Jackson's coronation as Greatest Coach Ever will have to wait

First appeared on June 17th, 2009
in The Lebanon Reporter

Even though the Lakers have wrapped up their 15th World Championship as a franchise, a few unanswered questions linger in Lakerland. Burning issues every true purple Laker Lover longs to know like just how long will Pau Gasol’s victory ciesta last? Will Derek Fisher successfully lobby the league for the use of wheelchairs next season so he can keep running in those back-breaking shots we’ve grown so accustomed to seeing? Or, perhaps most complexing, is Phil Jackson the greatest NBA coach of all time or not?
Most experts agree Red Auerbach is the gold standard amongst professional basketball coaches (at least that was until about 10:39 EST Sunday night). The debate for who is most deserving of having “Greatest NBA Coach Ever” tattooed on their forearm Popeye style is complicated at best. Of course since Auerbach never coached a game in my lifetime, any argument I could make for or against him would be about as legitimate as say last week’s presidential elections in Iran. Of course being taken seriously has never been something we (myself and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad) have ever expected before so why start now?
The case for Jackson is strong. They say the worst players make the best coaches and Phil is living proof considering as a player he never led the league in anything except personal fouls. After cutting his coaching teeth with the Isabela Fighting Cocks in Puerto Rico, Jackson has come a long way. The Zen master has 10 titles with two different teams (this doesn’t count the CBA championship he helped the Albany Patroons stake their claim too either). Jackson’s winning percentage is above 70% and he’s likely coached three future Hall of Famers (four if you believe Scottie Pippen will get there and five if Dennis Rodman ever lives to see the day the Hall lets players vote themselves in).
In the opposing corner of this heavyweight bout to determine the greatest of all time is of course Red Auerbach. Coach of nine World Champions (all with Boston), his championship run included a record setting eight titles in a row and during his days on the bench Auerbach coached nine players who found their way to the Hall of Fame. Perhaps most impressive is that four of his former players went on to win championships of their own as coaches. While he made a name for himself smoking victory cigars, Auerbach is also credited with helping to break the color barrier in the NBA by selecting the first African American draft choice in league history.
Debating the two is pointless at best. The NBA of today and the one Beaver Cleaver followed in the 1950’s are eons apart (and by eons we mean A LOT). Between the 24 second clock, free agency, dramatic increases in both the size of the league, size of it’s players, size of it’s fan base and conversely the size of it’s pay scale, all make debating Jackson versus Auerbach a fruitless endeavor; one akin to arguing over the greatest U.S. President.
The easiest solution would be to simply dynamite and chisel a Mt. Rushmore of coaches and call it a day. Jackson and Auerbach would no doubt be the first choices, the equivalent of Washington and Jefferson. Lincoln is another obvious choice so let’s throw Lenny Wilkens (most coaching wins in NBA history) up there too. That leaves the final choice that has baffled so many a schoolboy for so long- Teddy Roosevelt? Who would be the closest thing to a rough-riding, trust-busting coach the league has ever seen? Best we leave that one open to debate.