Few NBA coaches have been as successful as Phil Jackson.
While he played with the New York Knicks in his youth, his greatest claim to fame has been coaching two winning teams in the past few decades.
With so much star power on his teams, it’s easy to overlook coaches like Phil Jackson.
However, without him, the teams he coached wouldn’t have been nearly as successful.
How Many Rings Does Phil Jackson Have?
Phil Jackson has 13 NBA championship rings.
Two of those rings are from his time as a player with the New York Knicks.
The other 11 are from his time as a coach for the Chicago Bulls and the LA Lakers.
He won his two rings with the Knicks in the years 1970 and 1973.
With the Chicago Bulls, he won six rings in the years:
- 1991
- 1992
- 1993
- 1996
- 1997
- 1998
With the LA Lakers, he won five rings in the years:
- 2000
- 2001
- 2002
- 2009
- 2010
He retired from coaching after 2011.
No one has more NBA championship wins under their belt than Phil Jackson.
Does Phil Jackson Have The Most NBA Championship Rings?
Phil Jackson has the most NBA rings considering the rings he received both as a player and as a coach.
As a player, he has two rings.
In that capacity, he does not have the most rings in the NBA.
He is beaten out by players like Bill Russell, who has 11, and Michael Jordan, who has six.
He doesn’t even make the top 10 list for players with the most NBA rings.
As a coach, on the other hand, he does have the most NBA rings.
Not even including his player rings, the rings he received as a coach total 11.
That’s more than any other coach in the league.
The second one closest to that number is Red Auerbach of the Boston Celtics.
He earned nine rings during his career.
After Red is John Kundla of the Minneapolis Lakers who earned five rings as a coach.
Third place ties with Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs.
Pop also earned five rings as a coach.
The final coach that ties for third place is Pat Riley of the LA Lakers and Miami Heat.
Riley won five rings coaching those two teams.
Could Phil Jackson Have Earned More Rings?
As a player, Phil Jackson had some talent, but he lacked the star power that some of the others had.
He only started to play more frequently towards the end of his playing career.
It’s unlikely that he would have earned any more rings through playing unless his team picked up a star player.
As a coach, however, there’s a high possibility that he could have earned more rings.
The LA Lakers went on to win the 2020 NBA championship.
Under his coaching, the team maybe could have won a few games earlier.
Looking back on his career and his ability to coach teams to three-peat victories, there’s no question that if he continued to coach for a few more years, he likely would have added to his ring collection.
What Do Phil Jackson’s Rings Look Like?
Phil Jackson has a large number of rings.
While two of them are player rings, the remaining 11 are rings he received as a head coach.
Here are what some of those rings look like and the stories behind them.
1. The 1970s New York Knicks NBA Championship Rings
Jackson won his first championship ring with the New York Knicks in 1970.
A lot of firsts happened during that game.
In particular, it was the first NBA Finals series to air on live television and in full color.
There was also outrage when the final game didn’t air on ABC.
Rather, it aired on MSG Network which only a few viewers subscribed to at the time.
Despite the debacle in broadcasting, the game was a close match between the Knicks and the Los Angeles Lakers.
The competition was so stiff that they had to play a game seven.
Ultimately, the Knicks won the finals with a record of 4-3 over the LA Lakers.
Jackson was a substitute in the game, but he won his ring along with the rest of his teammates.
The ring for the 1970 win featured a basketball on the front of the ring.
At the center of the basketball is a large white diamond.
Around the bezel of the ring reads, “NBA World Champions.”
On one side of the ring is the NBA logo with its traditional blue and red background.
The year of the championship appears on either side of the logo.
The other side of the ring has Jackson’s name on it.
It also says, “NY 4” and “LA 3” on either side to indicate the series record.
This side has the Knicks’ logo on it.
The logo also shifts into the top of the championship trophy at the bottom.
2. The 1973 New York Knicks NBA Championship Ring
The Knicks had something to prove in the 1973 game.
They had lost to the Lakers in the previous championship and wanted to take the trophy back from them.
It didn’t start well.
The Knicks lost the first game to a final score of 115-112.
They came back strong for the remaining games, though.
Despite battling a few injuries, they managed to win four straight games and win the finals.
Jackson was unable to play during the finals due to an injury he had.
He spent the season putting together a photo journal of the incredible journey the Knicks took to achieve the championship win.
He earned a ring along with the rest of the players and management team.
The 1973 championship ring looks almost identical to the ring he earned in 1970.
It has the same face and NBA logo side.
The only difference is the side with his name on it.
While the Knicks logo is still there, the numbers that represent the series’ record are different.
It states, “NY 4” and “LA 1” to represent their win over the Lakers in the finals.
3. The 1991 Chicago Bulls NBA Championship Ring
Jackson became head coach of the Chicago Bulls in 1989 and was eager to finally get them an NBA title win.
Michael Jordan wanted to experience his first NBA finals, too.
The finals ended up pitting them against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Before then, the Bulls had yet to defeat the Lakers.
Also in the match was Magic Johnson who was planning on retiring after the season was over.
Jackson brought in his famous triangle offense.
It provided more opportunities for all of the players to make shots rather than relying solely on Jordan to do all the scoring.
The strategy worked.
They surged past the competition.
They even had a rematch against the Detroit Pistons who had defeated them several times in the prior season.
Some of the Detroit players even famously walked off the court with eight seconds left to keep from congratulating the Bulls.
Once they defeated the Pistons, the Lakers were the only team to stand in the way of the Bulls’ championship win.
The first game was a serious battle.
Each team barely snuck out in front of the other before they tied again.
In the end, the Lakers won the first game with a field goal.
