Phil Jackson is perhaps best known as the coach of the Chicago Bulls, with whom he won six championships in a decade, and the Los Angeles Lakers, with whom he won five more. But Jackson, now president of the Knicks, was a beloved member of the Knicks’ two championship teams of the 1970s, a defense-first big man who was drafted in the second round in 1967.
After years as a critical component of the team coming off the bench, Jackson finally earned a starting role in 1974. He seized the opportunity with his tenacity on the defensive end of the floor.