“Worst Thing You Can Say About a Player”: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Claims 11x NBA Champion’s Return Was Disrespectful to Kobe Bryant

The Los Angeles Lakers struggled during the 2004-2005 NBA season after the front office fired their head coach Phil Jackson. Shaquille O’Neal was also traded to the Miami Heat and Kobe Bryant was left to do it all alone. Despite a good start in the first half, the Lakers finished the season on a disappointing note after the exit of their new coach Rudy Tomjanovich. Hence, the Lakers had no choice but to bring Phil Jackson back. 

Recently, Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar talked about the whole scenario in the seventh episode of the docuseries, ‘Legacy: The True Story of the LA Lakers’. He claimed that Jackson made one of the worst comments on Kobe Bryant after getting fired by the Lakers in 2004.

Phil Jackson makes a bold comment about Kobe Bryant

During the episode, Kareem Abdul Jabbar shared his feelings about Jackson returning to the Lakers in 2005. Abdul-Jabbar said, “In some ways, this was a rebuke of Kobe because Phil had flatly said that Kobe was uncoachable, which is about the worst thing you can say about a player.” 

The six-time NBA champ admitted that Kobe was hard to coach because he wanted the ball all the time. However, Abdul-Jabbar felt that Bryant’s confidence and skills could have been used to inspire the rest of the Lakers team. 

The Lakers recall Phil Jackson

Phil had to leave LA despite winning three championships in his first five seasons as the Lakers head coach. The 11-time NBA champ coach found himself in a tough spot and chose to take a season off.  During the time, Jackson made some comments toward Kobe Bryant, leading to a heated controversy. 

Meanwhile, Rudy Tomjanovich took over from Jackson as the head coach. The Lakers looked good in the first 43 games with a 24-19 record. However, Tomjanovich unexpectedly stepped down from his responsibilities mid-season. 

READ MORE: Kobe Bryant, Who Earned $320 Million in His Career, Was Jealous of Former Teammate Shaquille O’Neal’s Salary, According to Coach Phil Jackson 

Frank Hamblen filled in for Rudy in the last 39 games of the season. Unfortunately, the Los Angeles Lakers won just ten games and lost a whopping 29 games during the second half of the season. Eventually, the Lakers had to recall the most successful coach in league history, Phil Jackson.

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It took them years and a number of championship losses to finally get it right again in 2009. Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson went on to win their fourth championship for the Lakers.