'He's gotta be the first pick' - Phil Jackson reveals he would always build a team around Michael Jordan

Phil Jackson is regarded as one of the best, if not the best, head coaches of all time. After all, Jackson was at the helm of two of the most legendary dynasties in NBA history. The Chicago Bulls of the 1990s, led by Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, and the Los Angeles Lakers, where he had the opportunity to coach a young and up-and-coming Kobe Bryant alongside one of the most physically dominant players of all time, Shaquille O'Neal.

With all the star power that "The Zen Master" coached and guided to championships, there are still many others worth mentioning. However, when asked which of the players he coached Phil would start his franchise with, the legendary coach wasted no time in answering the arguably greatest player of all time, MJ, with whom he had the most championship success.

"Michael Jordan. He's gotta be the first pick. He was extremely coachable," the Hall of Fame coach said without hesitation and got a round of applause from everyone gathered.

Jordan was not happy with Phil at first

Jackson's path to becoming the most decorated bench tactician in NBA history began in 1987 when he was hired as an assistant coach by the Bulls under Doug Collins. However, when Collins was fired in '89, Phil took the helm.

Given that Jordan was Chicago's absolute leader at the time and was also very close to the dismissed coach, "His Airness" was not happy when "The Zen Master" took the head coaching position and changed the team's offensive concept. Jackson wanted to implement the now well-known Triangle Offense, based on the philosophy of another assistant, Tex Winter, which aimed to promote ball movement, cutting, and passing.

"I wasn't a Phil Jackson fan when he first came in because he was coming in to take the ball out of my hands. Doug put the ball in my hands," Jordan once said.

Writing history together

As most of us know how the story goes, Mike didn't become the greatest player of all time without Phil, and vice versa. Jackson probably wouldn't have been considered one of the best tacticians in history without the super-dominant Bulls guard, who made such an offensive scheme possible. 

After initial disagreements and adjusting to a different style of play, Chicago went on to win six titles, including two three-peats. Also, the man known as "Black Cat" became a global icon, adding four regular-season MVPs (he had one under Collins) and six Finals MVP awards to his tally, cementing his legacy as the greatest to ever grace the court.

It seems that the respect between these two basketball giants is mutual, and we believe that Michael would be the one to choose "The Zen Master" as the coach with whom he would start the franchise in a reverse hypothetical scenario.