Photo Credit: Keith Allison

It was a slim two-point win for the Los Angeles Lakers, but it was a record-breaking conclusion for Coach Phil Jackson.

In Jackson’s storied coaching career, particularly with the Lakers, he has always been taken up or measured against Pat Riley.

But after the Lakers finally closed out the stubborn Charlotte Bobcats with 99-97 victory on Thursday, the 64-year-old Jackson became LA’s most successful coach, eclipsing the equally decorated career wins of Riley.

Riley, incidentally a former LA coach and the current president of the Miami Heat, is widely considered as one of the greatest coaches in the National Basketball Association (NBA). But Jackson is in a league of his own.

Yes, Jackson may have cemented his name in the annals of NBA with his 534th win, but he has long before surpassed Riley’s greatness. Here is why…

It’s a no-brainer that winning regular season games doesn’t compare with bringing home a championship trophy so the success of the two coaching greats shouldn’t be measured on the number of their wins but by their rings.

Jackson is the obvious winner in this department, totaling to ten NBA titles compared with Riley’s five as a coach and one as an assistant.

Jackson won two separate three-peats with the Chicago Bulls in nine years from 1989 to 1998, and he added four more with the Lakers.

After the Lakers’ illustrious run for the NBA crown last season, Jackson already eclipsed another coaching great in Red Auerbach, who has nine rings under his name.

The interesting bit here is that 64-year-old Jackson is still calling the shots at the Kobe Bryant-led Lakers, and he’s still gunning for that 11th thanks to LA’s championship momentum.

And if we learned anything about Jackson’s winning coaching ways, he doesn’t win championships once, his rings come in bunches of three so we’ll be counting. (Grace R)

Source: NBA on Phil Jackson and NBA on Pat Riley