After winning five championships in 18 seasons as a player in the NBA, Derek Fisher has officially embarked on the next chapter of his career in the game of basketball.

Tuesday morning—6,558 days after he was selected in the first round of the NBA draft by the Los Angeles Lakers—the New York Knicks introduced Derek as the 26th head coach in the history of their franchise.

Though this will be D-Fish’s first job as a coach at any level, he affirmed during his introductory press conference that he is bringing a lifetime’s worth of basketball experience to lead the Knicks organization.

“Every experience that I’ve ever had in the sport of basketball all leads to this moment,” Derek said. “The good things, the bad things, the successes, the failures, the triumphs, the championships, the early playoff exits—they all matter, and they all provide an experience for me that I look forward to sharing with our players and helping us reestablish the championship culture that exists in the DNA of this organization and this city.”

Derek played in 1,287 regular-season games as a player, as well as 259 in the postseason—an NBA record, but coaching has always been on his mind. He noted during his introductory press conference that he realized at a young age that because of his limited physical gifts, he had to develop a different mentality to succeed in the game, a coach’s mentality:

I think preparing myself for this moment and being a head coach of an NBA basketball team is something that started at six years old. I played my first game of organized basketball at six years old, and although I was one of the better kids on that team, I have very rarely been the best player, the most talented, the tallest, the highest jumping, the best shooter on a basketball team. So right away as a young person, I had to start thinking about the game of basketball and how it was played and where I could find my advantages and how I could be most effective even though I wasn’t physically the most gifted or talented. So the last 33 years, that’s the way I have viewed the game. And in the last 18 years as an NBA player, in this business, that’s the only reason I’ve been around for 18 years, because I’ve thought as a coach.

Derek’s long and fruitful playing career saw him claim five NBA titles, all while playing under Phil Jackson for the Lakers. Derek said that the presence of the “Zen Master” as Knicks President played a major role in his decision to take the Knicks job—and Jackson noted that the familiarity with Derek and his leadership skills made him an outstanding candidate for the job.

“We are very symbiotic in what we believe in,” Jackson said. “Derek was a guy I used to get the team under control when they were getting out of line and they needed to get back to the offense. He was always a guy who was willing to do that—sacrifice himself for the good of the team, and I think that was one of the qualities I looked for in coaches in the past.”

New York general manager Steve Mills, whom Derek looks forward to building a relationship with over the coming weeks, also lauded the leadership abilities of his new coach—which he saw displayed on several occasions, including Fish’s stint as the president of the National Basketball Player’s Association.

“This is going to be a fun day for the Knicks,” Mills said. “Phil and I have spent a lot of time talking about this process and what we thought about the characteristics we needed in a coach. Obviously, Derek has had tremendous success as a player and has done great things and won championships. But one of the things we both think is very important and critical is the ability to lead young men. What I really find intriguing about Derek are his leadership characteristics.”

While Jackson and Mills had no problem outlining what will make Fish an exceptional head coach, questions still stood about his lack of experience in the job. But Coach Fisher pointed out that, not only has he learned from some of the best coaches in the history of the game, but he also understands what it takes to lead a team—and what it takes to succeed at the game’s highest level.

“I have not been a head coach in the NBA, in college or in high school. But I am experienced,” Derek declared. “Basketball is a game that I am experienced in. Playing, understanding, leading, guiding, helping another group of people achieve the greatest gift in the world as a professional athlete—and that’s being a champion—that I have experience in. And that’s the experience that I plan on sharing with these players, sharing with the organization.”

Fish also spoke about some of the pressing topics facing this Knicks squad, including the unresolved situation regarding their star player, Carmelo Anthony, who can opt out of his contract and become a free agent this offseason.

“We obviously believe that Carmelo is one of the top players, not only in the NBA but in the world,” Fish said. “We want him to be here, but ultimately he has that choice. We’ll do everything that we can possibly do to give him the confidence that we can get the job done—that we can put a team together that he can be proud of and that he feels has a chance to contend in the NBA. That makes the job tough right from the start, no question about it. But I’m looking forward to those challenges and working with these men right here to figure it out and do what we feel is best for the organization.”

Derek has been viewed as one of the foremost veteran leaders in the NBA for several seasons, and he has felt for some time that it was his destiny to be a head coach at the professional level. After carrying a coach’s mentality through much of his career, he is confident that he’ll be able to make a smooth transition and command respect in the locker room from Day 1.

“I’ll hopefully have a number of conversations with these guys prior to (the opening game of next season), so they don’t look at me as though I’m a visiting player in the wrong locker room,” D-Fish quipped. “It’ll be an adjustment for all of us, but I think that guys, even if they played against me and didn’t like me very much as an opponent, hopefully they’ll just respect me as a person. So regardless of our titles, there will be a mutual respect as men that we can just sit down and talk and share some stories and eventually find a way to work together and help each other be successful.”

That success, Fish knows, is where he will ultimately be judged as a coach. So while he’s happy to be celebrated as the next boss of the New York club, he’s even more prepared to begin working toward the franchise’s fundamental goal: winning a championship.

“I thank you all so much for opening your arms to me, to my family and to who I am and what I can possibly be as your head coach,” Derek said. “I’m taking a tremendous amount of pride in coming here and doing my job. This is not a ceremony, this is not for PR, this is not for Phil and I to just hang out again as friends. This is to go to work and get our job done—and we want to add more banners to this ceiling here. I look forward to helping reestablish the New York Knicks as not only the best team in the city of New York, but one of the best teams in the world.”

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