Phil Jackson (born September 17, 1945 in Deer Lodge, Montana), is a National Basketball Association (NBA) coach and former player. He is tied with Red Auerbach for coaching a record number of NBA championship titles, with nine, and has one of the best post-season records. Next to Alex Hannum he is the only head coach to win the NBA Finals with two different teams. He is known for both his triangle offense ballplaying scheme as well as a holistic approach to coaching players, influenced by Eastern philosophy, notably Zen. The latter is the source of his sports media nickname: "The Zen Master". He is considered by many to be one of, if not the greatest NBA coach of all time.
