Lakers to honor the Zen Master with statue outside arena

Make room for the Zen Master.

The Los Angeles Lakers have announced the club will honor former coach Phil Jackson with his own statue at Crypto.com Arena.

The statue will be unveiled in April, according to the Lakers.

It’s hard to imagine fining a more deserving candidate who not yet honored at the Star Plaza plaza alongside the likes of Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Jackson, 80, guided the Lakers to a three-peat in 2000, 2001 and 2002 when Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal were co-stars. He also helped lead the Lakers to back-to-back titles in 2009 and 2010 with Bryant and Paul Gasol propelling the team.

In all, Jackson won 11 NBA titles as a coach, and six of those came with the Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan.

In addition to coaching and employing the triangle offense, Jackson earned the nickname “Zen Master” for incorporating Eastern philosophy, meditation, and mindfulness when coaching his players.

In his book “Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success,” Jackson wrote, “There’s a Zen saying I often cite that goes, ‘Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water.

“The point: Stay focused on the task at hand rather than dwelling on the past or worrying about the future.”

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Joshua Kushner makes a bold move from investor to NBA owner

Founder and Managing Partner of the venture capital firm Thrive Capital, Joshua Kushner, speaks during the Hill & Valley Forum at the US Capitol Visitor Center Auditorium in Washington, DC, on April 30, 2025. The Los Angeles Lakers, one of the most successful teams in NBA history, are being sold to former Disney CEO Bob Iger and investor Joshua Kushner in a deal valued at a reported $12.5 billion. The sale announced on August 12, 2026 would mark a record-breaking valuation for a North American sports franchise and comes only about a year after billionaire Mark Walter agreed to buy a controlling interest in the team in a then-record $10 billion deal.

(BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI, AFP via Getty Images)

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