Phil Jackson is a legendary head coach, but he did have a blemish on his phenomenal NBA tenure.
Legendary head coach Phil Jackson was the man behind the clipboard for the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers’ 11 NBA Championships.
In fact, Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant flourished in Jackson’s era-defining triangle offense. But if there’s one stint that Jackson would likely want to erase from his resume.
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It’s none other than his near-four-year tenure with the New York Knicks as the president of the iconic franchise.
Carmelo Anthony says Phil Jackson made him a ‘scapegoat’ on the New York Knicks
Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images
During Jackson’s tenure with the Knicks, NBA legend Carmelo Anthony was the biggest name on the team’s roster.
Unfortunately, Melo never won a championship with the Knicks, and he apparently blames the Zen Master for his failure, as revealed during the recent episode of The Big Podcast with Shaq.
“I respect you as the coach of the game. You are the President of the team. Talking s___ about the team. If the team is not good, then who does the bullets go to? The guy who wears the white hat on the team.
“It’s an easier scapegoat to point me out than it is to just man up and say, ‘You know what, my tenure here wasn’t great at all. I had a f_____ up tenure, I should’ve come down and coached,’” Melo said.
Anthony did mention that he respected Jackson as a head coach, but as a president, he was simply not good.
Phil Jackson as the president of the New York Knicks
Jackson was brought in as the team’s president during the 2013-14 NBA season, and he stayed with the team until the end of the 2016-17 season.
During those seasons, the Knicks had a record of 90-171 as they struggled in the Eastern Conference.
Moreover, the Knicks never reached the postseason during Jackson’s stint as president, albeit with Anthony in the prime of his career.
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Ultimately, Melo and Jackson went their separate ways in 2017. Anthony did spend five more years in the league, but he was no longer the star he once was.
On the other hand, Jackson has completely sidelined himself from the game of basketball as he rarely makes any public appearances anymore.