Phil Jackson calls out LeBron James as poster child for new, worse NBA
Phil Jackson knows a thing or two about coaching superstars and winning NBA championships. The 11-time champion coached Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Shaquille O’Neal, and Kobe Bryant in their primes, but he doesn’t seem to be a fan of LeBron James and the style of play he has helped usher into the new-school NBA.
“When I watch some of these playoff games, and I look at what’s being run out there, as what people call an offense, it’s really quite remarkable to see how far our game has fallen from a team game,’’ Jackson told Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck. “Four guys stand around watching one guy dribble a basketball.’’
“I watch LeBron James, for example,’’ Jackson continued. “He might [travel] every other time he catches the basketball if he’s off the ball. He catches the ball, moves both his feet. You see it happen all the time. There’s no structure, there’s no discipline, there’s no ‘How do we play this game’ type of attitude. And it goes all the way through the game. To the point where now guys don’t screen—they push guys off with their hands.’’
Jackson told Beck he believes the NBA’s move to more one-on-one basketball mirrors a societal change in America.
“The game actually has some beauty to it, and we’ve kind of taken some of that out of it to make it individualized,’’ Jackson said. “It’s a lot of who we are as a country, individualized stuff.’’
Jackson is known as a guru of the triangle offense, which is predicated on spacing, passing, and taking high percentage shots based on how the opponent chooses to defend the five offensive players on the floor.
These Celtics made five straight Finals before LeBron did
[bdc-gallery id=”465911″]
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com