The Indiana Pacers relied mostly on Larry Bird‘s legendary resume as a player when they hired him as head coach back in 1997. Even with zero coaching experience, Bird did well in his new job and that’s because his players bought into his system and principles right away.
In fact, there was one player who helped him the most throughout his tenure with the Pacers. According to Larry Legend, it was former Pacers point guard Mark Jackson.
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“I always thought he’d be a good coach and he helped me out tremendously,” Bird told The New York Post in 2008. “When we had the lockout year, he kept guys together. He led the charge. He knew what was going on. He came over to me in the huddle and would tell me what play he thought we could run. Mark will be well-equipped to run an NBA team. I always knew he’d probably be a coach one day.”
Bird was right about Jackson
In 2011, Jackson finally dipped his toes into the world of coaching. Like Bird was with the Pacers back then, Jackson was appointed as head coach right away by the Golden State Warriors.
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As it turned out, Larry Legend was right about Mark. With Coach Jackson at the helm, the Dubs became a playoff team.
Even though Jackson failed to lead the Warriors to an NBA championship, he was credited for laying the foundation of the Golden State team that would later dominate the league and revolutionize the game.
Jackson’s controversial coaching career
As far as his days as a coach, Jackson exceeded expectations. His players recognized his raw talent and leadership skills, but like with any other franchise, there was also drama in Golden State.
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Just when everybody could sense that the Warriors were about to take over the NBA, the team decided to fire Jackson and brought in Steve Kerr. Apparently, Mark did not see eye to eye with the Warriors’ higher-ups on certain issues, which led to his dismissal after the 2013-14 season.
According to former Warriors star forward Ander Iguodala, it was unfortunate that Jackson earned a bad reputation despite his undeniable talent as a coach. Iguodala even further speculated that Mark is being blackballed in the league because some of his beliefs clashed with those of most people.
“One particular issue was his views on gender or marriage or what the Bible says on your sexuality,” Iguodala said in 2019. “And the head of our business, Rick Welts, he’s celebrated as one of the top execs in sports on the business side and he’s gay, so there was conflicts with that that was widespread.”
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“[Jackson] was one of my favorite coaches of all-time,” Iggy reflected. “He was going to put you in the best position to make the most money. There were players that got paid because of him that shouldn’t have gotten paid.”
To this day, no team has hired Jackson after his firing from Golden State. Regardless of what the case may be, for Bird and Iguodala, Mark has the makings of a great NBA coach and he deserves to be in the NBA right now.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Dec 11, 2025, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.