THE Los Angeles Lakers will add to their collection of statues outside their downtown arena, with former head coach Phil Jackson getting the bronze treatment on April 9 of next year.
Jackson will become the ninth member of the organisation to be honoured with a statue, joining players Kareem ⁠Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson and Shaquille O’Neal; players/team executives Elgin Baylor, Pat Riley and Jerry West, and broadcaster Chick Hearn.
Two statues honour Bryant, with a third scheduled to be revealed at a future date. Riley was the last to receive a statue outside Crypto.com Arena ⁠he was honoured in February.
Jackson guided the Lakers to five titles and seven NBA Finals appearances in his 11 seasons as head coach from 1999 ⁠to 2011, not including the 2004-05 season, which he skipped after a dispute with management.
The Lakers reached ⁠the playoffs in every season Jackson was the head coach.
Jackson also coached the Chicago Bulls ⁠for nine seasons (1989-98) and won six titles. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007. (Reuters)