Save for the last few seasons, Phil Jackson was there for everything in Kobe Bryant's career. The three-peat in the early 2000s, the feud with Shaquille O'Neal, the sexual assault trial, the strange additions of Gary Payton and Karl Malone, the back-to-back titles with Pau Gasol. All of it.
He will not, however, be there for Kobe's jersey retirement ceremony on Monday night. The longtime Lakers coach said he would be unable to make the trip from Montana, where he lives. Via ESPN:
Former Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson is unable to attend Monday night's jersey retirement for Kobe Bryant, league sources told ESPN.
Jackson has been in touch with Bryant in advance of the ceremony to congratulate him, sources said. But he was unable to travel from his Montana home for the ceremony in Los Angeles.
Jackson did, however, reach out to his former star on Twitter dot com. And yes, the message came with another of Jackson's classic spelling mistakes.
Congratulations Kobe Bryant! Hail Momba, too. Two Jersey’s retired is one way to measure your impact for the Lakers. The GOAT measure is:🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆
— Phil Jackson (@PhilJackson11) December 18, 2017
"Hail Momba" isn't quite as good as the classic, "how's it goink?" but it's still pretty good.
