Phil Jackson’s ‘Last Dance’ With Bulls Set Stage For Championship Runs With Lakers
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00I'm Melissa Rowland with Sports Illustrated, and we're here with Jill Painter-Lopez.
00:07We just saw the last two episodes of The Last Dance, and Phil Jackson obviously played in
00:13prominently in both of those episodes.
00:14What were some of your takeaways from Phil?
00:17Well, I mean, just the job that he did keeping that team together.
00:21Dennis Rodman going AWOL in the NBA Finals again in 98, I mean, the fact that he was
00:26able to guide them to those two three-peats is incredible.
00:30And then the end, we know Jerry Kraus had said during the season, hey, Phil can go 82
00:36and 0 and he's not coming back.
00:37But Reinsdorf saying the night of the parade, I called him and offered him to come back
00:41and Phil said, I need a break.
00:43So we saw the ending of that.
00:45Obviously Michael Jordan wanted to come back and go for a seventh title, but it just all
00:49broke up, which paved the way for Phil Jackson, of course, to be the Lakers coach where he
00:54would win five NBA titles.
00:56Who would have thought what could have happened if Phil stayed in Chicago?
01:00I mean, it just all these what-ifs, but Phil Jackson obviously having gone from coaching
01:05Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, now to Kobe Bryant and Shaq.
01:10So it just shows the masterful job that he's been able to do with both of those franchises.