After becoming a championship coach, Phil Jackson received plenty of acclaim.
Especially after creating history with a 72-10 record and then winning the championship.
Just like Pat Riley, he was inherently skilled at packaging and marketing himself.
However, they took different paths; Riley was the slick elite of the CBD, while Jackson resembled a mystical mentor hidden in a gypsy caravan.
Jackson opened up new territory in the domain of NBA coaching, blending team management, on-court command, mental counseling, and mystical divination—all things previously considered unrelated to head coaching.
All of this was for control, for victory, for the championship.
He elevated the role of head coach to an unprecedentedly important and complex status, although Jackson didn't initially anticipate he would reach this point.
Initially, he simply wanted to have a meal ticket in the League, to break into the head coach circle, and thereafter not worry about jobs or salaries.
