Attempts to Test Players With $1000 Failed as Mark Jackson Recounts Getting Exposed to Bitter Truth

NBA has seen different coaches adopting different coaching methods over the years. At times, these methods are game-centric, while at certain times they are player-centric. In the most recent instance, Mark Jackson has revealed how he tested players for their commitment towards winning.

Mark recalled his time as the Golden State Warriors head coach when he compiled a notebook that had every call that the Boston Celtics had in their arsenal. “And in the middle of the book, let’s say twelve pages deep in the middle of the Boston Celtics offense is a line in the middle of the whole page that says, ‘If you’re reading this, coach has $1,000 in cash for you. Go see him.’ Not one player came to see me,” Jackson said, appearing on an episode of Come And Talk 2 Me.

This made him realize his players lacked the commitment to win, which he wanted in them. Notably, the notebook contained information on the Celtics’ offensive sets, side out-of-bounds sets, baseline out-of-bounds sets, and much more. So players not diving into such important information justifies Mark Jackson’s disappointment.

However, he stated after some time and putting in some energy, things changed within the team. “We’re committed to winning… Let’s be committed to this thing, let’s not just say it… We did it by the second year,” Mark recalled. And that was the beginning of a dynasty.

A quick recap of Mark Jackson’s time with the Warriors

Warriors were the first and last team Jackson coached in the NBA. He took charge as the head coach of the team in 2011 after Keith Smart’s not-so-great single-season run. However, the first season with the team was not so fruitful for Jackson either. In the 66 games played under coach Jackson, the Warriors had a win percentage of just 34.8%, winning only 23 games.

But things gradually changed for good with the second season, as Mark Jackson also hinted in his podcast appearance. In the 2012-13 season, the Warriors won 47 of their 82 games, bringing the win percentage to 57.3%. These figures further improved in the next season, bringing the win percentage to 62.1%. Notably, the Warriors won 51 of their 82 games in the 2013-14 season.

However, Mark’s alleged differences with the other staff members of the GSW led to his exit from the team after the 2015 season. “And look, he did a great job, and I’ll always compliment him in many respects, but you can’t have 200 people in the organization not like you,” Warriors owner Joe Lacob had said after Jackson’s firing. With this, the coaching career of Mark Jackson came to an end as he launched himself in the field of broadcasting.

While the Warriors went on to achieve unprecedented success under Steve Kerr, Jackson is still waiting for his next opportunity in the league.