With the Los Angeles Lakers season now over, fans have been blind sided with news of Phil Jackson that they were almost surely not expecting to hear.
According to Kevin Ding of the OC Register, Jackson has revealed some big news in his latest book, Eleven Rings, admitting to having had been diagnosed with prostate cancer during the team's playoff run, and told his team in an attempt to motivate them to win.
Jackson was diagnosed with prostate cancer in March 2011. After doctors assured him the cancer could be controlled by drugs temporarily, Jackson waited until after the season to undergo surgery.
Jackson decided to divulge his situation to his players when he sensed the team was lacking something in the playoffs.
"Shocking," Pau Gasol said Saturday, remembering Jackson's disclosure to the team. "But then you also could understand certain moments of his demeanor, energy and involvement because of what he was going through health-wise. It explained certain things. It was a shock. A difficult moment for the team."
Though Jackson's admittance may not have had the desired impact he was looking for, as the Lakers were later swept during their playoffs series with the Dallas Mavericks, the surfacing of this information is certainly surprising to hear.
Still, now that the news is out there it kind of makes sense why Jackson has been away from coaching. Now with him revealing his cancer diagnosis, it can be looked as a positive sign that he is once again healthy.
Jackson clearly needed time to conquer his illness, and with reports of him being ready to make a return to the bench as a coach in the NBA, we probably haven't seen the end of Jackson as a coach.
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