Lakers' Phil Jackson Back Next Season

Los Angeles (myFOXla.com) - Phil Jackson announced Friday he will return to coach the NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers for the 2009-2010 season after receiving results of medical tests.

"After consulting with Lakers team internist Dr. John Moe, I feel confident that I can gainfully pursue an NBA season with another long playoff postseason. All things point to go," Jackson said.

After the Lakers won the NBA championship June 14 in what Jackson called the easiest championship-clinching victory of his coaching career, he said his return would depend on the results of medical tests.

The 63-year-old Jackson has had a series of health issues in recent years. He missed an game in Portland on April 10 because of painful swelling in his lower right leg. He also has had both hips replaced and underwent an angioplasty procedure in 2003 to open a clogged artery in his heart.

Jackson has said he enjoys coaching this team because of its good chemistry and his relationship with all-star guard Kobe Bryant is better than it has ever been.

The 2009-2010 season is the last on Jackson's contract. His agent, Todd Musburger, told the Los Angeles Times there is "nothing formal planned on seeking answers beyond the coming year."

"There is a comfortable and positive relationship between Phil, Dr. (Jerry) Buss (the team's owner), his sons that are in management, and certainly (general manager) Mitch Kupchak, that if both sides feel an extension is something they want, then obviously it could happen," Musburger, a brother of sportscaster Brent Musburger, told The Times.

The Lakers' most recent championship was Jackson's 10th as an NBA coach, breaking the record he previously shared with the late Boston Celtics coach Red Auerbach. Jackson also won a championship ring as a reserve forward for the New York Knicks in 1973.

Jackson first became the Lakers' coach in 1999 and guided the team to NBA championships in each of his first three seasons with the team.

Jackson left the team following the 2003-2004 season when his original contract expired, but returned in the 2005-2006 season. Jackson has often credited his return to his longtime companion Jeanie Buss, the team's executive vice president of business operations and a daughter of Jerry Buss.

However, she has said "Dr. Buss and his checkbook should get all the credit."

ESPN reported in December 2007 that Jackson signed a two-year contract extension worth $24 million for the 2008-09 and 2009-10 season, making him the league's highest-paid coach.

Jackson coached the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls to six championships in the 1990s. His .705 regular-season winning percentage is the best in league history, while his 1,041 victories are sixth all-time.

Jackson was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2005.

Jackson also serves as the national spokesman for the Positive Coaching Alliance, which conducts programs for youth sports coaches, parents and athletes in an effort to create a positive, character-building environment for youth athletes.