Former Los Angeles Lakers head coach Phil Jackson will be unable to make it to Kobe Bryant’s jersey retirement ceremony in Los Angeles on Monday night. In lieu of his attendance, the Zen Master tweeted his congratulations to his former player, although he made a slight typo while spelling Kobe’s trademark nickname.
Congratulations Kobe Bryant! Hail Momba, too. Two Jersey’s retired is one way to measure your impact for the Lakers. The GOAT measure is:🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆
— Phil Jackson (@PhilJackson11) December 18, 2017
It’s hard to see exactly what happened with that tweet. Was it an auto-correct issue? Perhaps it was an inside joke between Kobe and Jackson. Or maybe Phil really thinks Kobe spells his famous moniker “Momba.” No one knows for sure.
Article Continues BelowNevertheless, it’s a classy gesture by Jackson to congratulate Kobe, with whom he has had quite the interesting relationship over the years. Jackson and Bryant won five NBA championships together, but in between their title-winning years, they had their contentious moments.
In the wake of the Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe divorce, Jackson also left and wrote in one of his books how Kobe uncoachable was during his last season. But he eventually returned to patch things up as they won two more titles.
While it would’ve been great to see Jackson there in attendance to honor Kobe, the Zen Master will still be with “Momba” in spirit.