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University of North Carolina Athletics
Jordan: I'd Take Dean Smith Over Phil Jackson
August 10, 2015 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
By Adam Lucas
Was there really any doubt? Apparently, there was. At his summer Flight School, Michael Jordan did a Q&A with campers and was asked who he would pick to coach him in one game. His answer:
"Dean Smith. Dean Smith helped me become the basketball player I am today. Phil was lucky because I was taught the game by Dean Smith."
Another recap of the Q&A session mentions there were "audible gasps and murmurs" when Jordan picked Smith. Really? Several years ago, we were lucky enough to conduct an interview with Jordan in advance of Roy Williams' induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame. Most of that interview was about Williams. But at the 3:55 mark, Jordan also talks about Dean Smith:
Some outlets seem to be interpreting Jordan's recent comments as a slap at Phil Jackson, a decorated NBA leader who has won 11 pro titles as a head coach. It's extremely doubtful Jordan actually meant it that way. "Lucky" wasn't intended to mean Jackson wasn't or isn't a good coach. "Lucky" just means Jordan had a deeper understanding than a typical college player of some of the fundamentals and strategies Jackson wanted to use. And Smith, as Jordan made clear when Smith passed away in February, was much more to him than just a coach.
Smith was there at the beginning of Jordan as an icon. Jackson didn't coach Jordan until 1989. By that point, Jordan had already made the national championship-winning shot in 1982, won the Naismith Award in 1984, won an Olympic gold medal playing for Bob Knight in 1984, won the NBA Rookie of the Year award in 1985, and become the face of a nationwide shoe campaign with Nike's Air Jordan shoe in 1985. Jordan, as he has repeatedly said, considers Smith the foundation of all of that success.
It was a mutual admiration society, of course. Smith would never compare players. But in 2009, he told the Chicago Tribune that Jordan's work ethic helped set him apart.