13x NBA Champion Phil Jackson has been facing heat from the hoops community since his controversial take on the league. Jackson is arguably the most successful coach in NBA history, training legends like Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal, and Scottie Pippen, among many others. However, the recent issue took center stage when a former NBA star, who has been very critical in the past, hit back at Jackson through a video message on social media.
The Zen Master coached the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers in his 22-year-long coaching career. He ended his long-standing coaching stint in 2011. Since then, the legendary coach had been off the media attention until the release of the docuseries, The Last Dance, in 2020. And now, he has again attracted the attention of the media by criticizing the NBA for its political stance.
In a recent podcast episode of Tetragrammaton with Rick Rubin, Phil Jackson spoke extensively about his journey in the NBA. However, during one of the segments, he made a controversial statement. Jackson revealed that he stopped watching the NBA since the bubble. He reasoned that he didn’t like the politics involved in the league during the bubble.
In response to his statement, former Bulls star, Jalen Rose, posted a video message addressing Phil Jackson’s statement. Rose started his message by mentioning the fact that Jackson is one of the greatest coaches of all time. However, he wasn’t appreciative of his recent comments.
Rose continued, “You’re sitting and watching the game with grandkids and y’all think it’s funny when justice passes the ball to equal opportunity.” He further insisted Jackson stop watching the game if he didn’t support it.
This isn’t the first time where Rose had made a bold statement against an NBA personality. He had lashed out at Brooklyn Nets star Ben Simmons some time back.
