Lakers not worried about Jackson’s hip surgery
Coach expected to be recovered before Los Angeles’ opener on Oct. 31
 David Zalubowski / AP | Lakers coach Phil Jackson is will have hip surgey the day his team opens training camp. |
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LOS ANGELES - Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson, owner of an NBA-record 178 playoff victories, will have surgery to replace his right hip next Tuesday — the same day his team opens training camp.
“It’s to the point where he can’t really function without having surgery,” Lakers spokesman John Black said Friday. “He’s had a problem with it for a long time. He was hoping that by doing physical therapy, it would get better over the course of the summer. Instead of getting better, it got worse.”
The surgery will be performed at the Centinela Hospital Medical Center by Dr. Lawrence Dorr of the Arthritis Institute in Inglewood. Jackson is expected to be released from the hospital on Wednesday.
There was no timetable listed for Jackson’s return, but Black said he expects the 61-year-old coach to be back on the job before the NBA season begins Oct. 31.
Assistant coaches Kurt Rambis, Frank Hamblen, Brian Shaw and Jim Cleamons will share coaching duties while Jackson recuperates.
“The plan is to have Kurt organize practices, but all four of them will run the team equally in Phil’s absence,” Black said. “It will be a group effort.
Black said Jackson will discuss his surgery Monday at the conclusion of the team’s annual media day.
Jackson coached the Chicago Bulls to six championships in nine seasons during the 1990s, and the Lakers to three titles in six years since then. His nine championships tie him with former Boston coach Red Auerbach for the most in NBA history.
Jackson’s 877 regular-season wins are the ninth-most in NBA history, and his .713 winning percentage is the best ever.
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