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Dan Le Batard: "And the story I've told before of Pat Riley in a room having to wait to meet with LeBron, LeBron's what Phil Jackson would call LeBron's posse because this was a power game between the Phil Jacksons and Pat Rileys getting to control the sport and LeBron and his agent controlling the sport. In the room where he was recruiting them, he had to ask them to turn off the television because they were distracted while he was doing the recruiting. And all of that ended up being publicly humiliating because we have the pictures of Pat Riley and Andy Elisburg at a sad Las Vegas blackjack table waiting to meet with LeBron as everyone's wondering what he's going to do and Wade is flying all around him. It is amazing that we're doing this with the oldest player in the league all these years later."
Vladimir Radmanovic on being recruited by the Lakers: ‘When I was a free agent deciding where to sign, my manager told me that three people were going to contact me: Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson, and Phil Jackson. No matter how humble you try to be, it is incredibly flattering when those three individuals call you personally and tell you they want you in their organization. Vlade Divac acted as a mediator, likely sharing my phone number. I knew that joining the Lakers might not be the best option for my personal statistics or my minutes on the floor, but it was an experience I wouldn't trade for anything. Playing for the Lakers is something special in every sense: the constant media attention and the unique pressure are things very few other NBA teams ever experience. When Kobe calls and says, 'I want you here because we need your shooting to help us win,' it changes your perspective on team dynamics and individual sacrifice for the sake of a legacy.’
Vladimir Radmanovic on the Influence of Phil Jackson’s methods: ‘Phil Jackson was an incredibly interesting type of coach, unlike anyone else in the league. He had these methods—meditation, yoga, and turning off the lights in the locker room. He would tell us to close our eyes and 'think of nothing.' At the time, I was just starting to explore my faith more seriously, and I felt like meditating didn't really fit with my beliefs, so I’d just use the time to take a quick nap while he talked. But he was also brilliant with team psychology. During the playoffs, when we were watching film of our opponents, he would randomly insert clips from a movie. You’d be watching defensive rotations, and suddenly a scene from a random film would play. We’d all laugh, but it was his way of relaxing the team and breaking the tension. He had these 'special methods' to keep us from burning out mentally during the high-pressure environment of a championship run.’
"Could the Jordan rules work now in today's NBA, let's say against Wembanyama or SGA?" Isiah Thomas: "We actually see San Antonio doing that with SGA. Right now the new name for it is boxes and elbows. And where you see where SGA likes to shoot from mid-range, they have a double-team trap set up for him at the elbow. So if he goes right, he's forced into a double-team. If he goes left, he's forced into a double-team. On the backline, they keep Wembanyama as a rim protector. And then they have a smaller player in rotation shooting out to the corners. That's why you see those corner threes right now that OKC is knocking down. Those are the ones that they're giving up because they're taking the elbow shots or the mid-range shots away from SGA. So it's similar to what we did with Jordan. We would force Jordan left, trap him going left. SGA is more of a passer than Jordan was at that particular time. Jordan was what we called a reluctant passer. He would actually take on the double-team as a challenge and try to score over the double-team as opposed to kicking it out. And when Phil Jackson came along, put him in the triangle and put those snipers around him, that's when everything changed."
Austin Rivers: But if you want to talk about contributing players on championship runs, Hall of Fame help, when we talk about the Dennis Rodmans, Draymond Green's in that conversation. He is absolutely in that conversation and he has earned his right. But you don't ever see Dennis Rodman on a podcast talking about, ‘man, I should have shot the ball more. I don't know why they drew a place for Scottie Pippen. I don't get it. Phil Jackson hindered my career.’ Never. Never.
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Austin Rivers: I didn't get in the league because of my dad. And I didn't stay in the league because of my dad. Now, do I get to be a part of a team and an opportunity with a with a staff that believed in me and a coach that I knew I could play freely for? Absolutely, man. That's why I came back. That's why when Portland offered me 40 million, that's why when Phil Jackson was trying to explain the goddamn Triangle offense in my living room, I didn't go to New York. I went back to LA to get that bag so I could go play for my pops and I could play freely and be myself, which I actually ended up doing pretty f*cking solid as a role player under Chris Paul and Jamal Crawford.
Austin Rivers: I didn’t get in the league because of my dad, and I didn’t stay in the league because of my dad. Now, did I get to be a part of a team and an opportunity with a staff that believed in me, and a coach that I knew I could play freely for? Absolutely, man. That’s why I came back. That’s why, when Portland offered me $40 million, that’s why, when Phil Jackson was trying to explain the goddamn Triangle offense in my living room, I didn’t go to New York. I went back to L.A. to get that bag so I could go play for my pops, and I could play freely and be myself, which I actually ended up doing pretty solid as a role player under Chris Paul, Jamal Crawford. That’s what my role was. That’s all I ever was in the NBA: a role player. I was never a star.
