Legendary basketball coach Phil Jackson is about to add another ring to his collection — a wedding ring.
The former Los Angeles Lakers and Chicago Bulls doyen, who racked up 11 championship rings in his coaching career (and 2 in his playing career before that), reportedly proposed to his longtime girlfriend Jeanie Buss over the New Year holiday. Alas, he didn't use one of his championship rings, and Jeanie had to settle for this one instead:
Here's where things get complicated. Jeanie is the Executive Vice President of Business Operations for the Lakers (and, for what it's worth, a onetime Playboy bunny). She's also the daughter of owner Jerry Buss and sister of Vice President Jim Buss. Jackson, despite winning five championships for the Lakers, has always had a difficult relationship with the organisation.
GM Jerry West reportedly said "fuck Phil Jackson" before being forced to hire the popular coach in 1999, and despite three titles in five years (and West's departure), Jackson was let go by the team in 2004 (he started dating Jeanie Buss in 2001). In a stunning turnaround, he was re-hired by the team in 2005, and led them to another two rings before retiring in 2010. Jim Buss — no fan of his sister's boyfriend — then moved straight into Jackson's old office, and proceeded to purge his staff of Jackson loyalists.
In a truly bizarre turn of events, Jim Buss then fired his handpicked replacement for Jackson after less than 18 months and briefly flirted with the idea of bringing his old nemesis back for a third run with the team. Lakers officials met with Jackson in his home and reportedly gave him the impression the job was his to lose, before calling him in the middle of the night to tell him they'd gone with Mike D'Antoni instead (D'Antoni is a perfectly solid coach, but he's not exactly, well, Phil Jackson).
To an outsider — and, indeed, to Jackson — the whole soap opera looked like an attempt by Jim Buss to publicly embarass Phil Jackson.
The Busses are in for an incredibly uncomfortable Thanksgiving dinner, is what I'm saying.
