Phil Jackson was fortunate enough to get to coach some of the greatest players in NBA history but his job was not an easy one by any means.
During his first stint with the Los Angeles Lakers, Jackson had to find a way to manage Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant, who were at odds with each other. In an interview with Patrick Bet-David, Shaq explained just how Jackson managed to unite them.
Patrick Bet-David: “Did Phil ever bring you guys in and say, you guys have big egos but I’ve got a bigger ego than you? Did he ever do anything like that or not?”
Shaquille O’Neal: “No, he never said anything. Because he didn’t want to tame us. You got one guy averaging 30, 32. You got another guy averaging 29. You got two guys chasing each other. He didn’t want to tame us. They’re on the same team.”
Patrick Bet-David: “When you and Kobe did the interview, Kobe said Phil would go on interviews and make comments to get under our skins and it would piss us off and we would fight each other and then eventually we would unite. Was that pretty common with Phil? Was that his style?”
Shaquille O’Neal: “All the time. He would mess with me and I would mess with Kobe.”
Patrick Bet-David: “So, what was one way he messed with you? What is Phil’s style of messing with you?”
Shaquille O’Neal: “He would just say something like, ‘You’re not ready.’ And I’m like, ‘I can’t be ready if this guy’s shooting all the shots.’ So he would say something to me and I’d throw it right back. Genius work.”
Jackson was a master at managing egos and he kept the two of them together as long as he could. Bryant also once explained how Jackson brilliantly managed them, and he stated that Phil would try to find ways to use the tension between the two stars to help the team.
He would create a wedge between himself and Kobe, in order to get closer to Shaq which helped Jackson to manage him better. When it came to Bryant, Jackson knew he was going to show up and perform, no matter what, so he could side with O’Neal and not have to worry about Kobe sulking on the court.
The three of them together would lead the Lakers to a historic three-peat from 2000 to 2002. Shaq would win Finals MVP in all three seasons and won MVP in 2000. The Lakers’ bid to make it four titles in a row would fall short when they lost to the San Antonio Spurs in the Conference Semifinals in 2004. Those Lakers remain the last team to three-peat in the NBA and one wonders how long it will be before someone else manages to accomplish such an impressive feat.
Shaquille O’Neal Regrets Leaving The Lakers
The trio could only last together for so long, however, and in 2004, Jackson left his position while O’Neal was traded. It was assumed that the friction between the stars was what led to Shaq’s departure, but O’Neal says it was because the franchise wanted him to take less money.
He wasn’t interested in that and admitted that his ego got in the way. If he could do it all over again, Shaq says he would stay with the Lakers. He would have taken less money and accepted the role that the franchise wanted him to take. If he had stayed, then one can only wonder how many more titles he and Kobe would have gone on to win together. After they separated, Shaq would go on to win a title with the Miami Heat while Bryant went from strength to strength, winning MVP in 2008 to go with two titles and Finals MVPs in 2009 and 2010.
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