(sabasports report)In professional basketball, the players and the head coach are undoubtedly the core components of a team. Their individual performances and decisions will have a key impact on the team’s record. Whether it is the play of the players on the field, or the tactical arrangement and on-the-spot adjustment of the manager on the field, it can determine the outcome of a game.
For both players and head coaches, winning an NBA championship is undoubtedly one of the highest aspirations. But to win a championship as both a player and a coach is difficult to imagine. In nearly 55 years of NBA history, only six people have accomplished this feat. And the best of them, is a crazy 13 championships!
The six players who have won the player/coach double in NBA history are Bill Russell (11 players’ championships, two head coaches’ championships), Mike Alfonso Luis (three players’ championships, one head coach’s championship), John Wooden (10 players’ championships,10 head coaches’ championships), and Bill Shamil (five players’ championships) , four head coach titles), Dick Margulies (four players’ titles, two head coach titles) and legendary coach Phil Jackson (five players’ titles,11 head coach titles).
The greatest of these legends is undoubtedly John Wooden, who won 10 championships as a player and 10 more as a head coach, achieving an unprecedented “double championship” status. This is proof that Wooden is not only a great player, but also one of the greatest head coaches in NBA history.
Reaching the top in two very different roles is the biggest test of a person’s career. The six who can accomplish this feat are undoubtedly the greatest stars and coaches in NBA history. Their achievements will be forever etched in the history of the NBA.