Phil Jackson’s All-Time Team vs. Steve Kerr’s All-Time Team: Who Would Win A 7-Game Series?

Phil Jackson and Steve Kerr are two of the greatest coaches the NBA has seen over the past 30 years. Today, we will put the teacher up against his student in a head-to-head matchup between each coach’s best all-time roster. Phil Jackson is widely considered the greatest coach of all time with 11 championships as a coach between his time with the Los Angeles Lakers and the Chicago Bulls. Jackson’s implementation of the triangle offense that he adapted from Tex Winter, and transformed all of his teams into dynasties, and his fingerprint was permanently left on the game forever.

Steve Kerr played under both Phil Jackson and another gall-time great of a head coach, Gregg Popovich. He has been the head coach for the Golden State Warriors for the past 8 seasons. He has won 4 championships with the team and has been named Coach of the Year once in 2016. Much like Jackson, Kerr has created a dynasty of his own with Golden State and broke the all-time single-season wins record set by Jackson’s Bulls in 1996, whom Kerr played for. Today, the best rosters of players coached by these legendary coaches will be pitted against each other for ultimate glory.

This is the matchup of Phil Jackson’s all-time team vs. Steve Kerr’s all-time team.

Kobe Bryant vs. Stephen Curry

The matchup of Kobe Bryant vs. Stephen Curry is one NBA fans would be camping out for days just to catch a glimpse of. Kobe takes a clear advantage here as the bigger and stronger player. Kobe will most likely try to break Curry down in the post where it will be impossible to slow Kobe down. The Black Mamba could just as easily take him from the perimeter. With a height and size difference, not to mention his all-around skill, Bryant would more than likely draw double teams from Klay Thompson and Durant throughout an entire 7-game series.

Stephen Curry does have a couple of things that work in his favor as well. First, his unlimited range taking Kobe further away from the basket is a win for the rest of the team. One less pesky defender clogging things up opens things up for Durant and Wiggins to go to work. The other is Curry’s movement away from the ball. Curry will fight through screens and throw Kobe off of his defensive games, forcing him to constantly run and switch. This seems to be the only way that Curry will be able to operate and get his shots off at the pace he would like to.

Michael Jordan vs. Klay Thompson

The matchup between Michael Jordan and Klay Thompson is one that very clearly favors Phil Jackson. There is just simply nothing Klay can do to slow down MJ and the lack of size in the paint for Team Kerr leaves the door wide open for Jordan to operate. Jordan will be in full-blown attack mode, going at the rim almost every time he touches the ball and the athletic ability to blow right by Thompson or simply rise right above him. The mid-range shot and paint will be Jordan’s place to wear down Kerr’s team at will.

Much like Curry has to do with Kobe, Thompson will have to be in constant motion away from the ball to shed Jordan. As one of the better catch-and-shoot players out there, the only way I see Klay getting any type of offense going is to work off of screens and getting some transition shots up. Thompson struggles to create for himself off of the dribble and if he has screens set for him, there is just another premier defender waiting for him. Jordan will not allow Klay to work his way into the middle for anything, so it is best that he gets going early from three.

Scottie Pippen vs. Andrew Wiggins

The Scottie Pippen-Andrew Wiggins matchup presents us with two small forwards who have been key contributors on championship teams. Scottie Pippen’s primary role will be exactly what his role was with the Bulls in the 90s. He will be tasked with making plays on offense with his passing as well as being a viable option for fast break attempts. On defense, he will most likely be tasked with switching from Wiggins to Durant if Durant proves to be too much for Rodman. With his ability to take on any task defensively and make plays on offense, Pippen will prove to be the x-factor for Phil Jackson’s team.

As for Wiggins, he will need to take advantage of the times that Scottie switches off of him. Look, Wiggins can create space and get a shot up with the best of them as he showed in the 2022 playoffs. However, he didn’t face a defender as heralded as Pippen is on that side of the ball for that whole title run. Wiggins will also be part of the trio of perimeter players that will look to push the pace and work off of each other in set offenses. Wiggins will not be able to just handle Pippen one-on-one, so look for him to call for screen and set up his shooters on drives to the basket.

Dennis Rodman vs. Kevin Durant

For the first time in our breakdown thus far, I believe we have found the one matchup that favors Steve Kerr’s team. Dennis Rodman was known in his time for being one of the best defenders and rebounders on the basketball court. Rodman is a rough and rugged paint presence whose sole purpose on this team will be not to chase around Durant, but to be ready for the long rebounds that are bound to come from the array of perimeter shots bound to come from Team Kerr. Of course, Rodman can chase Durant out to the perimeter, but with Durant’s height, shots will come easy over the top of Rodman.

There is no chance that Durant will be able to force the game into the paint against Rodman. Dennis is too strong and too agile to let Durant just get by him and get to the basket or pull up from the mid-range. Durant will have to depend on his ability to shoot from the outside at a high clip and run with it from there. Durant can shed Rodman with his handles as well, possibly setting up short but contested jump shots. Durant will have zero issues getting his buckets if Rodman and Pippen switch back and forth during the series.

Shaquille O’Neal vs. Draymond Green

Everyone is well aware of how great a defender Draymond Green has been in his career so far. However, there will be absolutely nothing that he could possibly do to slow down a prime early 2000s Shaq. All Shaq has to do is find a position over and over down in the post and 1 of 2 things is a guarantee. Shaq will get hacked and finish the basket or he will finish the basket with empathic power and leave defenders embarrassed in his wake. If Team Kerr decides to double, Shaq is fully capable of finding Kobe and Jordan to take over the possession. Things can get ugly real quick for Team Kerr if they don’t figure out a way to slow the big fella down.

