Andre Iguodala Says Phil Jackson Put Bulls Logo On Court On Purpose To Help Michael Jordan

Whatever Jackson did to ensure the Bulls home floor was designed in a specific way worked. Over the 369 home games he coached for the Bulls, Jackson had a record of 312-57 and made the Bulls home arena an absolute fortress. They were the best team but Jackson played just an integral role in that structure holding together.

That structure wouldn't exist without Jordan (as we saw in the 1995 Playoffs). He was the perfect star player to feature within that system, primarily due to the variety of ways in which he could attack the opposing defenses. His six championships with Jackson are proof enough of why neither player nor coach would have had the success they had in Chicago without the other.

Jackson ended up winning five more titles as the head coach of the Lakers, finding another generational shooting guard to anchor his system with Kobe Bryant. It also helped that he had the most dominant big man in the league for three of those titles with Shaquille O'Neal. 

Phil Jackson Helped Make Michael Jordan A Better Team Player

The story of Jordan's career without Jackson is often left as a small part of what MJ achieved over his career. Some of the most impressive statistical seasons of Jordan's career came under Doug Collins and not Jackson, as Collins was okay with Jordan doing everything he could physically do to make the team competitive. 

In Collins' first season (1986-87), Jordan averaged 37.1 points a game. He averaged 36.5 points next season and was also named Defensive Player of the Year. After Collins was fired in 1989 and replaced by Jackson, the new coach bluntly told Jordan that he would not be allowed to play with the same usage he had gotten accustomed to.

"I’d call Michael and say you’re not gonna have the ball all the time. You’re not gonna get 37 shots a game. You’re not gonna get 37 points a game. We have to share the ball. We have to distribute the ball, and everybody’s just playing for you, they’re just gonna defend you. It’s an equal-opportunity offense. He said, 'I can still win the scoring championship. That’s not that big of a deal. I only have to get 8 points a quarter, 32 points, I’d still win the scoring title.' I told him this, 'Nobody that’s won a scoring title, has won a championship since Rick Barry.'"

Jordan ended up winning more scoring titles and added championships with it. He won 10 scoring titles, the most in NBA history by a long shot. All six of his championship-winning seasons were also seasons where he won the scoring title, so it's clear that Jordan meant it when he said he could win the scoring title without needing to average the insane numbers he did before Jackson's hiring.