People often view the Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant-led Los Angeles Lakers as one of the most dominant dynasties in NBA history, as they remain the last franchise to clinch a three-peat.
Robert Horry, who witnessed the entire journey from within, understood just how much internal growth the team needed before they could fully maximize their potential.
Sharing his first impression of the Lakers’ environment, the seven-time NBA champion revealed just how stunned he was by the level of dysfunction operating behind the scenes.
Horry was shocked at first
Having already won two championships in his first four seasons with the Houston Rockets, Horry knew exactly what a winning culture looked and felt like.
Even though the Lakers boasted quality talent in Shaq, Kobe, Nick Van Exel and Byron Scott, among others, on their roster, according to Horry, the locker room was clearly divided. Not only did the egos of the players clash with one another on a daily basis, but the players had little faith in their coaching staff, which led to non-stop verbal bickering.
When revealing the details of the Lakers’ locker room, especially when he first arrived, Horry admitted how it was far from being a contender for a title. Moreover, he emphasized how suffocating the atmosphere was until Phil Jackson, as the head coach, one of his first tasks was to ensure accountability was taken by all.
However, no player, regardless of their role, was publicly or in the locker room treated disrespectfully.
“When I first walked there, I’m walking in the locker room, you got players cursing out coaches. I’m like, ‘This is the most dysfunctional family ever.’ When Phil came in, he brought in Ron Harper, who was a leader… you know, you had all these guys who were leaders,” Horry said. “And we were a kind of team, like if Shaq was f–king up, people wouldn’t say it publicly. You had B-Scott to talk to Shaq, Harp to talk to Kobe.”
Phil Jackson did wonders
Safe to say that Jackson’s value extended far beyond simply turning Shaq into the most dominant center of his generation during their title run, or positioning Kobe to become the All-NBA superstar capable of closing out critical games.
More impressively, the “Zen Master” achieved all of this while managing egos, preventing unnecessary chaos and fostering an atmosphere where winning became the only shared priority.
The ultimate result was three consecutive championships, achieved despite the ongoing friction between Shaq, Kobe, and other strong personalities on the roster.
That being said, Horry’s admission casts a revealing light on the impact Jackson had on the Lakers; he didn’t just change their culture, but he inherited a roster filled with talent driven by ego, and successfully channeled that energy toward a collective goal.
So, when modern-day analysts criticize teams for not having leaders in the locker room to guide the more ego-driven younger stars, the Lakers stand as a strong example of a head coach needing to take complete charge of the locker room in order to lead the team in a certain direction.
About the author
Yakshpat Bhargava
NBA Writer at Basketball Network