One of the all-time greatest NBA coaches spoke out against the NBA for scheduling games on both Christmas and Easter, calling them sacred days.
On Christmas Day 2024, the NBA had five games scheduled, while Good Friday and Easter Monday each featured two games.
This apparently did not sit well with former coach Phil Jackson, the man who coached Michael Jordan to six championships with the Chicago Bulls.
“Again the NBA tests faith by playing multiple games on Christmas and Easter…sacred days,” Jackson wrote on X.
Shockingly, this was just the second time that Jackson had used his social media page in almost seven years, and it was to complain about the NBA’s schedule.
Jackson has spoken vaguely about his faith on his timeline in the past, but way back in 2013 and only in reference to movies.
It should be noted, however, that the NBA playing games on Christmas is not at all new, as the league began playing games on Christmas Day in 1947, its second season. At the same time, the NBA has reportedly had a five-game schedule for Christmas since 2008. All of this came within Jackson’s tenure too; he retired in 2016.
Still, the man of faith clearly has his principles. He is one of the few coaches to take a non-woke approach to the NBA’s campaigns and even spoke out in 2023 to say he had not watched the league in years.
“They had things on their back like, ‘Justice.’ They made a funny thing like, ‘Justice just went to the basket and Equal Opportunity just knocked him down.’ … So my grandkids thought that was pretty funny to play up those names. So I couldn’t watch that,” Jackson said at the time.
The legendary bench boss did not approve of the political slogans written on NBA courts, either, and said the move was “trying to cater to an audience or trying to bring a certain audience into play.”
Explaining that people want to see sports as “non-political,” Jackson mocked the league for its COVID-19 bubble in Orlando, Florida.
“They did something that was kind of wanky; they did a bubble down in Orlando and all the teams that could qualify went down there and stayed down there.”
With 11 total championships, Jackson will forever be known as one of the best coaches to walk on a court, with the ability to harness even the biggest personalities. He handled Dennis Rodman, Scottie Pippen, Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant, and of course Michael Jordan.
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