LeBron James and Phil Jackson are two of the biggest winners in NBA history. They have been to the NBA Finals plenty of times, collecting over 15 championships in total between them, signing their names on the list of GOATs in their respective fields.
While LeBron is one of the best players to ever do it, Phil is one of the greatest head coaches this game has seen. One would think their mentalities would click and they’d be cool with each other, but according to someone that knows them very well, that’s not the case.
Former Los Angeles Lakers player Metta Sandiford-Artest recently opened up about LeBron James and Phil Jackson’s non-existent relationship. All this started when they had a rift that Metta considered ‘unfortunate.’
While talking about how important the Master Zen was for his career, he recalled that Jackson and James weren’t on good terms.
“I know him [Phil Jackson] and LeBron had issues but you know what’s so crazy? When him and LeBron had those little issues it was kind of unfortunate,” said the controversial player. “But for me personally, I loved the guy. He opened up my mind into playing basketball at a calm level.”
Metta World Peace on Phil Jackson: "I know him and LeBron had issues but you know what’s so crazy? When
him and LeBron had those little issues it was kind of unfortunate. But for me personally, I loved the guy. He opened up my mind into playing basketball at a calm level." pic.twitter.com/znLeU4sOno
— 👑 Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson (@ScoopB) October 17, 2021
This all started in 2016 when Jackson called LeBron’s business associates as a ‘posse’ during an ESPN interview. Those remarks didn’t sit well with The King, who stated he had lost respect for the legendary head coach.
“Zero,” James said back in the day. “No relationship at all. I had nothing but respect for him as a coach for what he was able to do. Obviously he was at the helm of [the team featuring] my favorite player of all time [Michael Jordan], and also being there growing up and watching him with the Lakers, but I got nothing for him.”
It seems like Phil always had things to say about LeBron. In 2013, he picked his former player Michael Jordan as the GOAT, saying that MJ’s six championships made him the greatest of all time.
Those comments in 2016 must-have hurt The King, and after that, things completely fell apart. If they had the chance to know each other, we’re pretty sure they would have created a great relationship. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case and there’s little to no chance of that changing soon.
