LOS ANGELES – Forget “Bring a Parent to School Day.”
The Bulls went next level.
That’s why Friday felt more like “Bring a Legend to School Day.”
What else could an 11-time NBA Championship Coach be called?
And former Bulls and Lakers coach Phil Jackson didn’t just meet with the current Bulls players for a Q&A session at the team hotel, but also spent 90 minutes with coach Billy Donovan and his staff sharing war stories and philosophies about the game.
“It should inspire you,” Bulls guard Coby White said on Saturday about the “guest speaker.” “If you love the game of basketball, it should inspire you. He’s a legend, a Hall of Fame coach, if not the best coach of all time. So for us, it should motivate us as a unit and a team to grow. And he gave us some insight on our team.
“I also asked if he watched our games, and he said yes.”
White wasn’t the only one impacted by it either.
Veteran DeMar DeRozan was the only member of the roster that actually played against Jackson-coached teams, so also playing for Gregg Popovich and hearing the stories from the Spurs coaching legend about his showdown with Jackson, well, DeRozan caught himself slipping into a surreal state of awe.
“I give you all a little thought that was amazing to me, especially with (Friday) being the (anniversary of the ) passing of Kobe (Bryant),” DeRozan said. “I remember when we went to the funeral … (members of the Spurs) were all together. When we got to Staples Center, the first person we ran into was Phil. I remember just standing right there seeing Phil and Pop talk. I was in awe. Just knowing the battles they went through, the success, the championships, the greatness, just to be right there in your presence, seeing them having a conversation and interacting with one another.
“It was one of the highlights of my career to be able to be in the midst of those two greats talking and me being a fan of the game. I just remember that moment. It felt so surreal to see it. It was definitely cool to see him come speak to us directly and for us to ask him questions. I wish we had more time with him. But it was definitely dope to see.”
Even Donovan was impressed with the time his players and staff were given. And considering that Donovan grew up watching those Knicks teams in the 1960s and 70s that Jackson played on, even he could fanboy out a bit.
“I always enjoy talking to people like that,” Donovan said. “There’s certain things in the game that just don’t change, there’s certain things you have to do, whether it was 50 years ago or today. I think even besides getting into the Xs and Os stuff, talking about the dynamics of team and the chemistry, all that stuff, was great.
“When he’s sitting there talking about – because I grew up in New York – talking about Dick McGuire, he’s talking about these New York Knicks teams with Red Holzman, I was five years old. So I can identify with some of that stuff.”
Besides being informative, however, the hope is Jackson’s talk also works as a serious motivator. For a Bulls team that will face the Trail Blazers on Sunday and do so sitting at a very below average 21-25 record, they need something.
“I think that’s why they show infomercials at night, trying to get you inspired to buy the product,” DeRozan said. “Sometimes the right infomercial is going to have you buy in. Being a student of the game and being able to be in the same room with such greatness, you can’t do nothing but leave being inspired walking away from it.”