stay in the league, but lacked the athleticism required to excel. Still, he found a groove as a fan favorite bench reserve off of some very good Knicks teams. In 1973 he won his one and only championship as a player. In 1980 Jackson decided to call it quits and retired.

It took Phil a while to break-through in the NBA. He wasn't hired as an assistant coach in the NBA until 1987. Until then he spent his time coaching in the CBA and other smaller basketball leagues. When the Bulls finally gave Phil his chance, it only took him two seasons to get promoted to head coach. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Sure Pat Riley may have invented and patented the term "three-peat." But whereas Riley's Lakers failed to win their third straight championship, Phil Jackson's teams accomplished the feat, ironically, three times. And while Riley may have enjoyed all the extra income he received for the championships won by the Bulls and Lakers, he would probably trade it for all the rings Jackson owns.

Of course Phil's records have taken a recent tumble. The Zen Master was a perfect 9-0 in NBA Finals before team disarray and chemistry issues caused the superior Lakers to fall to the Detroit Pistons in 2004. And his streak of never losing in the first round of the playoffs also ended last year when his Lakers gave up a 3-1 series lead on the Phoenix Suns.

Still, there is no denying Jackson's place among the NBA greats in the head coaching department. It took a little luck, Michael Jordan was a once-in-a-lifetime type player, but in the end the results speak for themselves. So congratulations to a terrific coach for a lifetime of achievements.

Source:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2820163&name=FPT-2820163-033112&srvc=sz