Michael Jordan Believes Phil Jackson Was ‘The Main Reason’ Bulls Were So Successful: ‘When We’re Playing Bad In Practice, He’ll Beat On A War Drum To Wake Us Up’

NBA icon Michael Jordan believes Phil Jackson was “the main reason” the Chicago Bulls were so successful in the ’90s. 

The Bulls won six championships and went undefeated in the NBA Finals under Jackson. 

“The main reason we do so well is Phil,” Jordan told ESPN in 1998. “I like him because of the atmosphere he creates. Sometimes he can say one word, one sentence, and shake you up, make you think. Like Dean Smith did. Instead of yelling at you, criticizing you, Dean would say something like, ‘Would you make that play if you were in high school?’ It’s not a curse, but you get the point. At a crucial point in a game Phil might call a timeout after one of us took a bad three-pointer, and he’ll say, ‘You must be really hot, aren’t you?’ Or, ‘Toni, he’s on a roll.’ Instead of saying, ‘That was a dumb shot.’ It makes you think.”

The Bulls won titles in 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997 and 1998.

Jordan won all six Finals MVPs.

“It helps so much having Phil as our coach,” Jordan said. “He goes around and burns sage in front of our lockers, and when we’re playing bad in practice, he’ll beat on a war drum to wake us up. You laugh, but that stuff is a part of him. He believes it, the Zen, the poise. It comes from his meditating, gaining the ability to stay in touch with your body and your inner self, calming yourself when tension is all around.”

The Bulls beat the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1991 Finals, the Portland Trail Blazers in the 1992 Finals, the Phoenix Suns in the 1993 Finals, the Seattle SuperSonics in the 1996 Finals and the Utah Jazz in the 1997 and 1998 Finals. 

Jordan averaged 33.6 points, 6.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists in 35 NBA Finals games. 

“That is something I’ve learned from Phil. Calming the body,” Jordan said. “No matter how much pressure there is in a game, I think to myself: It’s still just a game. I don’t meditate, but I know what he’s getting at. He’s teaching about peacefulness and living in the moment, but not losing the aggressive attitude. Not being reckless, but strategic. What I do is I challenge myself in big games. I try to find a quiet center within me, because there’s so much hype out there and I don’t want to fall into it. I don’t want to rush. I’ll start off rebounding or getting everybody else involved, until I get an easy shot, a layup or a free throw or something, then boom, I’m off and running. I will have controlled my emotions and not gotten over-hyped or lost my focus. These are things Phil has taught me. And I’ll tell you, it all works, in big games more so than anything. It works when I’m sick, like in the Finals against Utah last year. I try not to focus on the sickness, just on being part of the situation. I am the situation. I have a game within a game. I will not expend great energy until I can find out where I fit in the scheme. That is a game in itself. It keeps me sharp.”

Jackson made the Hall of Fame as a coach in 2007. He won 1,155 regular-season games and 11 titles with the Bulls and Lakers.

Meanwhile, Jordan was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2009. MJ is first in NBA history in points per game, fourth in steals, fifth in field goals and second in player efficiency rating.

Jordan averaged 30.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 5.3 assists with the Bulls and Washington Wizards and won five MVPs, six Finals MVPs, 10 scoring titles, three steals titles and one Defensive Player of the Year Award.