LOS ANGELES — Seven years have passed since Phil Jackson coached the Los Angeles Lakers to their third consecutive NBA championship in his first three seasons with the team.

He's definitely counting.

They lost to Detroit in the 2004 finals and again last year to Boston. Starting tonight against Orlando, Jackson gets a third chance to win his record 10th title, which would break a tie with fellow Hall of Fame coach Red Auerbach.

But he insists that's not his main motivation.

"It's just about this year, not about the 10th," he said.

Jackson joked about the value of possibly owning 10 championship rings, saying, "One for each finger and two thumbs."

He played against Auerbach's teams, but never matched wits or Xs and Os with the cigar-chomping coach with whom he said he had a "really competitive" relationship.

Auerbach, who died in October 2006, once downplayed Jackson's nine titles by saying the former New York Knicks player "picks his spots," implying that his championships were the result of coaching stars such as Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant.

The chance to surpass Auerbach and make history of his own might be a personal goal of Jackson's, but it trails what the team is trying to achieve, assistant coach Kurt Rambis said.

"Is he obsessed with it? Does he lose sleep over it? I seriously doubt it," he said.

Jackson turns 64 in September. He has undergone two hip replacement operations since October 2006 — using a cane at various times — and walks with a noticeable hitch in his step.

This season, he missed two West Coast road games because of pain and swelling in his lower legs caused by plantar fasciitis. He blamed late-night flights that aggravated the condition, which he plans to have doctors check out after the season ends.

Jackson credits team trainer Gary Vitti and his staff for working out his physical kinks, partly the result of his 12-year NBA playing career, and equipment manager Rudy Garciduenas for carrying his luggage on the road.

"They keep me going every day," he said.

He didn't mention the role of his 47-year-old girlfriend, Jeanie Buss, a team executive and daughter of Lakers owner Jerry Buss. They've been together since shortly after Jackson began his first stint as coach of the team in 2000, and survived his one-season firing in 2004-05.

"I came back at the behest of the Buss family to coach this team back into playoff contention," Jackson said. "Every night we give ourselves a chance to win. So that's been really the blessing of coming back and having this opportunity again, to see this team come out from the ashes and become again a dominant team in the league."

In doing so, Jackson has toned down his intense approach and become more patient.

"When he first came here with the Lakers, he was a lot more assertive, a lot more aggressive and demanding," Rambis said.

Jackson signed a two-year contract extension in 2007 for approximately $24 million, which takes him through this season.

Twice in 40 years, Jackson has gotten away from the grind of NBA life that exists from October to June. The idea of permanently stepping away would be hard, he said.

"It always comes down to health with him," Rambis said. "I don't think he views his career as over now."

Jackson hasn't allowed himself to consider what he'll do if he wins a 10th title other than spend the summer in Montana contemplating his future.

Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher are the Lakers who've played the longest for Jackson. Bryant says he doesn't think about a future without the gray-haired coach.

"I just try to focus on the task at hand, which was one of the things that he's taught us all," he said. "I'm just honored to be coached by the best coach of all time. It would be a tremendous honor to be on the team that can get him that 10th championship."