Every legendary NBA player has a coach whose career is synonymous with their greatness. Tim Duncan and Gregg Popovich, Magic Johnson and Pat Riley, Bill Russell and Red Auerbach, the list goes on. Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan, similarly, has close ties with head coach Phil Jackson. However, he wasn’t the six-time NBA champion’s first coach.
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When Jordan first entered the league, his head coach was Kevin Loughery. Jordan was actually a big fan of Loughery’s coaching style. It allowed him to play the style of basketball he wanted. As a result, it gave Jordan the confidence he needed to become the player that he did.
Stan Albeck was the next voice in the Bulls locker room. It wouldn’t last for long, as Albeck and Bulls general manager Jerry Krause never saw eye-to-eye. After just one season, both parties moved on. Then came Doug Collins.
Before becoming a coach, Collins was an exceptional player. He played for the Philadelphia 76ers for eight seasons, earning an All-Star selection in four of those years. He had an extensive understanding of the game from a player’s point of view. All of these elements would lead one to assume Collins would thrive as a coach, but that wouldn’t be the case.
“Impulsive and emotional, Collins revealed a tendency to blame his players for losses, sometimes in bitter, caustic terms that only alienated them,” Roland Lazenby said in Michael Jordan: The Life.
Collins was competitive butnot in the right way
Jordan’s Bulls teammates urged the young star to use his voice to speak up on these issues. Unfortunately, Jordan saw how Magic Johnson was treated for doing the same with former Los Angeles Lakers head coach Paul Westhead.
Collins had the competitive fire, but not in the right places to win, especially in comparison to Jordan’s legendary college head coach.
“Jordan also took exception to Collins’s antics during games, which contrasted sharply with the dignified calm that he so appreciated in Dean Smith. Many in the organization fed on Collins’s zany energy. Jordan found it almost distasteful,” Lazenby said.
Dean Smith coached Jordan during his three years at the University of North Carolina. In the 6-foot-6 forward’s eyes, Smith was the ideal coach. Collins wasn’t able to find a common ground with Jordan, leading the two to constantly butt heads.
Ahead of the 1989-90 season, the Bulls decided it would be best to part ways with Collins. They fired him after three seasons. His successor was Phil Jackson, who famously led the Bulls to two three-peats.
Jordan didn’t enter the NBA with the perfect coach, but eventually got it in Jackson. The rest is history.
