Hall of Fame Phil
He ain’t trying to wait.
The Los Angeles Lakers organization are not a patient bunch.
Lost amidst all of the Iverson (and future answer to a trivia question, Ivan McFarlin)-to-Denver hoopla, was a curious move by the boys and girls in La La Land. They recently went ahead and nominated coach Phil Jackson for early induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame. If my memory serves me correctly, the Zen Master has another year (not including this one) of coaching the Lakers remaining on his contract.
The obvious question here is, What’s the rush? It’s not like there’s any chance Jackson won’t get in the Hall. The man, after all, has nine rings (tying him for most in NBA history with the late Red Auerbach), and is the owner of the highest winning percentage in playoff history. In other words, he’s a shoo-in.
“I was made aware of it,” Jackson said, “and yet still have some physical issues that I still have to think about before I really embrace that possibility. But it’s an honor to be thought about.”
So, lemme get this straight: Phil came to L.A. and helped them regain their past glory by winning three straight titles. Pat Riley, meanwhile, won four titles in the ‘80s for the organization, and I never heard them do anything like this for him. Perplexing.
The 24 finalists for the Hall of Fame Class of 2007 will be announced on February 16th during All-Star weekend in Vegas.
9 Responses to “Hall of Fame Phil”
Dec.20 at 10:59 pm
Drolfe says:
Thats weird. I guess so the Lakers can refer to Phil as ‘Hall of Fame Head Coach’ in their promos.
Dec.20 at 11:00 pm
Miss SunsGossip says:
Maybe he’s dying?
Dec.20 at 11:03 pm
Russ Bengtson says:
From the Hall of Fame website, the eligibility rules for coaches: “A coach must be either fully retired for five years or, if still an active coach, have coached as either a fulltime assistant or head coach on the high school and/or college and/or professional level for a minimum of 25 years. That person will then be considered for Enshrinement in the sixth year of retirement or 26th year of active coaching.” So maybe this is just Phil’s 26th year?
Dec.20 at 11:20 pm
mutoni says:
26th year or not, this is still quite bizarre.
Dec.21 at 12:24 pm
Donn says:
If he does get into the hall of fame they should put an asterisk by his name.hahaha… on the real, he deserves to be in there but they should probably wait until dude retires.
Dec.21 at 1:07 pm
Cheryl says:
There’s the same kind of talk here in Miami about Pat Riley for 2008. http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/basketball/heat/sfl-spheat18dec18,0,6374617.story?coll=sfla-sports-heat
Dec.21 at 3:53 pm
Max Airington says:
This worries me more than it confuses me. Is this a sign of Phil leaving soon, or just another instance of him being a self important pr*ck? I know, he didnt nominate himself, but I doubt he protested either.
Dec.21 at 8:46 pm
The Real Mongoose says:
Jeanie Buss fools
Dec.22 at 12:12 am
FLUXLAND says:
not sure why this so weird?! didn’t Lenny and LB get the same treatment? And why would the Lakers do something for Pat? It sure didn’t seem like his coaching career was near the end in the 80’s or that he was going to finish it with the Lakers.
Also, why the asteriks? How many coaches had their turn with MJ , Kobe and Shaq and never won anything. Say what you will but to channel all that talent to win rings takes serious ppl management; something he has obvioulsy mastered. I’m not a fan of all of his tactics but give props where they are due.