Phil Jackson Will Not Be Attending Kobe Bryant's Jersey Retirement

What's the story?

Los Angeles Lakers former coach, Phil Jackson, will be unable to attend Kobe Bryant’s jersey retirement.

In case you didn't know...

The Black Mamba won all of his five championships with the Los Angeles Lakers and with Phil Jackson as head coach.

The heart of the matter...

According to leagues sources, as reported by ESPN, former Los Angeles Lakers head coach, Phil Jackson, will not be attending Kobe Bryant’s ceremony. Jackson has been in contact with Bryant in advance of the ceremony so that he would be able to congratulate him, but he was unable to travel from his home in Montana for the celebration in Los Angeles.

The future Hall of Famer, Kobe Bryant is widely considered as one of the best basketball players to have ever played the game. He is a 5-time champion, 2 times NBA Finals MVP, 1-time regular season MVP, 18-time all-star, 11 time All-NBA First team and 9 time All-NBA Defensive First Team. His prowess on the offensive end of the floor is unparalleled as he is the 3rd in the all-time list of leading scorers with 33,643 points, above the great Michael Jordan and below Karl Malone and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

The Black Mamba will have both his no.8 jersey as well as no.24 jersey retired.

What's next?

The Los Angeles Lakers (10-17) host the reigning champs Golden State Warriors (23-6) on Monday night in Staples Center. Kobe Bryant’s jersey retirement celebration will be held during halftime of the game.

Author's take

Looking at how Phil Jackson was an integral part of the 5 rings that Kobe won as he was the head coach of the Lakers in all those wins, it will be a sad not to see Jackson not present during the ceremony.