• Phil Jackson wasn’t a fan of Kobe Bryant’s personality
• Jackson once referred to Bryant as a ‘juvenile narcissist’
• Bryant and Jackson won five NBA championships together
Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson are arguably one of the greatest coach-player duos ever, winning five championships over two stints that proved how perfectly their on-court philosophies matched.
The same can’t be said about what happened off the court, as Jackson once referred to Bryant as a juvenile narcissist, as revealed by Jeff Pearlman’s book ‘Three-Ring Circus: Kobe, Shaq, Phil, and the Crazy Years of the Lakers Dynasty’.
“I did a lot of studying about juvenile narcissism, and juvenile narcissists are the worst because they think they only deserve the best. They want to be the leaders. They don’t accept counseling or advice. You can’t criticize them. Kobe [Bryant] was a juvenile narcissist.”
Despite what Jackson felt about Kobe’s personality, he found a way to manage it enough to have a successful franchise. Jackson and Kobe three-peated from 2000 to 2002 before reuniting in 2005 and winning two more championships together in 2009 and 2010.
What Did Phil Jackson Feel About Michael Jordan?
Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson will always be the second-best coach-player duo in the modern era. The No. 1 spot belongs to Jackson still but with Michael Jordan instead of Bryant. They won six titles over eight seasons, completing two three-peats. Jackson felt like he could communicate with Jordan better than he could with Kobe.
“Michael was receptive to criticism, he wouldn’t always agree but he would hear you out. Kobe didn’t have that.”
It’s clear Jackson had to establish two very different relationships with both players. That makes sense, given Jackson made his name as one of the best coaches in the NBA while with Jordan’s Bulls, coming to coach Kobe as a six-time champion and one of the most legendary figures in the NBA.
Michael Jordan And Kobe Bryant Are The Two Greatest Shooting Guards In NBA History
It is obvious to most that Jordan would rank ahead of Kobe in terms of all-time rankings. Jordan is the greatest of all time, and nobody has supplanted him. LeBron James is close and maybe could do it, but it seems Jordan is cemented in that spot for most people.
Jordan and Kobe were very similar players, but Jackson used to believe Kobe was a better all-around player than Jordan. In a similar vein, Jackson made Kobe develop his on-ball skills and become a better playmaker than Jordan was.
Over the course of his career, Michael Jordan was a six-time champion, six-time Finals MVP, five-time regular-season MVP, ten-time scoring champion, one-time Defensive Player of the Year, three-time steals leader, nine-time All-Defense selection, 14-time All-Star, and 11-time All-NBA selection.
Kobe Bryant won five championships and two Finals MVP, along with one regular-season MVP. He was a two-time scoring champion, 12-time All-Defense selection, 18-time All-Star, and 15-time All-NBA selection.
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