Phil Jackson, Knicks Part Aways: NBA Twitter Reactions

The New York Knicks announced Wednesday morning that the team and president Phil Jackson have mutually agreed to separate after three years.

Phil Jackson Had Been The Knicks President For Three Years

Jackson was notified of the team’s decision on Tuesday.

“After careful thought and consideration, we mutually agreed that the Knicks will be going in a different direction,” said Knicks owner and executive chairman James Dolan. “Phil Jackson is one of the most celebrated and successful individuals in the history of the NBA. His legacy in the game of basketball is unmatched. We wish him the best and thank him for his service to the Knicks as both a player and an executive.”

The Knicks have struggled under Jackson’s leadership, posting an 80-66 combined record in the last three seasons for one of the worst in the NBA. The team did not make the playoffs in any of those three years. For this reason, the general consensus among both Knicks fans and NBA pundits on Twitter early Wednesday seemed to be that feelings of elation were appropriate.

Here are the hilarious reactions of rejoicing Knicks fans and others from the basketball world:

Jackson previously won 11 league championships as a coach for the Chicago Bulls (1987-1998) and Los Angeles Lakers (1999-2004, 2005-2011). The 71-year-old executive had two years and $24 million left on his contract with the Knicks, for whom he played as a power forward from 1967 to 1978.

NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 12: Basketball coach Phil Jackson speak on stage at Phil Jackson in Conversation with Ben McGrath at the MasterCard stage at SVA Theatre during The New Yorker Festival 2014 on October 12, 2014 in New York City. (Photo by Brad Barket/Getty Images for The New Yorker Festival)