Phil Jackson has forever planted his name in basketball history as one of the greatest coaches to ever man the bench. As a coach he has 11 NBA Championship rings (and two as a player), he famously implemented the vaunted triangle offence to huge success, and he falls into the top six in almost all significant coaching landmarks including wins, win percentage, and playoff win percentage.
With that kind of resume you would expect the legendary bench boss to be riding around in the back of a Rolls Royce with a personal driver watching the road while he sips champagne out of a golden chalice.
Okay, maybe that’s an exaggeration. But you certainly wouldn’t believe that he would be riding around the underground with a pocket full of subway tickets trying to avoid touching anything. Yet, here we are.
We don’t actually know if this is Jackson, but he’s not exactly an easy person to imitate. His 6’8 stature and incredibly long wingspan contribute to him being a little more recognizable than the average Joe.
If it is in fact him, the photo could be seen as a symbolic representation of the coach’s declining presence in a league he used to dominate. We prefer to look at it as a humbling picture of a legend that doesn’t need fancy cars and personal drivers to satisfy himself.
(H/T Twitter/barstoolsports)
