By Simon Hart in Los Angeles
Published: 3:45PM BST 08 Jun 2009
It is a concept that Kobe Bryant, the Lakers' guard and one of the biggest stars in American sport, had a problem signing up to back in the days when Shaquille O'Neal was still the team's leading man.
Fed up with being O'Neal's sidekick, or so he believed, the appallingly conceited and egotistical Bryant caused so many problems for Jackson that he was driven to a therapist's couch in the 2003-4 season and finally out of the door and into early retirement.
Jackson reversed his decision and returned to the Lakers for a second stint a year later, though not before he had lifted the lid on the tensions and personality clashes of that turbulent period in his best-selling book, The Last Season.
Bryant, he said, was "narcissistic", "vitriolic" and, worst of all, "uncoachable" – too arrogant to accept advice or instruction.
"He may still win a championship or two," wrote Jackson, "but the boyish hero image has been replaced by that of a callous gun for hire."
How things have changed. Last weekend Jackson used the same metaphor to describe the Kobe Bryant who now spearheads the Lakers' campaign in the NBA Finals against Orlando Magic, only this time it was meant as a compliment.
"He's a killer," said Jackson, 63, who will become the most successful NBA head coach of all time if the Lakers prevail in the best-of-seven series. That would give him an unprecedented 10th championship ring to add to the six he won with the Chicago Bulls of Michael Jordan vintage in the 1990s and the three with the Lakers from 2000 to 2003 when O'Neal was in his pomp, with Bryant in support.
"He's a gunslinger and he's a guy that's going to take the weak and have no mercy on them. That's one of the things about Kobe. He's a tough character, but he's got a real nice demeanour and he carries himself very well.
"The other thing is that I think people thought that he was a selfish ballplayer, the big aspect about him. All of us have a certain amount of ego in this game, and I'm sure no-one would doubt that.
"But he understands what the mood and the temperament of the game is a lot of the time, reads the game, knows when he has to carry the thrust of our team a lot and then knows a lot of times if he's got to pull back or sit back and let some other people do what they can do best."
The evidence came at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles on Sunday when Bryant, who produced a virtuoso 40-point performance in a one-sided opening game last Thursday, took a back-seat role in game two, content to fire passes to his team-mates and encourage them to a thrilling overtime 101-96 win.
Bryant still ended the game as the Lakers' leading scorer with 29 points, but it was a display that showed just how much he has matured since the days when, to Jackson's astonishment, he squabbled with O'Neal about who should sit where for the official Lakers team photo.
"Experience has been a great teacher for him," said Jackson. "He really started to see what a leadership role is all about, that it wasn't just about going out and showing guys how you can beat another opponent but it's about supporting your team-mates, empathetically, as well."
The Lakers now take their 2-0 lead to Orlando for the next three games, starting on Tuesday, before returning to Los Angeles for the final two. If the series lasts that long.
Magic, who misread the script by dumping LeBron James's Cleveland Cavaliers out of the play-offs to reach the Finals, were outclassed 100-75 in game one and, though much improved in the second encounter, could struggle to recover from the crushing psychological blow of seeing Courtney Lee miss what would have been a match-winning shot in the final second of normal time.
It was a moment enjoyed by Jack Nicholson, a Lakers season ticketholder who leapt from his courtside seat to punch the air, as it was by a sell-out crowd that included Warren Beatty, Denzel Washington, Leonardo DiCaprio and Thierry Henry. David Beckham, Bryant's big pal, would have been there, too, had not England duty intervened.
But Bryant, the celebrities' celebrity who out-earns most of Hollywood with his $24 million-a-year salary, is not exactly sharing in the fun and excitement.
For the last few days he has been a picture of grimness – unsmiling and monosyllabic in interviews to the point of rudeness and, in a development that has exercised local media commentators, baring his teeth on court with a Hannibal Lecter-like snarl.
Jackson has detected the mood swing, too, but he is not complaining. "You have to stay driven and motivated," he said, "and I think it's really important that he [Bryant] takes that leadership role for this team."
If the Lakers win the series, Jackson, some would say the world's greatest sports coach, will enjoy the crowning moment of his career. Not just for making it a championship ring for every finger but for taming the biggest ego in the business.
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