Many Lakers fans are outraged, while many other basketball fans are confused by the decision on Monday, Nov. 12 to hire new Head Coach Mike D’Antoni over Phil Jackson.
After a 1-4 start to the season, the Lakers front office decided to part ways with Head Coach Mike Brown. Under Brown, the Lakers barely made it to the 2011-2012 season playoffs and were quickly eliminated during the second round. After the embarrassing start to this year’s season, it was time for Brown to leave.
When the Lakers were looking for a new head coach, many believed that Lakers ex-Head Coach Phil Jackson would get the job. From 1999 to 2004, then 2005 to 2011 Jackson led the Lakers to ten playoffs. The team won five championships under his leadership. Jackson, arguably one of the best coaches in basketball history, retired in 2011. However, many wanted Jackson back.
The weekend following Brown’s firing, it seemed like putting Jackson as head coach was the best decision and was going to happen. The Lakers owners and general manger even made a statement saying that it was about a 95 percent chance that Jackson would be the new coach. Many Lakers fans were cheering in hopes of more playoffs and championships to come. However, on Monday, many fans were shocked when D’Antoni was hired.
D’Antoni has held coaching positions on different levels, most notably as the Phoenix Suns head coach, where in 2005 he won NBA Coach of the Year. However, D’Antoni is no Phil Jackson.
D’Antoni has taken teams to playoff games and to conference championship games, however, he does not hold a single NBA championship ring. Jackson is just an overall better coach. The fans know this too. On Tuesday, Nov. 13 the Lakers lost a game against San Antonio, where during the game, the chant “We want Phil” could be heard throughout the stands. D’Antoni is not a bad coach, and only time will tell what he can do with the Lakers. But as of right now, the Lakers should have gone with Jackson.