Lakers’ Phil Jackson reminisces about the road traveled

Phil Jackson was immersed in a two-month trek that included stops in Bora Bora, New Zealand and Australia, where he caught lobsters and cooked them under the stars with one of his former players, Luc Longley.

Never in the early stages of 2005 did he envision returning to the Lakers, who had signed Rudy Tomjanovich to a five-year, $30-million deal as Jackson’s successor in the summer of 2004.

But Tomjanovich quit abruptly in February 2005, and Jackson returned to the Lakers four months later. He thought he would eventually take the Lakers to the doorstep of a championship, but no further.

Then came Sunday night, and Jackson won his 10th NBA championship as a coach, passing legendary Boston Celtics Coach Red Auerbach.

Jackson, 63, in his 18th season of coaching in the NBA, had never gone this long without winning a title, his last coming in 2002 when the Lakers swept New Jersey.

He grabbed a handful of nostalgia when asked about it after the Lakers finished off the Orlando Magic in five games.

Jackson remembered fielding a phone call after Tomjanovic’s resignation from Lakers executive Jeanie Buss, his longtime girlfriend. She asked him to end his Australian expedition to come back and coach the Lakers.

“I said that I’d have to think about it a long time because this team is quite a ways from a championship, even though Kobe Bryant always gives you a chance to win,” Jackson said Sunday. “When I came back, I didn’t anticipate we’d win and I’d be part of it. I thought maybe I’d build the steps to a winning team but I didn’t think I’d be part of it. This is much quicker than I thought it would happen.”

Jackson is under contract for next season for $12 million. It will be surprising only if he didn’t return, though he will go through his annual off-season checklist that includes a battery of health tests, as well as his personal assessment of his energy and mind-set.

Bryant, who won his fourth championship while playing for Jackson, said it was obvious that his coach reveled in winning a historic 10th title.

“You can see in his eyes how ecstatic he is,” Bryant said. “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 [in the locker room] 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.”

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Forward-thinking

Free-agent forwards Lamar Odom and Trevor Ariza made an impact their last game of the season.

Odom had 17 points and 10 rebounds in the Lakers’ 99-86 victory over Orlando. Ariza had 15 points, seven in a key 16-0 second-quarter spurt that moved the Lakers from four down to a 52-40 lead.

“To take everybody’s best shot and to still come out on top is a great feeling,” Ariza said. “It lets you know that you can believe.”

Ariza and Odom become unrestricted free agents July 1.

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Tex is watching

Not far from the Lakers’ minds, longtime Lakers consultant Tex Winter, 87, has been keeping track of the Lakers while recovering from a stroke in Oregon.

“He’s enjoying the game, he’s watching it, very close to what’s going on,” Jackson said.

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mike.bresnahan@latimes.com