Other than being tasked with guarding the most dominant player on the floor, Green has another important role for Team Kerr. Green’s playmaking and the way he commands an offense allow things to run smoothly on offense. His job as a playmaker will be to help Team Kerr adjust to different looks as a team and find their shots as efficiently as possible. He will also be looked at to anchor and direct the defense, as we have seen him do for years now in Golden State. One other way that Green can take advantage here is if he starts to hit his shots from the outside. This could pull Rodman or Shaq from the paint, opening driving lanes way up for Team Kerr.

Phil Jackson’s Team Advantages

For each team, there are a few advantages that they can take with them into battle with one another. Team Jackson has two that are glaring and will most likely carry them to victory. The first is the glaring mismatch they present with the trio of Shaq, Jordan, and Kobe. Shaq, in his primer, was the most dominant player in the league, making the NBA’s best centers look silly every night. Imagine what he could do to a much smaller Draymond Green. When Shaq isn’t dominating or when he’s being doubled, Jordan and Kobe can take over from the perimeter.

The second glaring advantage for Team Jackson is on the defensive side of the ball. Kobe, Jordan, and Pippen are elite perimeter defenders who will wear Team Kerr down with their endurance, speed, and physical play. Rodman, being as versatile as he is, will present matchup issues on both Durant and Green if he should switch there. Shaq is also a great rim protector, so Team Kerr will have to play this one as they always have, from the perimeter.

Steve Kerr’s Team Advantages

Just as Team Jackson has clear advantages, there are a few that are held by Team Kerr as well. The first one should be pretty obvious and that is their 3-point shooting. One, they have the greatest shooter in the world who, no matter what is thrown at him, will get his shots off. Then to back him up, you have Klay Thompson who also has a case for one of the better shooters in history, as does Kevin Durant. Wiggins can knock them down from three as well, and with the attention on the other three, he should get plenty of chances. Even Draymond can step out and get some shots off from three as well.

The next advantage that Team Kerr Holds is the playmaking and off-ball movement that will wear out any defense. Curry is the master at moving off of screens and without the ball to find his spots and get his shots off. The same can be said for Klay Thompson, Wiggins, and Kevin Durant. Draymond Green is a great passer and playmaker who will slow down the pace of Team Jackson and let the flow of Team Kerr take control. Slowing the game down is an advantage for Team Kerr as it will open up more 3-point attempts and somewhat eliminate the fast pace of Team Jackson. Team Kerr’s movement will be key to stealing a few games from Team Jackson.

Who Would Win This Matchup In A 7-Game Series?

Game 1 is all about the duo of Michael Jordan and Shaquille O’Neal as Team Jackson cruised to a 20-point victory. Shaq could not be stopped in the paint and when Team Kerr began to double him, it became Jordan’s game. He and O’Neal each score 38 points while MJ added 4 steals on defense and Kobe added 23 points to their total. Durant and Curry each had 25 for Team Kerr but it wasn’t enough as Team Jackson prevailed 122-102.

Game 2 was more of the same in the first half for Team Jackson as Shaq, MJ, and Kobe continued to dominate. In the second half, however, Stephen Curry caught fire from beyond the arc. Curry would go 12-16 from deep for the game and finish with 42 points. Durant added 30 and Klay added 18 to lift Team Kerr to a surprising victory, 113-106.

Game 3 was a bounce-back game from Team Jackson and this time, the difference would be the duo of Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. Jordan would dominate Klay Thompson from the mid-range and at the basket for the majority of the game with Durant trying to help on defense. Pippen would prove to be vital for his defense and transition offense on Durant on the perimeter. Jordan would finish with 36 points and Shaq would finish with 24 rebounds to help Team Jackson take a 2-1 series lead, 104-92.

Game 4 would finally be the game that Durant would go off. He seemingly could not miss from beyond the arc and finished the game 8-9 from that distance. What stood out in this one was the way he blew by Rodman on the perimeter and left Pippen in the dust when he came over to help. Kobe did all he could to keep Team Kerr in the game with 39 points and 6 assists, but it was no match for Durant. He finished with 46 points and Team Kerr evens up the series at 2 games apiece. 

Game 5 would once again belong to Shaquille O’Neal, and it came at the expense of Draymond and Durant in the post. Shaq would finish almost every chance he got next to the basket and go 18-23 from the field on the night. Due to Shaq’s dominance, Jordan ended up with 15 assists feeding the big fella, and Team Jackson cruised to a 3-2 series lead, 122-101.

Game 6 would be a battle from start to finish. Durant and Curry traded buckets with Jordan and Kobe for most of the first half and the game would be tied at halftime 55-55. In the second half, Andrew Wiggins would be the one to get things going for Team Kerr with 12 3rd quarter points. Jordan would not be denied as he pulled Team Jackson within 2 at the end of the third. Curry and Jordan would trade baskets and duel for the entire fourth quarter. Finally, with just a few seconds left, Jordan would drain a pull-up mid-range jumper as the buzzer sounded to hand Team Jackson a 4-2 series victory.

Final Result: Phil Jackson’s All-Time Team vs. Steve Kerr’s All-Time Team 4-2

Finals MVP: Michael Jordan

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