The Last Dance has lived up to the hype so far. Jordan has been candid, and the supporting cast of interviewees have contributed interesting nuggets to aid the story. One thing that has stuck out as much as anything through the first four episodes is the importance of Phil Jackson.
Now known as "The Zen Master," for his dedication to Buddhism, Native American Philosophies, and meditation, Jackson was raised by two Assemblies of God ministers. Jackson did not follow in the path of his parents, but instead, played basketball. After a successful college career, he was drafted by the New York Knicks. As a player for the Knicks, Jackson won two NBA championships, in 1970 and 1973. After a thirteen-year playing career, Jackson found himself not leading a congregation, but basketball players.
Jackson bounced around early in his coaching career. After a brief stint with the Nets as an assistant, he finally got his own team. The Albany Patroons of the Continental Basketball League. After winning a CBA championship, Jackson took his talents to Puerto Rico. Jackson spent three years coaching in the Baloncesto Superior National League, before returning to the NBA.
It is in Chicago where his career took off. Bulls General Manager Jerry Krause had long coveted Phil Jackson. When Jackson met with Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf, Krause made sure the acid-loving hippy, clean up and make a good impression. Jackson did his part, and in 1987 the Bulls hired him as an assistant coach. Doug Collins was currently the coach of the Bulls and deserves a lot of credit for helping turn the franchise's fortunes around. Under Collins, the Bulls had a record of 137-109 and made it to an Eastern Conference Finals. Unfortunately for Collins, they could not overcome the Pistons and in the summer of 1989, he was dismissed and Jackson was promoted.
Getting The Job
Once considered for the job when Collins was hired in '86, the keys were now in Jackson's hands. Jackson proved to be the right hire and more. Within two seasons, the Bulls captured their first title. When it was all said and done, the Bulls dominated the league for a decade and won six championships.
As a head coach, Doug Collins had refused to run the triangle offense that assistant coach Tex Winter had pushed on him. Jerry Krause's first hire was Winter and he viewed him as a genius. As assistants together, Winter schooled Jackson on the triangle. When Jackson took over as HC, he instituted the triangle offense. Jackson knew to get to the mountain top he would need to get everyone involved.
“’I don’t anticipate you’re going to be the scoring champion in the league,’” Jackson told Jordan. “’The spotlight’s on the ball, and if you’re always the guy that’s going to have the ball, teams can generate a defense against that, which is what’s happened with the Pistons the last couple years.’”
The Bulls were running into a brick wall year after year in the Pistons. To beat them, Jackson needed Michael Jordan to see the floor differently, because what they had been doing previously was not working. “He said, ‘I’m not worried about you, but we’ve got to find a way to make everybody else better. We’ve got to create other threats,” Jordan said. In The Last Dance, an interview shows that Michael Jordan saw the improvements under Jackson, and became a believer. The triangle offense helped the Bulls to six championships and when he was the coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, it propelled them to five.
In addition to the offensive philosophy he adopted, Jackson handled his players perfectly. The pushback against Phil Jackson's greatness is centered around the idea that he only coached great players. With the Bulls, he had Jordan and Pippen, with the Lakers he had Shaq and Kobe, and then Kobe and Pau Gasol. What is lost in that is how he managed all those great players. The greater the player, the bigger the ego. It is hard to manage big egos, and they have been the downfall of many would-be dynasties. Yet Jackson overcame that. His resume includes three three-peats and a back to back.
Relationship With Rodzilla
One of the most apparent aspects of The Last Dance is how well his players responded to him. Dennis Rodman, in particular.
“Phil realized that I was different, man,” Rodman said. “Phil knew me so well because he knew I needed to get my head right. That’s what was so cool about playing with that team. If anybody needed something, they were all about it. And Phil was very cool about it.”
Footage from The Last Dance shows his teams playing their guts out and hanging on every word. That is what was special about Phil Jackson, the coach. He took the best team in the world and got them to play like High School freshmen trying to make the team.
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