Why Was Phil Jackson Fired From The Bulls?

By Rahul Gupta On Feb 18, 2023

Phil Jackson has won 11 NBA titles, making him one of the most successful coaches in NBA history. Under his direction, the Chicago Bulls won six championships. Even though the American coach had a great track record, he was fired from the team. Isn’t that crazy? Why did it happen?

Jackson’s time with the Chicago Bulls became well-known after The Last Dance came out. It is a miniseries that ESPN Films and Netflix worked together to make.

The show is about Michael Jordon, a star player for the Chicago Bulls. There are 10 parts to the American documentary as a whole.

On April 19, 2020, the first episode aired. The 1997-1998 NBA season was the main focus of this sports TV show. It was Jordan’s last time playing for the Bulls. And Jackson was, too.

Every NBA season, Phil Jackson had a theme. After this season, the bulls went through a lot of changes. For this game, the head coach wanted his team to work together. It was the champion team’s last run. He called it “The Last Dance” because of this.

Phil Jackson – The Greatest Coach of All Time

On September 17, 1945, Phil Jackson was born. The American coach, who is 77 years old, was also a player. Phil played basketball for the first time in high school in Williston, North Dakota. He also played baseball and football.

His name is now on a sports complex at the school. Jackson kept his spell going at the University of North Dakota, where he worked with Bill Fitch. His NBA career began in 1967 when he joined the New York Knicks. His team won the championship in 1970 and 1973.

Jackson was a player that many people liked. After more than a decade, he went on to play for the New Jersey Nets in 1978. After the 1979–1980 season, he was done with sports. Jackson won a total of 12 NBA titles while he was on the team.

Jackson’s career as a coach began not long after he stopped playing. But he kept coaching in the NBA after that. In 1987, he became an assistant coach for the Chicago Bulls.

Soon after that, in 1989, he became the head coach. After he finished with the Bulls, he worked for the Los Angeles Lakers from 1999 to 2004.

In 2005, the Lakers hired the charismatic coach back. The last time he was a coach was in 2011. During his time as a coach, he was chosen as the head coach for the NBA All-Star Game four times. In 1996, the NBA named him coach of the year.

Jackson was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007. Jackson is also known as the Zen Master because he has used techniques from both Native Americans and the East in his coaching career.

In 2014, Jackson worked as a manager for the Knicks. But as a business leader, he wasn’t very impressive.

Jackson as Bulls’ Head Coach – Here’s Why He Was Fired

The Chicago Bulls gave Jackson his first job as an NBA coach. The Bulls were one of the best NBA teams during his time. The team won three straight championships from 1990 to 1993. In 1995, the winning streak began again.

Again, the team won three titles in a row. Also, every year they made it to the playoffs. But Jackson and the team’s general manager grew to dislike each other over time. Even though the team did well, this was still clear.

GM Jerry Krause reportedly felt like he was being overshadowed by Jackson. He thought Jackson got all the credit for how well the team did. All of this was proven true when Krause did invite Jackson to the wedding of his stepdaughter.

The Last Dance says that Michael Jordan told Jackson that he would only play for him.

So, Krause made it clear that Jackson would not come back, even if the team won the championship in 1997-1998. He also made Jackson look like he had two different sides and didn’t respect his assistant coaches.

Everything went as planned. The team won the championship under Michael Jordan’s leadership.

Jackson and Jordan left the team at the same time. After this, the Bulls could no longer live up to their reputation. The decision to get rid of Jackson didn’t work out. Jackson even decided to retire.

But after a year, the Los Angeles Lakers gave him another chance. Jackson’s magic round kept going with the Lakers as well. From 2000 to 2002, the Lakers won three straight titles. But Jackson has kicked off the team in 2004 because he didn’t get along with Kobe Bryant.

Later, in 2005, he met up with Lakers owner Jerry Buss again. It was all because of what Jeanie Buss did. At the time, Jennie and Jackson were going to get married. After the reunion, the top coach said again that he had won two championships.