The Road to Success Did you know Phil Jackson has the most NBA rings as a coach? Phil Jackson, often referred to as the greatest coach of all time, tallied a total of eleven rings. Phil played in the NBA from 1967-1978. He coached for the Bulls from 1989-1998 and for the Lakers from 1999-2004 and 2005-2011. Phil had lots of success throughout his career as a coach, including six rings with the Chicago Bulls and five more with the Los Angeles Lakers. Phil Jackson has made the most impact in the NBA because of the success he had as a player, as a coach for the Chicago Bulls, and as a coach for the Los Angeles Lakers. Phil spent most of his youth in Montana, but attended high school in North Dakota. First, his parents, Pentecostal ministers, preached and practiced a strict religious lifestyle, so sports were Phil’s outlet and …show more content…
As a member of the University of North Dakota basketball team, he averaged 27.4 points per game as a senior and was named an All-American. He achieved many awards including 2 time First-team Division II All-American (1966, 1967), 2 time NCC Player of the Year (1966, 1967), and 3 time First-team All-NCC (1965–1967). Even in Phil’s early life, you can see how much success and potential he had for the game of basketball. Phil was drafted in 1967 by the New York Knicks. Throughout his NBA career, he showed that he was a good all-around athlete, with unusually long arms, and had limited offensively but compensated with intelligence and hard work on defense. Jackson eventually named himself a favorite by fans and one of the NBA's leading substitutes, although he had very little playing time. He played 12 seasons in the NBA, 11 with the Nicks and 2 with the Nets. His achievements were winning championships with the New York Knicks in 1970 and 1973 and being named All Rookie First team his first season. This was only the beginning to the success that he would have later as a