Jackson: The jewel in LA's crown

Man in the middle: Jackson is congratulated by his stars

BBC Sport Online's Alex Trickett takes a closer a look at Phil Jackson, the man behind the Lakers' latest success story.

Phil Jackson has an NBA championship ring for every finger.

The head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers has earned his eighth title in 11 years, steering Kobe, Shaq and company to a second consecutive NBA crown on Friday.

And he has two more rings from his playing days at the New York Knicks, with whom he won the championship in 1970 and 1973.

But it is as a coach that Jackson has established his place in basketball folklore.

Jackson has 10 championship rings

He is now just one shy of the all-time NBA record of nine coaching titles set by Boston's legendary Red Auerbach.

And while his aggregate play-off record of 141-50 - set with the Lakers and the Chicago Bulls - is already an NBA best.

Of course, he has had the good fortune to work with some spectacular players.

Without Michael Jordan on the floor, Jackson would not have been able to guide the Chicago Bulls to six NBA titles in the 1990s.

Similarly, his current Laker side, robbed of the talents of Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, would not have cruised through the 2001 play-offs losing just one game.

But superstars still need coaching and it is worth remembering that Del Harris - Jackson's predecessor in Los Angeles - had the services of both O'Neal and Bryant, but failed to win.

"He's the best coach in the NBA," Bryant said after his team's decisive 108-96 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.

He's a winner - he kept us all prepared, let problems work themselves out."

  Shaquille O'Neal

"He might be the best coach ever.

"Phil is such an excellent coach. He understands players. He understands people. He did an excellent job of bringing this team together and establishing a community."

Jackson admits that he has been blessed with talented teams.

"My expertise is probably taking teams that are good to the next level.

"Coaching is salesmanship. Coaching is winning players over and convincing them they have to play together. It takes a team conviction to play together to make things work."

He has certainly achieved this at the Lakers and was also able to blend the skills of Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman at the Bulls.

It was Jackson who convinced Jordan to follow the triangle offence and the result was a string of NBA titles from 1991-1993 and 1996-1998.

Phil is always relaxed. He doesn't allow us to see him get rattled, but he loves to win just like anybody else

  Kobe Bryant

Jackson then took a one-year sabbatical before signing a five-year, $30m contract to coach the Lakers in June of 1999, just after they were swept out of the playoffs.

The respect Jackson commanded united O'Neal and Bryant and the Lakers rolled to last year's title, but this year did not go so smoothly.

"We had to find a balance," Jackson said, alluding to increasing friction between O'Neal and Bryant over who should lead the team.

"The biggest key was getting them to understand that their play together as a cooperative effort inside our offense is greater if they respect each other so much they give each other the ball."

"He's a winner," O'Neal said.

"He kept us all prepared, let problems work themselves out."

Jackson's faith

When the Lakers get in trouble during a game, Jackson often refuses to call a time-out immediately, leaving the players to solve the problem themselves.

His faith is more often than not rewarded.

"It's wonderful for players," said Bryant. "It's a huge challenge and a huge responsibility for us to get our act together, get our butts in gear.

"Phil is always relaxed. He doesn't allow us to see him get rattled," Bryant said.

"But I do sense some excitement from him. He loves to win just like anybody else. He doesn't let you sense it until the buzzer goes off.

"Then he will crack a smile."