While it may be easy for those in Boston, or Utah for that matter, to admit it, Jackson is one of the best coaches of all time. Is he the best ever? That's certainly up for debate, but to say that putting him in the conversation is overrating him — well, that just doesn't make sense.
Oftentimes, in order to respect and honor greatness, one must overcome certain things that may stand in the way of realizing how truly great something or somebody is. So while Jackson gets under the skin of many across the league, maybe even everyone outside of Los Angeles at this point, you cannot deny the fact that he is a winner.
If you want to put things nicely, Jackson has a way with his words. If you want to be blunt, and probably more to the point, really, Jackson is a jerk. That's what happens when you win the rings. You feel you have fewer limitations on what you can say, and you start to believe that you truly are a genius. Jackson is likely guilty of both, but it's not like he's some Joe Schmo coach being passed around the NBA to guide teams to losing seasons. Whether it's right or not, winners are allowed to get away with more.
Another knock on Jackson is that he's been incredibly blessed with talent in his years of coaching. That's certainly true. Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal, Derek Fisher and Pau Gasol all played for Jackson either during or for the entirety of their primes. There's no doubting there's something to be said for Jackson having that kind of talent at his disposal, but those players need to be coached and directed.
Not only has Jackson been able to do that, but it's no small task to manage personalities of that caliber. Jordan was one of the most competitive players to ever play anything. That's an ideal trait in most aspects, but you have to think he wasn't the easiest person to deal. Same thing with Bryant, especially when you add in the fact that Jackson had to double as a mediator between him and Shaq. And then, of course, there was Rodman. And Artest. That must have been fun.
At the end of the day, though the number to remember is obviously 11. That's how many rings Jackson has, and no matter how pompous or blessed we think he may be, there's no taking that from him.
Hate him all you want, but you have to respect him. As much as that may hurt, you have to. Jackson is one of the best ever.
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