Phil Jackson: The Forgotten X-Factor

The X-factor has become possibly the most overused phrase in sports today. It became boring to talk about the stars over and over. Everyone knew that Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, LeBron James, and Carmelo Anthony are all going to have big games.  We wanted to hear about the unknowns—the players that people weren't talking about that would turn the series. Almost every other player on each team was mentioned—Lamar Odom, Trevor Ariza, Derek Fisher, Mickael Pietrus, Hedo Turkoglu, and Jameer Nelson. All were possible X-factors. It became a competition to see who could come up with the most obscure player that would be a deciding factor. It turns out the X-factor for this series was not actually out on the floor. He was sitting on the bench, like he always is. Phil Jackson has been underrated, then overrated, then underrated again. We sing his praises because he has won nine championships, but then dismiss him because he seems like kind of a douche. Eventually, we just accept ... (link)