While Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal were the poster boys during the Los Angeles Laker’s iconic 3-peat, head coach Phil Jackson can be credited for turning the fortunes of the franchise around. The ‘Zenmaster’ has joined the Lakers after leading the Chicago Bulls to 6 NBA championships in 8 years. As soon as he arrived in LA, he turned the Lakers into championship favorites for years. However, he couldn’t satisfy everyone who became part of the Lakers during that run. Despite winning a championship in 2001, Isaiah Rider Jr. doesn’t have fond memories of his time in LA.
During his appearance on Kevin Garnett’s ‘KG Certified‘, Rider revealed the details of his falling out with Jackson. He didn’t feel at home when he arrived in LA. “I’m like ‘what did I do? I should have gone to Miami.’ This is the worst decision ever,” Rider said. However, as he wasn’t an unhappy camper, Rider continued to go with the flow. But everything changed when Jackson tried to be funny one day.
Rider said, “One day he says, ‘Yeah you guys have a good day. Hopefully, I don’t hear about JR being on Crenshaw.’” This left even KG surprised. Rider said that even though Jackson tried to be funny, he didn’t appreciate it. “I don’t think none of that’s funny. Nobody in their right mind just hangs out on Crenshaw’s brother,” he said.
Similarly to how Jackson stained his relationship with LeBron James, Rider said, “From that moment, I looked at him differently.” He continued, “He seemed like an old head who took shots to me and was on some other stuff and too big for his britches out there.”
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He called him out for being too full of himself and spending time on beaches with the Lakers owner, Jeanie Buss. Jackson and Buss were in a relationship for 17 years and got engaged in 2013. However, they mutually decided to call it quits in 2016.