Phil Jackson: 15 years I’ve been asking the NBA rules committee to widen the court apron. Corner shot b-comes 23.9”
15 years I’ve been asking the NBA rules committee to widen the court apron. Corner shot b-comes 23.9”
— Phil Jackson (@PhilJackson11) April 27, 2026
So what role did Phil Jackson play in your life on and off the court? Lamar Odom: “A teacher. We all go through school and go through academics. And I'm pretty sure you can remember who was your favorite teacher. I didn't have many. Growing up, you know what I mean? I didn't have many. I'm an eighth-grade dropout. I kind of quit school after my mother passed away when I was 12 years old. “I would say, Phil and Pat Riley. Probably my two favorites. My two favorite teachers and my basketball walk. I know the importance of every position on the court. And one of the reasons is because how I played the game, how I always saw the game.”
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Thanasis Antetokounmpo on getting drafted by the Knicks: I don't know why they drafted me because when I was sitting down they were asking me about players and they kept saying… because it was two sides. I don't know if people remember this, but it was two sides of the Knicks. It was the Knicks, the New York Knicks, Allan Houston, and everybody else that was like in the organization, and then it was the other side of the Lakers when Phil Jackson came. So, it was those two that when they were interviewing me, there was I remember vividly, I would sit down at the table and it was like the Lakers’ side and the Knicks’ side. They would ask me, you know, regular questions and it's like, hey, like, you know, where do you live? Do you have a spouse? Do you have kids? Like, no, no, all these other things. And the other people would ask me like, "What do you think about Dennis Rodman?" Like, "Oh, shoot. Okay. Yeah. What do you think about Trevor Ariza?" And then now looking back, I was like, "Oh, they were comparing me. They were trying to get me to say like, hey, because if I had said I don't really see myself like them, they’re not my style. I don't think I get drafted to the Knicks, because I love those players, you know, they would be like, and Shannon Brown and all these kind of like cats that were saying. I was like, "Oh, okay. I get what they're saying." And then, you know, I ended up getting drafted. One of, you know, one of the happiest moments in my life because I was very very worried. You know, when Giannis got drafted, I was like, "Wow, I got to make it. I got to do something for my family. I got to make sure we're good."
Robert Parish: Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. To answer your question, his teammates didn’t challenge him. You can tell by how he looked at me, the deposition and stance that he took. There ain't nobody that challenged Michael. Michael had unchallenged power on that team. And rightly so. He was the main man. He should have had that. But, I just let him know that he's not the first superstar that I played with. Sh*t, Larry Bird was a superstar. I wasn't in awe of Michael Jordan. And I told him so. Sh*t, I played with a bad motherf*cker. Shit, Larry's one of the all-time greats. So why am I going to be in awe of Michael Jordan, may I ask? Let me give you a little context, how all that came about. The challenge, we scrimmage every day, when I was with the Bulls, same as when I was with the Celtics. So first, I was playing with the first team with Michael, Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman. And then Phil Jackson put me with the second unit and put Luc Longley back on the first unit. So we beat them four straight games. And so after the scrimmage was over, I asked Michael how did he like that ass whooping. So he took offense to that. [Laughing]
The two-time NBA champ has had conversations with athletic departments and basketball staff about joining them to help develop the next generation of players. Sources told TMZ ... Lamar is pitching schools on bringing back elements of the legendary Triangle Offense, the system he mastered while playing for then-Lakers head coach Phil Jackson. We’re told Lamar believes young basketball players can benefit from the strategy ... and he's eager to land a job where he can start training a new batch of basketball stars.
Deron Williams: I liked playing for coach Avery Johnson. Coach Avery's funny, too… ‘Man! Let me tell you something, man’ Coach Avery was cool, man. He was another one of those like player-coaches, loved the game, smart coach. It was fun playing for Avery. And it's unfortunate because like a lot of people even think I had something to do with him getting fired in Brooklyn. Tony Allen: So that was just your MO. Williams: I became the coach killer. I used to see signs like ‘coach killer’ and all this. I liked Avery. I ain't say nothing to him. I think he was doomed from the start, because the the Russians, from my first year, they started asking me about other coaches and I'm like telling them I like Avery, but they had their mindset on other coaches. They wanted Phil Jackson.