Phil Jackson and Steve Kerr talk coaching, great players and social issues

When the NBA season starts in October, the question will be who can stop the Golden State Warriors?

Steve Kerr and his superstars will try to win their third straight title and every one else will try to stop them. The last coach to win three straight was Kerr’s mentor and former coach, Phil Jackson, who won three straight twice with the Bulls and then once with the Lakers.

In an interview with the California Sunday magazine, Kerr and Jackson sat down to discuss what they’ve learned in their times as coaches.

Adapting to players

Jackson, nicknamed “the Zen Master”, had a much different approach before he earned his nickname.

“We had a lot of militaristic kind of training,” Jackson said before telling the story of a player he described as sensitive. The boy was frequently asked if he could stand up to the pressure of being Jackson’s “whipping boy”, but ultimately brown down in the playoffs.

“That led to a change in my philosophy as a coach,” Jackson said. “I changed my tactics with this player. One of the things about coaching in this day and age is that it’s much more about a positive connection with players.”

That’s something Kerr learned after publicly criticizing the Warriors during a slump last spring.

“We had four or five really bad games in a row, where I felt our effort was basically nonexistent,” Kerr said. “ I let them have it both in the locker room and then with the press later on, right after the game in Indiana. And that didn’t work.”

Kerr said that he recognizes that reigning in that frustration could be a challenge for him this season – especially with a team that’s played so much basketball over the past four years.

“I’ve got to give them a lot of leeway, and I’ve got to be extremely patient, but we’re all competitive,” Kerr said. “So, when do you kick a little bit and try to give them a little boost and when do you back off? That’s what you have to figure out as a coach.”

Coaching great NBA players like Steph Curry and Kobe Bryant

No surprise: Kerr talked about Stephen Curry when the topic of coaching great players came up. Kerr called Curry “short Tim Duncan” because of their similar personalities — a combination of “great humility in his daily life” for those around him and “great arrogance on the floor, where he knows he’s the best player out there.”

Jackson also saw a similar arrogance in his former great Kobe Bryant, calling him “a shark who was seeking blood in the water” and whose “arrogance was almost rude.”

But Jackson talked also talked about the humbling experience the could knock his superstars off their pedestals.

For Michael Jordan, it was his gambling. For Bryant, it was the 2003 accusation of rape and sexual assault.

On Ash Wednesday after the charges first came out, Jackson said, “[Kobe] comes in the door… and he’s got ashes. He’s gotten up and gone to church. From then on in his career, it was all growth to a point where we saw a guy that did some things that were miraculous. It was dedication.”

Tackling outside issues

Both coaches also said they see themselves as more than coaches, frequently talking about issues outside of basketball albeit in different ways.

Rick Fox, one of Jackson’s former players, said the coach helped them have “a greater understanding of themselves” usually done through team discussions or books they read.

Jackson talked about another former player, Scottie Pippen, who was arrested in 1994 after officers saw a gun in his illegally parked car.

“The team had a talk about guns and about why. Who carries guns? Are you afraid? Are you being protective?” Jackson said. “Guns bring their own violence. So many things happen in our society because the anger’s too hard to contain for a lot of individuals, and if they have a gun, they use it.”

Kerr, whose father was killed by a gunman in 1984, is more vocal, frequently tweeting about gun control.

He contributes the change in methods to the changing times.

“I think right now it just feels like people need to be speaking,” Kerr said. “Because there’s a lot going wrong and a lot that needs to be corrected and worked on.”

Kerr also discussed the differences between the NBA and the NFL, which is grappling with a national anthem controversy.

“I think where the NBA’s gone right is the leadership works closely with the players” Kerr said. “The NFL has conjured up ways to create this false patriotism and pandered to their fan base, and they can’t really figure out what to do.”

But the tough issues, and the conversations that come with them, are ones neither coach ignores.

“We have these opportunities to coach,” Jackson said. “And you can either turn away from it or deal with it.”

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