In the 1990s, the general leading the Chicago Bulls battalion, the team that dominated the NBA and changed the game forever, was none other than Phil Jackson. He managed some of the biggest stars in basketball history, including Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, and, of course, Michael Jordan. How did he balance such egos and keep the team running like a well-oiled machine? He had his own ways.
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Toni Kukoc was part of the Bulls roster from 1993 to 2000, which meant he celebrated three championships as a member of their second three-peat team. In a recent conversation with EuroLeague, he reflected on what it was like to be a Bull during that era and how Jackson, who oversaw all six of Chicago’s championships that decade, motivated players in unorthodox ways.
Most coaches, during a poor showing, would let their temper get the better of them. They’d call out mistakes, raise their voices, or look frantic as they tried to pull their team out of trouble. But even when Jackson’s Bulls trailed by double digits, he stayed calm and as positive as ever.
“So, we would be losing by 20 at the half, and then everybody’s like this…” Kukoc revealed, looking down, to show that the players would be sitting in the locker room, dejected. “He comes in, now you’re gonna expect he’s gonna start yelling at the individual players about bad plays, not doing this…”
“He would go like this — ‘We got them exactly where we want them. Let’s start playing basketball and we all good.'”
This brought the spirits up, and the Bulls were able to approach the second half, feeling mentally rejuvenated, realizing that they could turn this game around if they simply turned up and played to their abilities. Even during dry stretches early on, when shots weren’t falling and good looks were hard to find, Jackson encouraged his players to keep shooting, even if it meant taking some bad shots.
Kukoc continued, “He calls a timeout and goes like, ‘You shot the ball, you shot the ball, you shot the ball… did you shoot the ball? Okay, we’re playing for him. Preferably, he misses it, so we all miss that shot. And from that point on, let’s start playing basketball.'”
The players never expected Jackson to behave this way, which was what made him so popular among them. “It was actually positive that he tried to clear your mind, like you don’t have to think about it.”
For Jackson, all that mattered was resetting and getting back to what the players knew how to do best: winning.
Jordan’s admiration for Jackson’s one word pep talks
Jordan always made it clear that he would only be an NBA player as long as it meant he would be working under Jackson. Netflix’s The Last Dance docuseries captured his love for the 13-time NBA champion perfectly.
The Bulls icon often spoke about how he was baffled at how easily Jackson would pull those around him up. “The main reason we do so well is Phil. I like him because of the atmosphere he creates,” said Jordan, in an older ESPN interview. “Sometimes he can say one word, one sentence, and shake you up, make you think… It’s not a curse, but you get the point.”
Jordan was the face of the Bulls franchise, but without Jackson’s presence, the success he achieved may not have been possible. Jackson didn’t just excel with Xs and Os on the whiteboard, he also held together a locker room full of stars. Since his departure in 1998, the Bulls have slipped back into a kind of irrelevance, failing to make the Finals even once.
Jackson, meanwhile, went on to the Los Angeles Lakers and added five more championships to his resume.
