On one side, the stable, long and peaceful Gregg Popovich era, a 20+ year tenure that has made the San Antonio Spurs an example of stability, developing a winning culture and being championship contenders due to his out-of-the-box thinking and great system.
On the other hand, we’ve got a guy that won as a player and then took a couple of franchises to the highest of levels and built two of the strongest, most dominant dynasties this game has ever seen.
Popovich has a .689 regular season record, 167 playoff wins, and 5 rings.
Jackson won 2 rings as a player and 11 as a coach thanks to his dominant offense.
Who do ya got?
Popovich proved himself more than Jackson. I think both coaches can manage egos in different ways, and I think Jackson is overrated in that regard. Popovich is so ridiculously competent and has such a strong background, that most players completely buy into his systems. He would’ve done just fine with the Bulls or Lakers.
Meanwhile, we know for a fact, that Popovich is better at,
I don’t like giving credit based on hypotheticals, and as Jackson refused to coach any team without a superstar, we can never equate him to the GOACH.