Stay Connected
Atlanta Black Star/Sports
Sports

Phil Jackson Has Laker Dwight Howard’s (Ailing) Back

Posted byBy ABS Contributor | Published on: CommentsComments (1)

Former Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson has been communicating with current Lakers center Dwight Howard, mostly via text messages, according to ESPN, offering advice about how to come back from back surgery.

“I’ve had people really just help me out,” Howard said .”Guys like Phil [Jackson], he texts me and he understands how it is to come off back surgery. He just said it takes a full year to recover, so you can’t beat yourself up over the things that have happened this year.”

Jackson has a bit of firsthand experience with back ailments, as he underwent spinal fusion in 1969,  missing out on a championship season with the New York Knicks.

He was able to return the following season and play through 1980, so he does know about coming back from serious back surgery.

News of this Jackson-Howard relationship has to come as a surprise to NBA fans, as the Lakers unceremoniously spurned Jackson in the beginning of the season in their search for Mike Brown’s replacement as head coach.

Jackson was thought to be the front-runner, but at the final hours, the team (and Jim Buss) decided to go with Mike D’Antoni instead.

The condition of Howard’s back after surgery last spring has been at the forefront of every Los Angeles Lakers fan’s mind, as his surgically repaired back and the torn labrum in his right shoulder have been hampering him all season.

During the past month, Howard has said his back has kept him out of tip-top condition and impacted his play.

Whether it be advice on how to play in the post, how to stay patient with a back injury or just how to bake the best apple pie, Howard talking to Jackson can only be a good thing.

Democracy needs journalism it can trust.

This election season, the stakes are higher than usual — and so is the pressure on newsrooms to soften their coverage, stay quiet, or just disappear. Independent reporting, the kind that answers to readers instead of advertisers or political pressure, matters more in a moment like this, not less.

For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed independent and reader-funded. We have no corporate owner and no shareholders telling us what to cover or how to cover it. That independence is also our biggest vulnerability: nothing protects it except readers choosing to fund it directly.

Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under in a moment like this, it's rarely the independent, reader-funded ones that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Give once Give monthly Support another way

Related Stories

Back to top