“He’s killing Shaq, we watching film, ‘Kobe you gotta pass the ball, Shaq you got to get back’” - Ty Lue on playing under Phil Jackson, says he held the best players accountable
Phil Jackson is one of the best coaches in NBA history, winning 11 titles as a coach for the Chicago Bulls and LA Lakers. Ty Lue, who played under Jackson on the Lakers, talked about Jackson’s importance, which led to three straight Championships.
Lue, the LA Clippers coach, played three seasons with the Lakers, including two championship seasons under Jackson. Even though he played a minimal role, playing only 61 games, he noticed Jackson's impact . On the “Knuckleheads with Quentin Richardson & Darius Miles” podcast, Lue said:
“The biggest thing for us to have enough of Phil Jackson. He turned everything around. Del Harris did a hell of a job, but you bring a guy like Phil Jackson, who coached Michael Jordan, who has won six years, respect right there right away.
"And the biggest thing he did was, he held our two best players accountable every single day. He's killing bryant" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-is-sponsored="false">Kobe (Bryant) every day. He's killing Shaq (O'Neal). We watching film. 'Kobe, you gotta pass the ball. Shaq, you got to get back.' So, every day he was on the two the hardest, and so that changed everything for us.”
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The Lakers had their two elite stars in Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal. They just needed someone to push them. He had the pedigree of coaching Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen to six NBA championships in eight years, and with the Lakers, they reached four NBA Finals in five seasons under Jackson.
Phil Jackson's time with the Lakers
Jackson's dominance over the Eastern Conference has been well documented from his time with the Bulls. He coached arguably the best player in NBA history in Michael Jordan, and when Jordan stepped away i 1998, so did Jackson. But Jackson would only sit out one season before taking over the Lakers.
One minute of Kobe Bryant with the legendary footwork and shot making 👀
https://t.co/aicXic8NQc
He led Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal to a three-peat in his first stint with the Lakers, just like he did with the Bulls. After losing the NBA Finals in 2004, Jackson again took another year off before returning for six more seasons.
O’Neal wasn't part of those last six years, but Bryant elevated his game to another level, reaching the NBA Finals in three straight seasons and winning two.
In total, Jackson coached the Lakers for 11 seasons, two more than with the Bulls. He reached the NBA Finals seven times in that time, one more than with Chicago, but only winning five compared to six with the Bulls.