If Mark Jackson was what Stephen A. Smith thinks he is, he would have been given another head coaching opportunity by now.
After surprisingly parting ways with Tom Thibodeau last week, the New York Knicks are in search of a head coach to help them take the next step toward a championship. And Stephen A. Smith seemingly found someone who deserves credit for building a team that went on to win four championships.
Monday morning on First Take, Smith suggested Mark Jackson as the next head coach of the Knicks by citing his ties to New York and overstating the job he did in Golden State.
“I’m gonna always mention the name Mark Jackson…this man was responsible for building Golden State before Steve Kerr was brought in and took over and piggybacked off of that.” – Stephen A. Smith on Knicks coaching search pic.twitter.com/XMo6306z77
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 9, 2025
“I’m gonna always mention Mark Jackson because he’s been away from the game for a decade as a coach,” Smith said. “This man was responsible for building Golden State before Steve Kerr was brought in and took over and piggybacked off of that and ascended to four championships, no doubt.”
Mark Jackson may have been a solid NBA head coach during his three seasons with the Warriors. But what Stephen A. Smith said may have been the biggest miscalculation of how the tenures of Jackson and Kerr in Golden State should be viewed and valued.
Kerr followed Jackson as head coach of the Warriors, yes. But turning a team that won one playoff series in three years into an instant dynasty by implementing strategies that helped revolutionize the NBA is worth much more than saying he “piggybacked.” Did Jackson set Kerr up for success? Or did Kerr building a dynasty only prove Jackson underachieved in Golden State?
Jackson’s record in Golden State was good enough to warrant another coaching opportunity. For whatever reason, that opportunity never came. The call never came from his alma mater St. John’s University. And it hasn’t come from the NBA.
More than a decade after he coached his last NBA game, going on television and touting Jackson for the Knicks job is starting to sound wasteful. Jackson has about as much of a chance of becoming the next head coach of the Knicks as Stephen A. Smith does. And Stephen A. Smith has no chance.
Jackson should, however, get another chance at calling NBA games. Because he did help build one of the most successful broadcasting teams in NBA history before getting laid off by ESPN. And Jackson’s successors haven’t yet been able to piggyback off the success that he and Jeff Van Gundy enjoyed alongside Mike Breen for 15 years.