The most obvious and important statistic in determining the best of all time is championships. Auerbach wore the coaching championship crown for 43 years until Jackson finally overtook him in 2009 with his tenth title. Auerbach led the Boston Celtics to eight consecutive championships and nine in a ten year period, a record that is about as likely to be broken as Wilt Chamberlain’s hundred point explosion back in 1962. However, Jackson’s accomplishments with the Bulls and Lakers have been just as, if not more impressive considering the times.
With Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, Jackson won six championships in an eight year period, including two three-peats. Jackson then left the game and came back as the coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, winning the NBA championship in his first three seasons in southern California, completing his third three-peat and making him a champion in six consecutive active coaching years. Jackson’s Lakers made it to two more NBA Finals before finally winning his tenth title in 2009. Overall, Jackson has been to twelve NBA Finals, and has walked away victorious in ten of them.
The rest of the statistics can also be used to determine who belongs at the top of the list. Auerbach established a 823-426 record over a period of 1,249 games. So far in Jackson’s career his coaching record stands at 1,083-448, and a playoff record of 209-91. So far Jackson has a higher winning percentage, both in the regular season and playoffs. Now, since Jackson’s career is not yet over there is a possibility that his percentage will dip down below Auerbach’s, but right now he still holds a considerable lead. One of the arguments for Auerbach states that his career was not nearly as lengthy as Jackson’s. Jackson is currently coaching his 19th season in the NBA while Auerbach coached only 17. Overall, the simple mathematics claim that Jackson is number one, but as many true sports fans know the numbers don’t tell the entire story.
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