Sunday, June 16, 2013

June 16, 1999: The Lakers Hire The Zen Master

On June 16, 1999, the Los Angeles Lakers announced that Phil Jackson would be taking over as head coach of the team. Jackson's resume was more than impressive as he had helped lead the Chicago Bulls to 6 titles over 8 seasons before taking a year off. In his first season in L.A. he led the team to the NBA Finals where they beat the Indiana Pacers. The team won two more Championships in a row to give Jackson his third 3-Peat in his coaching career. After the Lakers were eliminated by the Pistons in the '04 Finals Jackson relinquished his head coaching duties. One year later he returned to the Lakers bench and began his quest for another title. The quest ended with two more titles with the latter two coming in 2009 and 2010. Jackson's days as the Head Coach of the Lakers ended after a disappointing sweep by the Dallas Mavericks in 2011. He flirted with a return just last year but the organization went in another direction. His 11 NBA Titles as a head coach is a NBA record that might never be broken.

On a sidenote, Happy Father's Day to each and every one of you and your Father's. I know for a lot of us, our Father's were instrumental in helping develop a love for sports that we all cherish. If you have the opportunity today to give your dad a big ole hug and thank him for all he has done for you and your life. I envy you, my father passed away when I was just 12 years old but I can still remember standing at Busch Stadium with him as a young boy watching the Cardinals play some ball. For me my love for sports began right then and there. Have a great day.

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