OAKLAND, Calif. — The Golden State Warriors have fired Mark Jackson, ending the franchise’s most
successful coaching tenure in the past two decades but also one filled with drama and distractions.
General manager Bob Myers thanked Jackson in a statement Tuesday for “his role in helping elevate this
team into a better position than it was when he arrived nearly 36 months ago.” Myers said it was a
difficult decision but the Warriors “simply feel it’s best to move in a different direction at this
time.”
Jackson’s three seasons with the Warriors will be remembered for the way he helped turn a perennially
losing franchise into a consistent winner and the bold and bombastic way in which he did it.
He guaranteed Golden State would make the playoffs in his first season, when they finished 23-36 after
the NBA labor lockout. The Warriors went 47-35 last season and had a memorable run to the second round
of the playoffs, and they were 51-31 this season before losing to the Los Angeles Clippers in the first
round.
The Warriors had not made the playoffs in consecutive years since the 1990-91 and 1991-92 seasons. They
had made the postseason once in 17 years before Jackson arrived.
Now the Warriors — with the help of Jackson, Myers and an ownership group led by Joe Lacob — are in
position to contend for several years behind a strong young core led by Stephen Curry.
“Mark Jackson has had a big impact on the improvement of our team and the success that we’ve had over the
last couple of years,” Lacob said in a statement. “Nonetheless, we must make some difficult decisions in
our day-to-day operations of the club and this would certainly qualify as one of those examples. We wish
Mark the best of luck in his future endeavors and thank him for his contributions over the last three
years.”
Jackson, a former NBA point guard who had his best seasons with the New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers,
had never been a head coach at any level when Lacob hired him away from the ESPN/ABC broadcast table in
June 2011. An ordained minister who runs a church with his wife near their Southern California home,
Jackson often spoke of his Christian beliefs and promised to turn the Warriors into one of the NBA’s
best defensive teams and a perennial playoff contender — and he did.
But Jackson’s boisterous personality, at times, did not play well with Warriors management, his staff and
— to a much lesser extent — his players, most of whom said they wanted him to return, especially Curry.
And his attitude, which bordered on confidence and cockiness, might’ve ultimately cost him his job.
The Warriors still stuck by Jackson even when he created news off the court, including when reports
surfaced in June 2012 that he and his family were the targets of an extortion attempt related to an
extramarital affair he had six years prior, which led to questions about his credibility and morals.
The pressure on Jackson really began when the Warriors decided to pick up his contract option for the
2014-15 season last summer instead of negotiating a long-term deal as he had wanted. Management also
encouraged Jackson to hire a strong tactician after top assistant Michael Malone — who had several
disagreements with Jackson — left to become the coach of the Sacramento Kings.
Instead, Jackson promoted Pete Myers and other assistants and hired Lindsey Hunter and Brian Scalabrine.
And while reports of rifts within the team surfaced on occasion, dismissing two assistants in a 12-day
stretch before the playoffs perpetuated the idea that Jackson had fostered an environment of dysfunction
— which Jackson repeatedly refuted.
The Warriors reassigned Scalabrine to the team’s NBA Development League affiliate in Santa Cruz on March
25 because of what Jackson called a “difference in philosophies.” Then, the Warriors fired Darren Erman
on April 5 for reportedly recording conversations during coaches’ meetings and discussions between
coaches and players without their knowledge.
Jackson and his family also were the targets of an extortion attempt related to an extramarital affair he
had in 2006, which became public in June 2012.
Several home losses to lesser teams frustrated Lacob more than anything and cost the Warriors a chance to
earn anything more than the sixth playoff seed, which they also had a year ago when they upset Denver in
the first round before falling to San Antonio. The Warriors still showed a lot of fight — and an ability
to make adjustments — with center Andrew Bogut out with a fractured right rib in the playoffs, pushing
the third-seeded Clippers to seven games.
Jackson said after the game that he never worried about his job.
“I work every single day with a passion and a commitment like it’s my last,” he said. “I’m trying to be a
blessing to people. I’m trying to impact people, and that’s the way I live my life. That’s the way I
coach. I don’t get caught up in it. I’m totally confident and have total faith that no matter what, I’m
going to be fine, and that’s even if I’m a full-time pastor. It’s going to work out.”