As he weighed in on Carmelo Anthony’s situation with the New York Knicks back in 2014, Phil Jackson mentioned Tim Duncan as he put things into perspective. By doing so, Phil referred to the San Antonio Spurs as a dynasty, a term that he quickly corrected.
For Jackson, the Spurs were a great team, but they never met the qualifications of a dynasty in the NBA. In Phil’s book, a team could only be considered a dynasty if they have clinched at least two NBA titles in a row.
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Even though it wasn’t the main topic of his statement, Jackson felt the need to clarify what a dynasty means. A thought that was totally understandable, considering the Zen Master did not just coach one but two of the greatest dynasties in NBA history.
“Tim Duncan making the salary he’s making after being part of a dynasty — not a dynasty,” Jackson said at the time. “I wouldn’t call San Antonio a dynasty — a force, a great force. They haven’t been able to win consecutive championships, but they’ve always been there. San Antonio has had a wonderful run through Tim’s tenure there as a player. He’s agreed to take a salary cut so other players can play with him, so they can be this good. And that’s the beginning of team play.”
Phil has an issue with the Spurs’ title run in ’99
Due to a labor dispute back in 1998, the NBA’s 1998-99 season was shortened to just 50 games per team instead of 82. That year, the Spurs finished the campaign as the best team in the league with a 37-13 record and a .740 winning percentage.
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Even though the Spurs’ run that season was nothing short of impressive, considering it was the first time the team reached the NBA Finals in franchise history, Jackson couldn’t take it as it was.
For Coach Phil, the lockout season definitely impacted how the teams performed, and in the process, it also affected the legitimacy of the Spurs’ championship that year. However, then again, it’s only based on Jackson’s point of view.
“‘[The Spurs] needed an asterisk next to their title’ last year because of the lockout-shortened season,” Phil once remarked.
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The Lakers-Spurs rivalry
After the lockout season, Jackson joined the Los Angeles Lakers as head coach. He helped the team get back to its winning ways. With Phil at the helm, the Lakers won an NBA title once again after 12 long years. As for the Spurs, they failed to repeat their title run after being eliminated in the first round.
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In 2001, the Lakers swept the Spurs in the Western Conference Finals and went on to win back-to-back titles. The two teams met again the following year in the semis, and the Lakers prevailed once again. They completed a historic three-peat. This set the stage for an epic rivalry between the Spurs and the Purple & Gold.
In 2003, the Lakers were looking for a four-peat, but the Spurs prevented it from happening and won their second championship. The Lake Show hit back right away and eliminated San Antonio in 2004. It took four years before they crossed paths in the postseason again, and the Purple & Gold ended up beating SA in the conference finals.
All told, it’s easy to see why Jackson was critical of San Antonio’s championship legacy. The way he sliced it after all those years, the Spurs aren’t a dynasty.
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This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Sep 1, 2025, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.