Phil Jackson was not the kind to shy away from getting on his players, but it turns out he never said anything to Kobe Bryant during his early years. Brian Shaw, who was on the Los Angeles Lakers from 1999 to 2003, shared during an appearance on Podcast P why Jackson didn’t get on Bryant.
“Phil never liked to have team meetings and so we insisted one day, we like, ‘You know what? F*** what you talking about, because everybody was mad because early on, Kobe wouldn’t pass the ball,'” Shaw said. “So, Phil had no problem cussing (Shaquille O’Neal) out, getting on Shaq’s a** but he would never say anything to Kobe early on.”
Shaw then revealed he had German Shepherds and was told by his dog trainer not to say no to them in the first six to eight months. It was to build the dog’s confidence, and Jackson was using a similar approach while dealing with Bryant.
“When we had the team meeting,” Shaw continued. “And I remember asking Phil, ‘How come you always say everything to Shaq, you don’t say nothing to Kobe?’ And he said, “Because for this team, we always need Kobe to be in attack mode.’ And then that immediately made me think about what my dog trainer said about my German Shepherd.”
Shaw says it was exactly what the Lakers needed because of the contrast in the upbringings of O’Neal and Bryant.
“His (O’Neal’s) stepfather was military, right? Yes sir, no sir and whatever you asked him to do and told him to, he was obedient,” Shaw stated. “Kobe was that German Shepherd puppy that nobody ever said no to, right? He had sisters, he was the only boy, father played in the NBA and he was the Golden Child, right?
Jackson focused on building up Kobe’s confidence and only got on his teammates, and Shaw believes it was the right approach.
“And then Phil nurtured that confidence in him at the detriment, now I wouldn’t say detriment but at the expense of the rest of us on the team getting the brunt of him yelling and screaming and what have you,” Shaq said. “But not saying a whole lot to Kobe… And we needed that. He was always in attack mode.”
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Jackson had become head coach of the Lakers in 1999, and he delivered success with his methods instantly. After the Lakers had been swept out of the playoffs in the two seasons before he arrived, they won it all in Jackson’s first season at the helm. Two more titles then followed in succession, as the Lakers three-peated from 2000 to 2002.
While Bryant initially played second-fiddle to O’Neal, he started to come into his own in Jackson’s second season in charge. His methods had gotten the best out of Kobe, but now that he had accomplished that goal, Jackson changed how he dealt with Bryant.
Kobe once explained how Jackson brilliantly managed him and O’Neal when a rift had started to develop between the two superstars over time. Knowing that Bryant would show up to play no matter what at that stage of his career because he was so passionate about the game, Jackson drove a wedge between them.
It allowed him to get closer to O’Neal, who was the more emotional of the two. Kobe stated it was brilliant management on Jackson’s part.
Ultimately, though, things did fall apart in 2004, as O’Neal was traded to the Miami Heat and Jackson stepped down as coach. He would return in 2005, however, and won two more titles in 2009 and 2010 with Bryant.
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