The Zen-Master

Phil Jackson was a former basketball player, and is now one of the best coaches in NBA. He was born on September 17, 1945 and is currently 65 years old. He was born in Montana, but grew up in North Dakota. He attended the college of North Dakota where he played basketball for Bill Fitch. Then in 1967, Phil was drafted to the New York Knicks. He played for the Knicks for about 11 years, then moved to the NEw Jersey Nets for 2 years before retiring in 1980. After a few years of coaching in the Continental Basketball Association, Phil Jackson was picked to be an assistant coach for the Chicago Bulls in 1987. But, his huge career would officially begin in 1989, when he was appointed the head coach of the Chicago Bulls.

He coached the Chicago Bulls from 1989 until 1998. Out of the 9 years that he coached, he lead the team to 6 championships. He had 2 "three-peats", which is when a team wins the championship for 3 years in row. Every year that he coached, he lead the team to the playoffs. The general manager of the Bulls was angry with Jackson because he didn't get enough recognition on the team, and decided that Jackson's final year in Chicago would be in 1998.

A year later, Phil Jackson took over the Los Angeles Lakers. In his first three years, he lead the Lakers to a "three-peat", which would this 3rd in his entire career. He led the dynamic duo, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal, to 3 championships, but Kobe wasn't satisfied. Kobe and Phil fought often and the manager release Phil from the team after the loss in the 2004 championships. Later, in 2005, Phil was signed back onto the team where he lead the Lakers to the playoffs once again. In 2009 and 2010, Phil Jackson led the Lakers to two straight Championships, beating their rival team the Boston Celtics in 2010 for another title. Now, as the new season of basketball begins, coach Phil Jackson hopes to lead the Lakers to another "three-peat". Phil is a great coach, who focuses on teamwork and determination to win games. He is often refered to as the "Zen-Master" because he always looks very calm during his games.

Picture- http://www.orbitcast.com/archives/phil-jackson.jpg

Info- http://www.losangeleslakersonline.com/philjackson.php
http://www.nba.com/coachfile/phil_jackson/