L’idée de départ semblait limpide :

1) Partir de la liste des 75 meilleurs joueurs de l’histoire NBA, ce fameux classement bricolé par la Ligue pour son soixante-quinzième anniversaire, sans critères clairs ni cahier des charges.

2) Puis dérouler un échange tranquille entre Phil Jackson et Sam Smith.

Sur le papier, on comprend très vite que la langue écrite n’est qu’une retranscription à peine polie des conversations que Smith a sans doute enregistrées avec Coach Jackson. Un podcast de deux heures aurait donné exactement la même chose. Mais Smith connaît le métier, et rédiger quelques pages pour vendre quelques livres relève ici de la simple routine.

Idée séduisante. Prendre ce top 75 comme prétexte pour tendre l’oreille aux anecdotes du coach le plus titré de l’histoire, témoin de la NBA depuis les sixties, et à celles de Sam Smith, figure majeure du journalisme sportif, c’est tout de même autre chose que de lire les certitudes d’un random de Twitter dont le plus haut fait d’armes reste un double-double en U15 Départemental.

Chaque joueur de la liste est bien répertorié, classé chronologiquement, des Mikan, Schayes, Arizin et Cousy jusqu’aux Wade, Carmelo, Durant et LeBron. Mais le traitement varie fortement. Certains joueurs sont à peine évoqués, ou via une anecdote vaguement lié. Certains autres sont parfaitement développés et c’est alors un pur régal. On regrette ces digressions à peine liées au joueur, ce qui arrive une fois sur quatre environ.

Les joueurs avec qui Jackson a joué, comme DeBusschere, Frazier, Monroe, Reed ou Jerry Lucas, ainsi que ceux qu’il a affrontés, de Havlicek à Chamberlain, Unseld, Kareem ou Lenny Wilkens, offrent sans doute les pages les plus savoureuses. Sans oublier ceux qu’il a ensuite coachés.

Chaque figure a droit à une petite présentation signée Smith, pour ensuite deux à six pages de discussion entre les deux hommes.

Malgré les défauts évoqués plus haut, je ne peux que recommander ce livre aux passionnés de NBA. C’est une vraie mine d’or, un compagnon de chevet, et l’un des ouvrages les plus intéressants parus ces dernières années.

Voici quelques passages retenus au fil de la lecture, sans ordre ni cohérence autre que celle du moment.

Sur John Stockton :

I think John was better in the whole game than Isiah. He wasn’t as prominent in scoring, but he was better in the whole game, defense, steals. When it became time, he would score, when forced to. (Phil Jackson)

Sur Anthony Davis :

Everybody kind of marvels at his shooting ability. He is a good shooter; the rest of his game is limited. Doesn’t want to be a center. They play him at center anyway. I saw him against the Knicks. He didn’t want to take a shot down the stretch. Ball was in his hands, he was looking for people to pass to. Very talented player. I don’t know what’s been holding him back from really being a true dominating player. The other thing : He’s always playing with superior talent. You look at these guys, they play with superior talent in colleges. (Phil Jackson)

Sur Hakeem Olajuwon :

He had this lateral movement that was unbelievable. I can remember thinking, ‘This guy must be travelling. There must be something going on more than a normal pivot foot.’ He’d make a move and shoot his shot and would do an inside reverse pivot and shoot his shot around you, and then all of a sudden you’d say ‘Where is he ?’. He used to try to steal the ball a lot in the backcourt because he was so agile, tremendous agility for a big guy. Shaq was athletic but more of a force, and he’d power straight ahead. Shaq didn’t know what to do with Olajuwon and got swept in that playoffs with Orlando.

Sur Gary Payton :

He had a hard time with the triangle offense. I thought he’d be great in the post because they ran it all the time in Seattle. It was difficult for him to exist because he didn’t have a shot. He did endure. (Phil Jackson, sur la saison 03-04 où GP était son meneur aux Lakers)

Sur Dolph Schayes :

That’s Charley Rosen‘s favorite player. I don’t think I’d put him in the same category with Bird, but a good player. Broke his wrist and played with one hand in a cast an entire season. (Phil Jackson)

Sur Shaquille O’Neal :

First year I was in LA I met him as he was coming off the court. ‘What’s the greatest thing Wilt did ? Fifty points a game ? Almost thirty rebounds a game ? That’s terrific, but that’s not the greatest thing. You know what the greatest thing was ? He played more than forty-eight minutes a game one season’. He said, ‘Oh, he did that ? I could do that.’ So I started playing him forty minutes a game that season. It lasted like five or six games, and then he sent Salley in to talk to me. That was his emissary, John Salley. ‘Coach, he’s really tired, fatigued, and it’s really hard on him’. ‘Well, he can come to me and ask me about it, but I’ve been playing him forty minutes a game and I think he’s getting in shape.’ I think he was probably in the best shape he was ever in. (Phil Jackson)

Sur Rick Barry :

My all-complaint team : Barry, Heinsohn, Oscar, Elvin Hayes, and Wilt. (Phil Jackson)

Historically, anyway. You left out LeBron and Doncic. Probably have to include Laimbeer, Chris Paul, and Draymond, the latter for this era (Sam Smith)

Sur LeBron James :

I don’t get into the rankings. It’s an impossible thing. I recently saw Michael must have said something about Curry, because I listen to Colin Cowherd, and he was like, ‘Oh, yeah, these are the greatest, and this guy said this guy’s in the top ten’. Comparing people and what their effect is ? Stephen Curry’s in a league all by himself. What else do you do with that guy ? He’s not a point guard. Curry can’t set up the team and run the offense. They start putting pressure on him. But bringing the ball up, he actually kind of figured out how to do it. I was impressed he made that adjustement. Wasn’t looking so much for his own stuff but to generate the team offense. (Phil Jackson)

(relancé par Sam Smith sur l’aspect ranking)

So if I have to say, LeBron is not the greatest, maybe not in the top five players ? Shaq didn’t have him in his top five, and I saw he got berated for it. I don’t know if he’s in that group with Michael, Kareem, but people do say this generation has been marked with LeBron in ten Finals. So that’s impressive. He is impressive. (Phil Jackson)

Sur Wes Unseld :

The best guy at throwing an outlet pass I’d ever seen. No one has ever seen it like that. Next guy that was really good at that was Benoit Benjamin. Throw it to half-court on a line. (Phil Jackson)