“Don't try to frighten us with your sorcerer's ways, Lord Vader.” General Motti from Star Wars
Phil Jackson and Red Auerbach are universally regarded as the two best basketball coaches in NBA history. While they are both known as good teachers and tactically proficient, the majority of their successes can be attributed to their motivational techniques (and of course, always coaching teams with multiple Hall of Famers). Jackson and Auerbach always put their players in a position to succeed while doing their best to disrupt their opponents' focus. Auerbach literally fought opposing players and fans in defense of his team. Jackson has never actually gone Van Gundy on the opposition but he has been manipulating referees and opponents through the media for the past twenty years. Most of the first thousand reasons why P-Jax is awesome involve getting Jordan, Kobe and Shaq to all embrace the triangle offense during their respective primes. Many of the rest touch on his player management skills and unmatched ability to wage psychological warfare on an opponent. If there is any doubt about his success there is only one thing to do...Count The Rings (but you'll need more than two hands to do it)! Earlier this week, Jackson added to his reputation as a master manipulator by offering his thoughts on Pat Riley and the Legion of Doom's rough start.
