The frustration of Knicks fans is nothing new. In recent years, the team hasn’t seen any signs of lasting improvement. Even with Zen Master Phil Jackson as President, things haven’t progressed exactly as planned.
But if you ask Kobe Bryant, Knicks fans need to hold out a little longer and put their trust in Jackson. The Black Mamba spoke of the situation in New York, via SI.com:
“The people of New York just need to trust the fact that he knows more about the game than any of them put together. … In my opinion, he’s the greatest coach in any profession. Ever.”
Still, the ’15–16 season has had its share of bumps: Jackson fired coach Derek Fisher in February, after just 136 games on the job, and the Knicks are the East’s 13th seed, seven games out of the playoff picture. What’s more, New York will not have its first-round pick in June’s draft.
Bryant stressed that Jackson’s “true genius” lies in his ability to “set the table” so his players can reach their own conclusions. Under Jackson, Bryant won five championships and made seven Finals appearances, teaming with Shaquille O’Neal to win a three-peat from ’00–02 and then leading Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom to back-to-back titles in 2009 and 2010.
Bryant has definitely seen success under Jackson…only time can tell if the Knicks will be able to say the same.
