Phil Jackson picks Bill Russell, not Kobe or Jordan, as greatest ever

By Houston Mitchell

May 24, 2013 7:11 AM PT

One thing you have to say for former Lakers Coach Phil Jackson: He’s not afraid to give his opinion.

Jackson sat down with Time.com on Thursday for an interview to promote his new book. One of the questions asked: If he was starting a team from scratch, and could pick any player in NBA history to be on that team, who would he pick?

Kobe Bryant? Michael Jordan? No. Bill Russell.

“In my estimation, the guy that has to be there would be Bill Russell. He has won 11 championships as a player,” Jackson said in the Time interview. “I think that’s really the idea of what excellence is, when you win championships.”

And if he had to pick between Bryant and Jordan?

“I would flip a coin and whichever one came up heads or tails, I’d take that person. They were that good.”

If you had to pick among those three players to start an NBA team, who would you pick? Russell? Jordan? Bryant? Vote in our informal survey and let us know.

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