It didn’t take long for point guard Steve Kerr to learn why the Chicago Bulls were three-time NBA champions. The Phil Jackson-coached squad’s practices were not just physically intense but also intellectually demanding.
The Bulls’ coaching staff stressed the importance of mastering the fundamentals. It didn’t matter if their players were already professionals and considered the best athletes in the world — they had to do things the right way.
“This coaching staff stresses fundamentals more than any team in the league,” Kerr said in 1993, via the Chicago Tribune.”I played for a coach in Cleveland in Lenny Wilkens who is very fundamentally oriented in his teaching. But with these guys, it’s almost overkill. The players complain about it, and we go through stuff over and over and over again. But it shows results.”
Automatic
The Bulls ran plays over and over again during practice. When game time arrived, everything was automatic. The entire team knew how to respond quickly to different defensive packages.
“We get so many back-door plays and plays where we take advantage of what the defense is doing, and it’s just an indication of the type of teaching that we have during practices. It’s not by accident at all,” Kerr noted.
“The amount of time we spend on fundamentals is really amazing,” Jackson said. “It reminds me of when I was coaching in the minor leagues (the CBA). I don’t know if they’re still teaching fundamental skills like they did when I was in seventh and eighth grade, but they should.”
In the Michael Jordan-less 1993-94 season, the Bulls recorded a decent 55-27 record. Even though they were booted out in the second round of the playoffs, they impressed analysts with their play. Even without the greatest player in the world, Chicago remained a serious contender in the playoffs.
The benefits of practice
A couple of years ago, the former Los Angeles Lakers coach shared his thoughts on the current status of the game, particularly how teams rarely practice and rest their players instead. The Zen Master hinted that the slowdown in physical activity has contributed to the slew of injuries nowadays.
“We practiced all the time, and guys didn’t get injured. I heard that Sacramento was one team that practiced during the year and didn’t have a lot of injuries. I don’t really get the value behind it [load management], but we laughed all the time with the trainers over the fact that we didn’t have injuries,” Jackson said, adding that players loved how they were constantly doing drills and perfecting their skills.
Phil slammed how players just work on the shooting aspect of the game. Most players do not work on their passing, footwork, timing, and other fundamental skills.
“And if you watch the game with the eyes that I have and the knowledge that I have, you can see how corrupted the game is. The way they dribble, the carry, the delay-dribble, the inability to pivot correctly, there are no pivot moves that make sense, traveling, the game has deteriorated from that point,” Phil said.
Is this the reason why NBA games are unwatchable? Do the players need to return to the basics to make the game entertaining again? Jackson may have a point — the Bulls, despite their slow-tempo style, delighted fans worldwide. Current NBA coaches must continuously polish their players’ fundamentals if they want to be better.