Phil Jackson Zen Master T-shirt (Pre-order)

(PLEASE ALLOW 2-3 WEEKS TO SHIP- THIS IS A PREORDER)

Jackson cut his coaching teeth with the Albany Patroons of the Continental Basketball Association, whom he led to a championship in 1985. In 1987 he became an assistant coach with the Chicago Bulls. When he replaced the fired Doug Collins as the Bulls’ head coach in 1989, Jackson wasted no time installing assistant coach Tex Winter’s triangle offense. He also employed some of the loose-reign management techniques he learned from Holzman with a team that featured the game’s finest player, Michael Jordan, and budding superstar Scottie Pippen, a pair who were as gifted defensively as they were with the ball in their hands and who Jackson let rove on defense to spread havoc and create turnovers. The results were unprecedented: six NBA championships (twin ‘‘three-peats,’’ (1991–93 and 1996–98). The 1995–96 Bulls amassed a spectacular regular season record of 72 wins and 10 losses, and Jackson won 200 games faster than any other coach to date.

After leaving the Bulls and taking a year away from basketball, Jackson returned to coach the Los Angeles Lakers, blessed with another pair of superstars, behemoth centre Shaquille O’Neal and wunderkind scoring machine Kobe Bryant, whom Jackson guided to three consecutive championships (2000–02). Jackson stepped away from the game again for a year in 2004 but returned as the Lakers’ coach in 2005. He guided the Lakers to another title during the 2008–09 NBA season to earn his 10th championship, surpassing Red Auerbach for the most titles as a head coach in league history. In 2009–10 Jackson won his fifth championship with the Lakers and 11th overall. He retired after the 2010–11 NBA season.

• 100% ring-spun cotton
• 4.5 oz
• Pre-shrunk