Triangle Offense
The system Phil Jackson rode to eleven NBA championships.
Tex Winter built the Triangle in the 1960s and 70s; Phil Jackson made it famous in the 1990s and 2000s with Michael Jordan’s Bulls and Kobe Bryant’s Lakers. The offense isn’t a play — it’s a system of reads built on seven principles that apply to every possession.
The strong-side triangle (corner, wing, post) creates spacing and entry angles. The weak-side two-man game (top, weak-side wing) creates secondary action. Every pass triggers a read. Every cut creates a new triangle.
Critics call the Triangle outdated; defenders point out that its principles — read-based decision-making, spacing, two-man game — are exactly what modern analytics-driven offenses also emphasize. The frame changed; the principles didn’t. Coaches studying the Triangle today are studying the underlying principles, not the specific cuts.
Key principles
- Strong-side triangle: post, wing, and corner
- Weak-side two-man game: top and weak-side wing
- Seven principles govern every read: spacing, two-person action, ball movement, etc.
- No set plays — branches are chosen based on defensive coverage