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Lakers News: Jeanie Buss Confused By Phil Jackson’s Coaching Methods

L.A.'s now-team owner had some questions for her longtime beau during his Lakers coaching days.

Alex Kirschenbaum

Apr 2, 2013; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Phil Jackson (left) and Jeannie Buss stand with Los Angeles Lakers former player Shaquille O'Neal as his jersey is retired during a half time ceremony during the game against the Dallas Mavericks at the Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 2, 2013; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Phil Jackson (left) and Jeannie Buss stand with Los Angeles Lakers former player Shaquille O'Neal as his jersey is retired during a half time ceremony during the game against the Dallas Mavericks at the Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
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Five-time title-winning former Los Angeles Lakers head coach Phil Jackson may be known as the "Zen Master," but he may have been a bit more intense than his reputation and nickname might suggest.

During a fresh interview with ESPN's Hannah Storm on her podcast "NBA DNA With Hannah Storm," Buss unpacked some tense conversations with her former beau.

"I dated Phil for 15 years, so when I was his significant other, I learned how to look at the team through the lens of a coach," Buss said. "I remember getting in a fight with him because he was bringing the team in on Thanksgiving to practice."

"I'm like, 'Why are you doing this? Give them a day off.' He's like, 'Settle down. Jeanie, what I'm trying to show them by having them practice on Thanksgiving (is) I wanted to establish that this is their family as well.' And you have to be with your family on a holiday and that's powerful. When a coach can harness that and create that family dynamic, then you know you have something really special."

That's an interesting approach.

L.A. team owner Jeanie Buss knows Jackson — and his methods — better than most, having dated him for well over a decade, from 1999-2016. Jackson served as the Lakers' head coach from 1999-2004, and then again from 2005-2011. During that stretch, he led the club to seven NBA Finals berths, including five titles, all with Hall of Fame shooting guard Kobe Bryant in tow. The first three championship squads — where the team was led by Hall of Fame center Shaquille O'Neal, with Bryant serving as his overqualified sidekick — dominated the league from 1999-2002. The Lakers also made a fourth Finals appearance, in 2004, memorably collapsing in five games to the Detroit Pistons.

After Bryant and O'Neal splintered, and Jeanie Buss' father, Jerry, offloaded O'Neal to the Miami Heat, Jackson quit. He was replaced for just one season by Rudy Tomjanovich. The team fully got back to its title-contending ways upon trading for former Memphis Grizzlies power forward/center Pau Gasol at the 2008 deadline. Bryant was awarded his lone MVP that season, and the Lakers returned to the Finals for the first time in four years, falling in six games to Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and the rest of their Boston Celtics. L.A. would go on to win the next two titles, from 2009-10.

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Alex Kirschenbaum

ALEX KIRSCHENBAUM

Basketball is Alex's favorite sport, he likes the way they dribble up and down the court.

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