Phil Jackson is widely regarded as one of the greatest coaches in NBA history, having won 11 championships with the Chicago Bulls and the Los Angeles Lakers. He is also known for his unique philosophy and approach to the game, which includes various theories and principles that he applied to his teams. One of his most popular theories is the championship team theory, or the 40/20 rule.
The theory states that a team that can reach 40 wins before losing 20 games in a season is legitimately a title contender. Over the years, most NBA teams that have won the championship have fit in this criterion, apart from some exceptions. The idea behind the rule is that it reflects both the quality and the consistency of a team, as well as its ability to overcome adversity and perform under pressure.
According to NBA history, the 40/20 rule has been a reliable indicator of who will win the NBA title, with only four teams in the last 42 seasons failing to meet the mark: the 2021 Bucks, the 2006 Heat, the 2004 Pistons, and the 1995 Rockets. All of these teams were considered underdogs or surprises in their respective seasons, and they managed to overcome the odds and defeat teams that had reached the 40/20 mark.
Yesterday, the Boston Celtics became the first team of the season to break through the 40-win barrier. Since they’ve only lost 12 times this season, they, per Jackson’s definition, are the fist title contender of the season.
The Celtics’ performance last night, led to head coach Joe Mazzulla comparing his team to the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse movie, where part of the plot revolves around multiple versions of Spider-Man showing up. And in an interesting twist, Mazzulla compared his team to that movie, due to so many different players on the roster showing up in respective games:
“Ever seen Spider-Man? Into the Spider-Verse?” Mazzulla asked. “There was like 20 different Spider-Men? That’s like our team. … Success is going to look different each and every night, and I think the guys are doing a good job of understanding what that balance is, and as long as the process towards how we’re going about attacking the other team is right, and it fits with what’s best for the team, then it’s just executing.”
