Phil Jackson has publicly and personally vowed to stay fit and well-known for the Lakers until they achieve their goals. He has also promised to provide his players with the resources they need to stay on the club and generate the most revenue possible.
Former five-time Los Angeles Lakers champion head coach Phil Jackson has always marched to the beat of his own drum, ever since he was just a defensive-oriented reserve on the New York Knicks.
Despite their irregularity, Jackson’s strategies for controlling the inflated egos of his superstar players while coaching the Chicago Bulls and later the Lakers were effective. Out of all NBA head coaches, he has won the most titles (11).
6’9″ retired power forward/center Josh Powell, a deep-bench reserve for Jackson’s final two Lakers championship runs (2008–10), recently discussed Jackson’s distinct methods of inspiring his players.
In a recent in-depth interview, Powell spoke with Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson of Bovada about Jackson, his new book “I Wish I Knew,” and a host of other topics.
Powell answered a query from Robinson regarding the percentage of the 15 players on the team who actually studied the books that Jackson prescribed.
“I would like to state that out of fifteen… We had at least six or seven people who read, and the other six or seven most likely ignored it, Powell disclosed. “I can speak for myself when I say that I read the books he gave me because there was always something fascinating about Phil. I have had the opportunity to play under a variety of coaches, but you have heard all the good things about him. Now that he is under the same umbrella, you can observe his movements firsthand.He approaches everything strategically, whether it is done correctly or not, but he is among the best in history at doing things correctly, you know? Furthermore, the way he managed to manipulate every member of that team into being the greatest versions of themselves—all the various ways he would “poke bears” and extract the information he needed from you. I am incredibly appreciative of Phil, and when I think about it, he is probably the only coach who occasionally distributes books and visits the locker rooms and film rooms to scent the air [laughs].
Powell talked extensively on how Jackson’s critical remarks to the media seemed to fan the flames of the LA small forward Ron Artest, now known as Metta Sandiford-Artest, when he was questioned about how he pressured his players to give even better performances on the court.
“Among the things that immediately seem to mind is that, I believe, he made a public remark about Ron in the press. He stated it out loud and did not talk to Ron about it, so Ron was like, “You could have come to me.” You are making money off of me. But after that—I mean, Ron was SOLID all year long; do not get me wrong,” Powell remarked, “it was wild.” “My brother is that.” He is among the BEST players and persons I have ever had the opportunity to play with.However, it takes time to become proficient in that triangle offense, you understand? Furthermore, for him to It is as if he put it into overdrive because, at the time that incident occurred, the season was nearing its end and the playoffs were quickly approaching. He effectively put himself in playoff shape early because of everything that happened in Atlanta. But you know, it was just Phil being Phil. It would simply be what he would do: he could yank you aside and say it, he might act petulant and say it in front of the media,He could pull it off in the locker room in front of everyone. However, he approached it in a different way, you know? All in all, you know? It simply made everyone react in some way. And if a player truly was unable to comprehend it, Kobe or D-Fish would always be the ones to follow up and offer clarification. He did that for this reason. This is what he is thinking and what is happening. So, yeah, it was awesome. Phil was, in my opinion, a truly exceptional coach.
In his two seasons with the Laker, the product from North Carolina State averaged 10.4 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 0.5 assists a game on 40.9% shooting from the field.
