Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson had a strange relationship, sometimes beefing, sometimes being on great terms, but always having respect for each other. Still, they were incredibly successful together and ended up being good friends, with Jackson even calling Bryant ‘a chosen one’ after the player was killed in a fatal helicopter crash.
It wasn’t easy to win with the Los Angeles Lakers, but these two had the formula and won in different eras, showing that they were a deadly duo that could go against anybody and get the victory.
Like every successful team, the Lakers had to go through rough patches to rise to the top, and Jackson and Bryant were often the main characters of those situations. There’s a big story about Phil berating Kobe for being late at a shootaround which shows that he was ready to hold everybody accountable.
Phil Jackson Almost Left Kobe Bryant Out Of The Team Bus For Being Late
During a recent appearance on KarterKast, Mark Madsen talked about the ‘Phil Jackson rules’. The Zen Master wanted every player to be on the team bus at 10 am, and if anybody dared to be late, they would be left behind, no matter who that was.
“The minute it clicked 10, Phil starts yelling at the bus driver: ‘Go! Get out of here! Leave him! Leave him!’ Yeah, because Phil held everybody accountable. Whether it was me, Kobe or Shaq, Phil would leave you,” Madsen said, per KarterKast.
“The bus starts leaving — slowly,” Madsen continued. “You think Kobe sprinted to the bus? No, he didn’t sprint. Every other human being would start sprinting to the bus and start banging on the door. Kobe just kept walking. Same pace. The bus driver got cold feet. He stopped 20 yards later. Phil [was] yelling at the bus driver, the bus driver stopped for Kobe. Kobe walks in. Phil starts yelling at Kobe. Kobe just walked on, calm as could be.”
These two personalities clashed more than once, sharing wins per side. Kobe never shied away to talk about Phil, sometimes criticizing Jackson for bringing a tai chi master to practice, and others praising him for handling him and Shaquille O’Neal during their feud years.
Jackson also talked about Bryant too, comparing him to Michael Jordan. These stories are really great, as they show all the things that happened to a successful team like the Lakers. In the end, Kobe and Phil became close, but these stories will always make fans smile.
