“It’s a slap to the face of basketball” – Phil Jackson admitted he hated everything about the All-Star Game originally appeared on Basketball Network.
Phil Jackson, or the Zen Master, if you prefer, is the most decorated coach in NBA history, with 11 championships to his name, most of them thanks to his famed triangle offense. A system that, as many players have said, isn’t easy to fit into unless you have the right personnel.
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One of the stars who never really clicked with that system was Carmelo Anthony and even the late Kobe Bryant pushed back against it early in his Los Angeles Lakers tenure.
But Jackson, true to himself, never strayed from his basketball beliefs and principles. Jackson gave his assistant, Tex Winter, the true mastermind behind the triangle offense, complete freedom to work with players on the details of the system, which later proved to be a game-changer.
The “read and react” style of offense was so unpredictable because it relied on constant player movement, ball circulation and observing what the defense offered. When you add the incredibly skilled players Jackson had throughout his career, you get the perfect formula. That was the foundation of Phil’s entire basketball philosophy.
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Jackson didn’t approve of isolation basketball
There’s a telling moment from his time in Los Angeles that adds to the story of Jackson’s unique mindset. When a reporter asked him whether he had watched the All-Star Game, Phil didn’t hesitate to answer in a style only he could.
“It’s a slap to the face of basketball by making it a game of only superstars who only play one-on-one,” Jackson said. “Basically, they don’t play a conceptualized game where five people play together. And that’s the goal of a coach, to get five people to play together.”
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Jackson clearly wasn’t a fan of what he saw as a glorified pickup game where superstars go one-on-one just for show. While he understood the entertainment aspect of it, he believed the All-Star Game was a bad brand for basketball.
Team-oriented play and role players, of which he was blessed with plenty throughout his career (see: John Paxson, Toni Kukoc, Steve Kerr, Dennis Rodman, Robert Horry, Ron Artest), were essential parts of his winning squads.
Even though he coached superstars like Kobe, Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal and Scottie Pippen, Jackson never built his system around isolation basketball, though he easily could have.
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It’s also well-known that nearly every great NBA coach has, at some point, taken the helm of Team USA. It’s considered a prestigious milestone, just ask Steve Kerr or Gregg Popovich. However, Jackson never accepted the opportunity, and years later, he finally explained why.
“I think philosophically and historically, I’m a little bit of a maverick over there,” he said. “I don’t know if that’s it or not. But they also understand I’m a private person in a lot of ways, and I have a style of coaching that’s probably not applicable to short-term All-Star teams.”
Jackson didn’t see the value in coaching a team full of egos
The reason was essentially the same as his distaste for the All-Star Game. Back then, Team USA was dominating the international stage in a big way, with blowout wins almost a given, and Jackson didn’t see the value in coaching a team full of egos, with no real structure or system. He saw it as a shortcut to success, something that never aligned with his personal or professional philosophy.
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Jackson truly was and remains one of the most unique figures not only in coaching but in the league as a whole. His whole persona set him apart from countless coaches who tried to leave their mark on the Association.
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Aug 16, 2025, where it first appeared.