Ken Berger

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Phil Jackson didn't want to celebrate until the job was finished. When it was over, when he'd secured his 10th championship to pass Red Auerbach for the most in NBA history, Jackson could finally let go. This was his 10th champagne bath, but it was seven years in the making.

"You can see it in his eyes how ecstatic he is," Kobe Bryant said after the Lakers beat the Orlando Magic 99-86 Sunday night for Jackson's 10th career title. "It's been a long time since he had a champagne bath, and I knew that, so I made sure he became part of our circle and we got him pretty good. He took his glasses off, threw his head back and soaked it all in because this is a special time. And for us to be the team that got him that historic 10th championship is special for us."

Finally free to talk about it, Jackson admitted afterward that he enjoyed passing the great Auerbach but would light a cigar in his honor just the same. Jackson played for Auerbach's nemesis, Red Holzman, with the Knicks, and his relationship with the Celtics' Auerbach was ... well, competitive is the word Jackson once used to describe it, and that's probably the best word. Or at least the most diplomatic.

"I'll smoke a cigar tonight in memory of Red," Jackson said during the trophy presentation. "He was a great guy. I'll smoke a cigar in memory of him."

Auerbach, up in heaven, no doubt will be hoping that the cigar is laced with poison. A cigar? In Red's memory? To celebrate a Lakers championship?

To me, it is pointless to debate whether Auerbach or Jackson is the better coach. The game is different, the rules are different, the players are different, the travel is different. We could do this all day and not have the answer. What we know is that Jackson has won more titles, and that he's done it with great players. How many would Auerbach have won without Russell and Havlicek?

Of all the ways Jackson awkwardly tried to explain his place in history during these Finals, I liked best what he said Sunday night. When asked about how proud Holzman would've been for one of his players to surpass Auerbach, Jackson not only gave credit to Holzman -- but also to Les Harrison, who coached Holzman with the Rochester Royals. Some accuse Jackson of being a product of Michael Jordan, Shaquille O'Neal, and Kobe. But if you say that, then you also have to mention that he's a third-generation coach from the Harrison-Holzman tree.

Jackson told a story about attending Walt Frazier's Hall of Fame induction. When Harrison and Holzman approached him, Harrison told Jackson, "I'm his father, so you're really my grandson."

"So there's a legacy that came that direction with me,"' Jackson said.

Say what you want about Jackson, but let the man light up that cigar and enjoy it.