Phil Jackson Should Ask for These 5 Things for His Birthday
5 Best Birthday Presents for Phil Jackson
Happy Birthday, Phil Jackson.
The former Los Angeles Lakers head coach and 13-time NBA Champion is celebrating his 68th birthday today.
Jackson a.k.a. “The Zen Master,” has already gotten thousands of birthday wishes across Twitter, including this one from wife and Lakers owner Jeanie Buss:
Happy Birthday @PhilJackson11!! I love you xoxo. (He is going to kill me for this). #Birthdaywishes
— Jeanie Buss (@JeanieBuss) September 17, 2013
Although Jackson’s legend is notorious, let’s look back at some of his career highlights, just for fun:
• Two-time NBA Championship as a player with the New York Knicks (1970, 1973)
• NBA All-Rookie First Team (1968)
• Six NBA Championships won as head coach of the Chicago Bulls (1991-93, 1996-98)
• Five NBA Championships won as head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers (2000-02, 2009-10)
• Six-time Eastern Conference Champion
• Seven-time Western Conference Champion
• NBA Coach of the Year (1996)
• Four-time NBA All-Star Game head coach
I also found Jackson’s player stats worth mentioning:
• Points: 5,428 (6.7 per game)
• Rebounds: 3, 454 (4.3 per game)
• Assists: 898 (1.1 per game)
With accomplishments like these, there’s not much more Jackson can ask for. But I can think of five things that would make exceptional birthday presents.
Jeanie Buss can’t buy them at Target (assuming she even shops at Target), but I’m confident she can get them for him nonetheless.
Lucas Rubio is a columnist for www.RantSports.com and author of the Playerz League Sports Blog. Follow him on Twitter @PlayerzLeague.
5. Championship Trophies
The 11 NBA Championship trophies Jackson won as head coach for the Bulls and Lakers, respectively, are kept in trophy cases at the arenas. As a Lakers owner, Jeanie can borrow five of them from the Staples Center and steal the other six from Chicago to give to Jackson. He deserves them. As for the two championships Jackson won as a player, New York can keep those.
4. "Tao Te Ching," by Lao Tzu
This is basically the Tao manifesto. The Zen Master would surely dig lines like these: “He who conquers others is strong; he who conquers himself is mighty."
3. Karate Lessons
In addition to "Tao Te Ching," practicing karate would also satisfy The Zen Master's interest in eastern philosophy. At 68 years old, the stretching, exercise and mental preparation involved in karate will help him stay active during his retirement.
2. Mike D'Antoni's Job
Jeanie needs brother Jim Buss’ agreement to get this present for Jackson. Luckily, she has the backing of all of Los Angeles.
1. Jim Buss' Job
If you’re not going to give Jackson Mike D’Antoni’s job of Lakers head coach, give him Jim Buss’. Well, sort of. Buss has already proven that he’s a horrible owner. Were Buss to create a new position within the Lakers organization for Jackson (like president of basketball operations, for instance), he could rely on Jackson (who actually knows what he's doing) to make the basketball decisions.
