Longtime NBA assistant coach Bobby Jackson offers high praise for Philippine basketball legend Jimmy Alapag.
For Philadelphia 76ers assistant coach Bobby Jackson, the bond he shares with former PBA MVP Jimmy Alapag goes beyond the basketball court.
Jackson and Alapag worked together for two years starting in 2021 on the coaching staff of the NBA G-League team Stockton Kings, where the former NBA guard was head coach and the former Gilas Pilipinas stalwart was one of his assistants.
Last season, Jackson moved to the Sixers coaching staff, while Alapag was promoted to a new role as player development coach of the Sacramento Kings. But their connection remains to this day.
Speaking to The GAME in an exclusive interview from Perth where he was part of the coaching staff for the NBA’s Basketball Without Borders Asia 2024, Jackson said he is proud of what Alapag has accomplished as a coach, but even prouder to call him a friend.
“Jimmy is a brother from another mother for me. I love him. I think he’s an amazing human being. He’s a much better husband and father. He loves his family. He loves his wife. And that speaks volumes about who Jimmy is.”
Jackson shared that they first connected in 2019 when Alapag was interning for the Kings’ Summer League team.
“I was coaching the Summer League and I called him and he was doing an internship and he was like, ‘Hey, can you take me on your wing? Can you help me out?’ So I got an interest in teaching them how things, how this NBA works.
“And we just stayed close and we stayed tight. I would check up on him, see how he was doing in the Philippines. He would check up on me and see how I was doing.”
Jackson added that when he was named head coach of the Stockton Kings, hiring Alapag as an assistant was a “no-brainer.”
“I love guys that play professional basketball, but also he’s so smart and he sees the game at a different level, but he’s a no-nonsense accountability coach. And I needed that type of guy around me to help coach the G-League guys.
“And when I offered the job, he was like, man, of course. “His hard work and dedication and his commitment to player development, but also helping guys get better is the reason why he’s in the NBA. He’s probably one of the smartest coaches I’ve had the luxury and the ability to be around.
“And I think he sharpens my tools, I sharpen his tools. And he’s just a workhorse. He’s always going to be the first guy to the gym, last guy to leave.
“And his rise from player development, from G-League to player development now on Mike Brown’s staff, the reason why he’s accomplished that at so fast of a pace because he’s committed to the system and understanding what coach Brown wants from him.”
Advice for aspiring coaches
For other Filipino and even Asian coaches aspiring to also make it into the NBA coaching fraternity, Jackson advises them to be proactive and make your own luck.
“I would say take the path that Jimmy took. He reached out to (former Kings general manager) Vlade Divac, emailed him and was like, ‘Yo, can I intern for Summer League?’ I think the more that you can be proactive and reach out to all, not just the Kings, I think you got to reach to all 30 teams and ask them, ‘Can I come to Summer League? Can I come to practice?’ And Jimmy was proactive in that mindset because he knew what he wanted.
“And guess what? He made the connection with me. He made the connection with everybody else. When it was time for me to get my own coaching job, guess what happened? I kind of leaned on him and said, ‘Do you want to be my assistant coach?’
“So at the end of the day, it’s all about taking the time out to reach out and communicate and build relationships. So you have this opportunity to get a chance to be a player development coach or an assistant coach or a scout.”
Another piece of advice from Jackson: always come prepared and have a solid idea about your coaching philosophy.
“I think a lot of it is the managing of players. The X and the O’s is the easy part. Getting everybody to buy in and do things the right way, right? Understanding you want to build a team first team chemistry. I think accountability communication, the consistency. I think those things come with creating identity as a coach. And sometimes it takes you a little bit longer to figure out what your identity is and what’s your philosophy as a coach.
“I say, start figuring it out fast. What do you want to do on the offensive end of the court? What do you want to do on the defensive end of the court? What you want to do on special teams? So building up your style of play first, writing it down, building a portfolio…And once you start to create your own identity as a coach, now you can kind of explain that to everybody else when you want to try to interview for a job. Because when you go for the interview or they say, when you call, ‘Hey, can I come into your training camp?’, that’s what they’re probably going to ask you.
So what’s your style of play? What do you believe in? What’s your philosophy? What’s your do’s and don’ts? So once you can continue to build that out, I think that helps you once you try to go for an interview or you want to come to somebody’s practice. Now you have a better understanding of who you are as a coach and what you expect, but then you can take other stuff and add it to your coach’s book.”
Basketball Without Borders
This interview with Jackson took place during a break in the Basketball Without Borders Asia 2024 training camp in Perth, an event that brought together 60 of the best high school-age boys and girls from Asia. The group included Gilas Youth players Joaquin Ludovice, Sophia Canindo and Ariel Dela O, and Ava Fajardo.
“The city of Perth has been nothing but amazing,” Jackson said. “To get to another part of the country that I’ve never been to, to see the culture, to see the style of basketball, style of play that they play, but also impacting these young athletes’ lives and giving them a little bit of the knowledge and experience that I’ve had throughout my 26, 27 years being in the NBA. So I think that’s probably the most phenomenal thing that these coaches and these players are getting.”
The campers were supervised by NBA and WNBA coaches and players, including coaches Jay Larranaga and Terry Porter and former players Aron Baynes and Cynthia Cooper. For Jackson, he’s always ready to join the annual event whenever the NBA calls.
“I coached, I think, 10 years ago. It was in Thailand. You always see a lot of different talents, right? Whether it’s Australia, whether it’s New Zealand, whether it’s guys from Indonesia, whether it’s guys from China or Jordan. I think that’s what allows you to respect all what the BWB does. They go find the top talents and regardless of you never been going to that country, now you know that a lot of these countries have elite basketball players that have dreamed of playing Division I basketball and playing professionally in the United States.
“Throughout the camp there’s a lot of talent from a lot of the Asian teams. And our job is to come in and teach them really fast. And they got to pick up these concepts extremely fast. And there’s not a lot of teaching.
“So you got to learn on the go. It challenges you as a basketball player, but it also helps you think when you step on the floor. The BWB has done a great job of assimilating and forming and putting together these young talents. And they have been open and learning the speed and the pace of what the NBA consists of.”
Banner Image from AFP and NBA Philippines.