Phil Jackson is considered to be one of the greatest basketball masterminds of all time. He was the guy working behind the scenes in not one but two dynasties, and the one responsible for taming and bringing out the most of both Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.
The Chicago Bulls are still one of the most profitable markets in professional sports and they owe Michael Jordan almost everything about that. However, without Phil Jackson’s tutelage, perhaps none of it would’ve been possible.
As a matter of fact, Michael Jordan and Phil Jackson won nearly 78% of their games together, a stat that makes them the player-coach duo with the highest winning percentage ever (min 400 games), according to Elias. That’s impressive as it would beat anything accomplished by Gregg Popovich, Red Auerbach, or even Pat Riley.
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Michael Jordan won all six of his titles with Phil Jackson, while winning nearly 78% of his games.
Per @EliasSports, that is the highest win percentage in NBA history for a player-head coach duo (min. 400 games). pic.twitter.com/6ZvTCsQIK1
— ESPN Insights (@ESPNInsights) April 26, 2020
Jackson’s triangle offense revolutionized the league back in the day. It gave Michael the freedom to be who he was and turned the Chicago Bulls into the most unstoppable team in NBA history.
Also, his way of managing personnel made him one of the most influential people to ever set foot on a practice facility, but it seems like we don’t talk about him enough nowadays, perhaps because of his infamous stint as an executive for the New York Knicks.
At the end of the day, the Jordan-Jackson pairing was a match made in heaven. He started off as an assistant coach and together they changed the game forever, and that 78% winning percentage isn’t likely to be topped any time soon.
