A Finals Reflection

First of all, I must thank the Los Angeles Lakers, Orlando Magic, Denver Nuggets, Cleveland Cavaliers, Houston Rockets, Boston Celtics, and Chicago Bulls for breathing life into the NBA again. The superstardom that came out of the 2009 NBA playoffs may have been unlike any other; Derrick Rose and Andre Iguodala's break out series, Ron Artest's resurgence, along with the outstanding play of the NBA elite, Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, Lebron James, Paul Pierce, Carmelo Anthony, and Dwayne Wade. Every night of the last 7 weeks was an absolute spectacle of incredible basketball; there always stood a chance for records to fall and for legends to be born. So again, congratulations to those teams for an outstanding postseason and to the NBA for a successful season.

But the biggest praise is of course reserved for the NBA Champion Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson in particular. While Kobe's stardom was never in doubt, as he and Lebron James are the face of the NBA around the world, his place in NBA history was certainly in question. Winning 3 NBA Championships is no easy feat, but with Shaquille O'Neal as the leading and dominating force of the LA Lakers dynasty in the early 2000's (someone needs to find a catchy name for this decade...I mean, it's been 9 years and still nothing?), Kobe received little credit for his successes. After his falling out with O'Neal (resulting in Shaq's trade to Miami and his subsequent tour of the NBA. Cleveland next?) and Jackson (resulting in the hiring of Rudy Tomjanovich and subsequent re-hiring of Jackson), the Lakers were mired in mediocrity--see Kwame Brown, Vladamir Radmanovich, and a whole slew of other subpar talent--leaving Kobe's full potential untapped and his greatness in doubt. His resurgence as 2008 MVP and now 2009 NBA Finals MVP have answered all of his critics; Kobe overcame sexual assault allegations, rebuilt the Lakers from scratch, re-established them as the premiere basketball team in the NBA, and solidified his place among the Top 10 basketball players of all time with MJ, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Dr. J, Jerry West, and now Kobe. After all, with 4 NBA titles, 11 All-Star selections including 3 All-Star Game MVPs, 9 time All-Defensive Player, 2 Scoring Titles, and the 2008 MVP and 2009 Finals MVP, he is truly one of the greatest of all time. Oh, and he has an Olympic gold medal too. And he's only 30 years old. (And yes, I went to the same high school as Kobe. I'm not a homer. The numbers are just undeniable, for all you Kobe haters out there.)


Phil Jackson is a more interesting case. He's won ten NBA titles, one more than the late great Red Auerbach, and now the most of all time. But is he the greatest coach of all time? Kobe silences his critics by winning without the likes of Shaq, but Jackson has always had superstars, be it Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen or Kobe and Shaq. Jackson and the Bulls won 3 consecutive titles in the early 90s, but when MJ retired in 1993, the Bulls stopped winning titles. Cue the comeback for Jordan and the resurgence of the Bulls, again three-peating from '96-'98. Jackson followed by coaching his third three-peat, from 2000-2002 with Bryant and O'Neal. Were the Bulls' and Lakers' dynasties a result of great coaching or true superstar play? The same can be said for Auerbach of course. Red's Celtics won 9 championships in 10 years, including 8 in a row! That puts any three-peat to shame, considering Red did it by defeating the Lakers, with the likes of Elgin Baylor and Jerry West, in the finals 6 years in a row. To be fair, the Celtics starred Bill Russell (an 11 time champion for whom the NBA Finals MVP Trophy is named), K.C. Jones, John Havlicek, Sam Jones, and Tom Heinsohn--all Hall of Famers. But what was so impressive was that Red Auerbach built his dynasty from scratch. He drafted Russell, Heinsohn, and Jones and made them into the HoF players they became (and even into coaches, as they won 6 more championships as coaches for the Celtics). He went on to GM the Celtics for 17 years, solidifying them as the best franchise in the NBA with the likes of Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish, all of whom he drafted and again turned into legendary players. So who is the best coach of all time, Jackson or Auerbach? It's tough to say, and until Jackson retires and makes his final impression on NBA history, there may never be a clear answer. Chris Broussard of ESPN.com makes an intriguing case for Jackson (his article can be found here), highlighting his non-championship years (45 wins with the same roster minus Caron Butler as Rudy Tomjanovich the previous year), his trademark Triangle offense, Zen Buddhist philosophies and Sioux rituals. He successfully managed Jordan, Pippen, and Dennis Rodman--yes, that Dennis Rodman--and Kobe and Shaq (though his tiffs with Bryant are well documented). Thus he is a proven player manager and strategist, and his leadership is impeccable. Still, I can't overlook that Jordan and Kobe seemingly fell into his lap (MJ averaged 35 ppg even before Jackson took over the Bulls). Auerbach was the complete coach; he embodied the Celtics. He drafted, coached, and mentored Russell, Jones, and Heinsohn. Then he went after Hall of Famers Bird, Bob Cousy, McHale, Parish, Nate Archibald and Danny Ainge, among many others. He single-handedly overtook the Lakers as the best franchise in the NBA. He won 8...8 consecutive championships! Even though Jackson may have surpassed him as the coach with the most NBA titles, Red Auerbach smoking his victory cigar still represents the best of the best in NBA coaching. Jackson is a close 2nd, and with just one more championship, 11 would be a number too hard to ignore, he will inherit the throne and wear the crown of best coach of all time.