Despite their initial loss to the Lakers, the Bulls rallied.
They’d go on to win the next five games against the Lakers.
Not only was this Phil Jackson’s first NBA win as a coach, but it was also Michael Jordan’s first win.
Jostens designed the ring for the team and management.
Jackson’s ring looks identical to the player’s ring except on the side of his ring, it states coach instead of a jersey number.
It also bears his name.
Jostens chose to place a large bull made of gold at the front and center of the ring.
Between the bull’s horns was the team’s name written in their logo’s font.
Also on the side with Jackson’s name is the team’s record for the year.
This ring uses 10-karat gold in its production.
4. The 1993 Chicago Bulls NBA Championship Ring
Jackson and his team wanted to achieve the rare three-peat victory.
No one had repeated it since the Boston Celtics.
Coming off wins in 1991 and 1992, Chicago had every opportunity to do the same thing.
Jackson continued to coach his team and reinforced the triangle offense.
Michael Jordan was still part of the team.
He and Scottie Pippen had just returned from playing in the Olympics in Barcelona.
Although tired, they were eager to make their three-peat win a reality.
The team that stood in their way was the Phoenix Suns.
Initially, the Bulls had an easy time with the Suns.
They beat them in the first two games.
Part of the reason the Suns struggled was due to Charles Barkley’s elbow injury.
It took him out of the game.
By the third game, however, things didn’t look so well for the Bulls or Jackson.
The competition was fierce, but the game ended up going into triple overtime due to a tie.
The Suns ended up winning it.
The Bulls responded in game four to win it, then the Suns did the same thing in game five.
It all came down to game six.
Jackson instituted a “Blind Pig” play he had been coaching the players on for this game.
It helped them stay in the game and keep the score tight.
With only 3.9 seconds left, John Paxson fired a three-point attempt and scored.
It put the Bulls ahead and ensured their victory.
Jackson and his team had achieved a three-peat.
Jostens made a unique ring for that 1993 victory.
They used a red stone and sculpted it into the shape of a bull’s head.
It sits at the front of the ring with diamonds surrounding it.
The side of the ring features Jackson’s name and the title of coach.
It also has the championship trophy and their playoff score.
The other side of the ring has the NBA logo, but it also has “3-peat” written on the bottom of the ring.
The ring also features a unique three-sided emblem shape.
Jordan briefly retired from the Bulls after 1993, and Jackson wouldn’t see another NBA ring until his return.
5. The 1996 Chicago Bulls NBA Championship Ring
The official return of Michael Jordan occurred in 1996, although he technically rejoined the team midway through the 1994–1995 season.
The team had changed, too.
Many of the men Jackson had coached had either retired or left the team of their own choice.
Despite that, Jackson had worked hard to draft key players that could bring victory to the team.
One of the more controversial choices was Dennis Rodman who lived a controversial and eccentric lifestyle.
Despite the changes, the Bulls found themselves heading for the playoffs.
They ended up with 72 wins in the regular season.
It was the league’s best.
Rolling into the finals, they were up against the Seattle Supersonics.
The Bulls came through with three victories back-to-back at first.
Then the Sonics responded in kind with two back-to-back wins in games four and five.
Game six would be the deciding factor.
The Bulls ended up with the win, thanks in large part to Rodman’s rebounding.
The final score was 87-75.
Jackson had won his fourth ring as their coach.
To celebrate their four victories in such a short amount of time, Jostens put four trophies on the face of their championship ring.
Each trophy’s basketball was represented by a white diamond.
The side of the ring has Jackson’s name on it with his title as coach.
It also features a drawing of a red bull’s face, the logo for the team.
The other side of the ring has the NBA logo and features a few unique details.
It states “Greatest Team Ever” to represent the incredible performance the team showed in 1996.
That’s also represented by the “72 Wins” on the ring.
Behind the NBA logo is the Chicago skyline.
6. The 2000 LA Lakers NBA Championship Ring
Jackson ended up leaving the Chicago Bulls in 1998.
This prompted several other team players to also leave, like Michael Jordan.
While Jackson intended never to coach again, he was eventually convinced to coach the Los Angeles Lakers.
With the LA Lakers, Jackson found himself with a few other star players.
He didn’t have Michael Jordan anymore, but he did have Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant.
He immediately set to work teaching them how to use the triangle offense.
While it wasn’t something Bryant particularly enjoyed, O’Neal was quick to adapt to it.
They’d have an incredible season with the powerhouse team of Shaq and Kobe.
Entering the finals, they had struggled during some of the playoffs, but they managed to push through until they only needed to defeat the Indiana Pacers to claim victory.
They charged out of the gate in the first game.
O’Neal scored 43 points in the game alone.
The Lakers would also dominate in game two.
Larry Bird, who was coaching the Pacers at this time, tried to put up a defensive against Shaq, but it was no good.
The Lakers would take game two for themselves.
Game six would mark their final game.
At that point, the Pacers had won two games.
Game six was closely matched, too.
They were neck-and-neck for some portions of the game, but Shaq managed to help the team push forward until they had a strong lead.
The Lakers beat the Pacers, and Jackson received his first NBA ring with the Lakers.
The design for their first win in a long time was stunning.
The ring featured the Lakers’ name at the front and center surrounded by diamonds.
Jackson’s name is on the side of the ring and also uses his title as coach in place of a jersey number.
This side also has the team’s record for their playoff season and their regular season.
On the other side of the ring is the phrase “Bling Bling” which is a saying that Shaq used to pump the team up for the win.
It also features the trophy on this side with a diamond as the basketball.
This ring would be the first of a three-peat series of wins for the Lakers and for Jackson.
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