Here is all you need to know about Hall of Fame coach Phil Jackson net worth, career earnings, salary and more
The “bubble” 2020 season was when the COVID-19 pandemic was at its worst, and Hall of Fame coach Phil Jackson made headlines over the weekend by confessing he hasn’t watched NBA in years.
He thinks the league openly adopted a political stance during that campaign.
One well-known former basketball player’s answers when asked about his opinions on the subject raised some eyebrows.
What is Phil Jackson net worth, career earnings, current job in 2023
Phil Jackson says he hasn’t watched the NBA since the Bubble:
“They even had slogans on the floor and the baseline. It was trying… to bring a certain audience to the game, and they didn't know it was turning other people off. People want to see sports as non-political.” pic.twitter.com/njYUCnL45p
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) April 22, 2023
Jackson’s remarks caused ESPN commentator Jalen Rose to respond on social media the next day, calling out the great coach who during a 20-year span led the Bulls and Lakers dynasties to 11 championships.
Rose chastised Jackson for his viewpoints and advised him to “stop watching forever.”
My thoughts on Phil Jackson's comments. https://t.co/Hgq5gPNJg4 pic.twitter.com/Vp3eH9uukH
— Jalen Rose (@JalenRose) April 23, 2023
You can’t make this up … The same Phil Jackson that won championships with some of the greatest Black athletes in the history of the game: Michael Jordan. Scottie Pippen. Shaquille O’Neal. Kobe Bryant,” Rose said. “Made millions on their backs. And off their sweat equity.”
When players altered the last names on the back of their jerseys to words like “justice” and “equality,” Jackson said he found it amusing but later added, “I couldn’t watch that.” He said this when a guest on Rick Rubin’s Tetragrammaton programme.
He asserted that the NBA was “turning other people off” by incorporating politics into the games and broadcasts. People want sports to be seen as being apolitical. Politics is excluded from the game. It’s not necessary to have it there.
Who is Phil Jackson and what is his net worth?
Phil Jackson, a former NBA player, coach, and team executive, has a $70 million net worth.
Jackson spent 12 seasons as a power forward for the NBA, but today he is best known for his coaching career. He was inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame in addition to being named one of the top 10 basketball coaches in history.
Phil Jackson was born on September 17, 1945, in Montana. Jackson was raised in a very devout household where both of his parents presented weekly sermons and functioned as Assemblies of God ministers.
Two brothers, a half-sister, and he were the only children in his family who were not allowed to watch television or dance. Jackson had planned on becoming a minister to follow in his parents’ footsteps.
Phil Jackson’s career, as a player, coach and president
Following his first-round selection by the New York Knicks in 1967, Jackson’s playing career officially got underway.
Jackson was a substitute who had limited playing time, but his hard ethic earned the hearts of the supporters.
He finally joined the Knicks, NBA champions in 1973. The Knicks lost a number of key players after they won the championship.
As a result, Jackson was able to make his debut in the starting lineup. In 1978, Jackson broke the mould by playing with the New Jersey Jets for two seasons. In 1980, Jackson decided to stop playing basketball professionally.
Jackson wasted little time in starting his coaching career. He later became well-known in Puerto Rico’s professional division as a coach.
His NBA career officially began in 1987 when Jackson was hired as an assistant coach for the Chicago Bulls. Two years later, he received the job of head coach. He quickly gained notoriety as one of Tex Winter’s triangle offense’s most ardent defenders. Because of the strategy’s success, he led the Bulls to six championship victories, including two straight three-year championship runs.
Jackson coached the Lakers between 1999 and 2004. In his first year, he helped the team win the title.
During this time, Jackson won two more championships with the Lakers. The Lakers eventually lost the championship to the Pistons in 2004 as a result of internal turmoil.
Jackson’s $6 million contract called for a $12 million rise. The Lakers extended an offer to him, but he declined it, forcing them to announce that he was departing.
Jackson returned to the Lakers in 2005 after his replacement coach was compelled to quit due to health reasons after initially leaving in 2004.
Despite the Lakers’ first dismal performance, Jackson guided them to a championship victory in 2009. They accomplished the same feat in 2010, giving Jackson his eleventh championship victory.
Jackson’s health began to deteriorate once he learned he had prostate cancer.
He decided to postpone his surgery so he could continue coaching. In 2011, he stopped coaching.
Jackson accepted a 5-year, $60 million deal to lead the New York Knicks after quitting coaching.
Phil Jackson’s wife
Phil Jackson married his first wife in 1967, but by 1972 they got divorced. He married his second wife in 1974, but their marriage again ended in divorce.
One of his most notable romances was with Jeanie Buss, the daughter of Lakers owner Jerry Buss. Having first met Jeanie in 1999, he proposed to her in 2013.
In 2016, they called off their engagement. In addition to his five children, Phil Jackson has eight grandchildren.
Phil Jackson’s contract and salary
Over the course of his nine-year coaching career with the Bulls, which saw the team win six championships, Phil made a total of $9 million.
After leaving the Bulls, Jackson briefly left the NBA, but he came back in June 1999 after agreeing to a $30 million, five-year deal with the Lakers.
Phil was the president of the Knicks before their split in June 2017, and his salary was $11 million annually. In a little more than three years, Phil earned $60 million while working for the Knicks organisation.
When Phil moved to Los Angeles in 1999, he spent $1.8 million for a home with an ocean view in Marina Del Rey, California.
In 2014, the same year he signed a $60 million contract to become the Knicks’ president, Phil spent $4.85 million on a midtown New York City apartment.
He listed the flat for $5 million in 2017, and in January 2018 it was bought for the asking price.
He has owned a lakefront house in Montana for more than 40 years; throughout the majority of his life, it has served as his vacation home.
The property had a basic cabin on it when he purchased it in 1973. Using the bonus money he had been given for the Knicks’ championship triumph that year, he paid the bill.
A few years later, he built a much larger house that is currently his primary residence.