Lakers’ coach Phil Jackson inducted into Basketball Hall of Fame

Phil Jackson, legendary NBA coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, was inducted Friday, Sept. 7, into the Basketball Hall of Fame for his long career, which includes leading the Lakers to three NBA titles and previously guiding the Chicago Bulls to six championships. Jackson, who is only rivaled by former Celtics coach Red Auberbach - also with nine titles, admitted in a Friday interview with the AP that Boston’s deceased coach still has one up on him. “We lost out on the Kevin Garnett sweepstakes,” Jackson said after a ceremony to receive his Hall of Fame blazer. “Red Auerbach came out of the grave and told Kevin (McHale) to give him to the Celtics.” Jackson, who has been in the midst of a turbulent transition from last season to this upcoming one, was in negotiations to bring the power forward onto the team partly to appease Lakers’ star Kobe Bryant who had criticized the team’s front office for his belief that the current team’s status was not one of championship caliber. After spending last month wrapped up with Team U.S.A. and now on an Asian tour to promote his new line of Nike sneakers, the Kobe II, the two time NBA scoring champion has not yet announced whether he will be returning to the Lakers this season. Jackson denied rumors that he might be retiring and joked with AP about the upcoming season, although he did get serious when asked about his goals for the team. “Kobe and I are very much in collusion in that we want this team to have an opportunity to succeed,” Jackson said. “We’ve made some changes. There’s some recouping that has to be done there, perhaps between Kobe and some of his teammates.”

Also inducted into the Hall of Fame along with Jackson were North Carolina coach Roy Williams; the 1966 NCAA champion Texas Western team; four-time WNBA championship coach Van Chancellor, the longtime women’s coach at Mississippi recently hired by LSU; former NBA referee Mendy Rudolph; and international coaches Pedro Ferrandiz of Spain and Mirko Novosel of Yugoslavia. Jackson, who has been with the Lakers since 1999 with the exception of a one-year break during 2004-05, has been a constant asset to the team, coaching them to three subsequent titles in 2000, 2001 and 2002. Although it appeared the Lakers had built a dynasty, injuries, a weak bench and public tension between Bryant and teammate Shaquile O’Neal as well as Jackson slowed the team down. Bryant, who disagreed with Jackson’s coaching style, often went against the legend’s recommended plays and infuriated Jackson during games, leading to Jackson’s recommendation to trade Bryant. The coach and team member seem to have worked out most of their differences, however, and this season the Lakers will again try for the championship title. Don’t miss out on a second of play - go to Stubhub.com for Lakers tickets now!

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