Derek Fisher ready to step up as New York Knicks head coach

Derek Fisher was never the best player, certainly not the tallest or quickest.

But whether on the court with Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal, or across the bargaining table from NBA commissioners David Stern and Adam Silver, he never feared taking the shot, speaking his mind, or doing whatever else was expected of a leader.

So he has every attribute the New York Knicks need – except experience as a coach, the job they hired him to do.

“But I am experienced,” Fisher said. “Basketball is a game that I am experienced in playing, understanding, leading in, guiding in, helping another group of people achieve the greatest gift in the world as a professional athlete, and that’s being a champion.

“That I have experience in, and that’s the experience that I plan on sharing with these players, sharing with this organisation.”

That’s what made Phil Jackson turn to one of his most trustworthy former players for his first coaching hire. Just days after finishing his 18th season, the 39-year-old Fisher was chosen to replace Mike Woodson, whom Jackson fired in his first major move as team president.

Fisher won five championships playing for Jackson with the Los Angeles Lakers and was known for his knack for hitting clutch postseason shots while playing an NBA-record 259 play-off games. But some of his most important work came in the locker room, just as it will now.