The best part of basketball, for those people on the inside, is the bus going to the airport after you've won a game on an opponent's floor. It's been a very tough battle. And preferably, in the playoffs. And that feeling that you have, together as a group, having gone to an opponent's floor and won a very good victory, is as about as high as you can get.
Phil JacksonKobe was hell-bent on surpassing Jordan as the greatest player in the game. His obsession with Michael was striking. When we played in Chicago that season, I orchestrated a meeting between the two of them, thinking that Michael might help shift Kobe’s attitude toward selfless teamwork. After they shook hands, the first words out of Kobe’s mouth were, ‘You know I can kick your ass one on one.’
Phil JacksonBasketball is a great mystery. You can do everything right. You can have the perfect mix of talent and the best system of offense in the game. You can devise a foolproof defensive strategy and prepare your players for every possible eventuality. But if the players don’t have a sense of oneness as a group, your efforts won’t pay off. And the bond that unites a team can be so fragile, so elusive.
Phil JacksonI think the most important thing about coaching is that you have to have a sense of confidence about what you're doing. You have to be a salesman and you have to get your players, particularly your leaders, to believe in what you're trying to accomplish on the basketball floor.
Phil JacksonI don't believe in curfews, because you can't treat men like they were boys without forfeiting a certain level of trust.
Phil JacksonHe practiced against Kobe all of last year, so obviously it was sweet revenge for him. We deserved that. We didn't know who he was, we gave him up to Charlotte, we had no idea how good a player he was.
Phil JacksonI always tell the players, "We are in the business that's very much like a marathon race only we're gonna be doing it for 260-something days or so." And the race is something you get ready to do. There's gonna be some trial inside of there, but you put yourself through it because ultimately it brings a lot of meaning to your life, it gives a lot of energy to what you're doing.
Phil JacksonMy dad always had this little sign on his desk: 'The bigger your head is, the easier your shoes are to fill'. He really drilled that in.
Phil JacksonThe strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team.
Phil JacksonBasketball, unlike football with its prescribed routes, is an improvisational game, similar to jazz. If someone drops a note, someone else must step into the vacuum and drive the beat that sustains the team.
Phil JacksonI care about systematically playing basketball. If the spacing isn't right, if guys are standing on top of each other, if there aren't lanes to be provided, or rebounders available to offensively rebound the ball, or we don't have defensive balance when a shot goes up, all of these things are fundamental basketball. I follow it.
Phil JacksonThe most we can hope for is to create the best possible conditions for success, then let go of the outcome. The ride is a lot more fun that way.
Phil JacksonThe best thing that I think happened to me was I got the opportunity to have really good players and we were able to meet the demand of the competition. And I think that's what I value most.
Phil JacksonPeople think I would never take on a team that has no legitimate chance to win a championship, This is one of the major misconceptions about me. Success can be measured in many different ways. . . . Either way, I would find the challenge invigorating.
Phil JacksonDespite their tremendous talent, (NBA players) are still, by and large, young adults, seeking validation from an authority figure, and there is no greater authority figure on a team than the coach. Needless to say, in today's warped, self-indulgent climate, too many players couldn't care less about appeasing the coach.
Phil JacksonThere's a term, agape, you hear used a lot with charismatic religious groups, that it's this more pure love of caring, of sharing of concern and understanding. I think players and teams have to come to that at some point in the season to become successful. Maybe not "personal friends," but they become teammates at the highest level of that term.
Phil JacksonIf we can accept whatever hand we've been dealt - no matter how unwelcome - the way to proceed eventually becomes clear.
Phil JacksonNot only is there more to life than basketball, there's a lot more to basketball than basketball.
Phil JacksonEverybody has an opportunity to play a role, a playmaking role, so it makes it harder to coach. It takes a little more time.
Phil JacksonI think people forgot that there are still ways you can get the ball inside rather than just standing there and throwing the ball in. You have to have a system that makes all things work.
Phil JacksonThe strength of the team lies within the individual. And the strength of the individual lies within the team
Phil JacksonI thrive on challenges, and there is no more imposing challenge for someone in my profession than winning an NBA title.
Phil JacksonIf you have a clear mind . . . you won't have to search for direction. Direction will come to you.
Phil JacksonI probably would have no capability of absorbing a 60-defeat season as a coach. It would be a foreign experience. My whole career, even as a player, has been on winning basketball clubs and it just seems to have been a part of the make-up of what’s been given me. That’s what I’ve been given and that’s what I’ve had to deal with. Some people can make fun of it or some people can have a good time with it, or some people can resent it. It’s just what it is.
Phil JacksonIt takes a number of critical factors to win an NBA championship, including the right mix of talent, creativity, intelligence, toughness, and of course, luck. But if a team doesn’t have the most essential ingredient - love - none of those other factors matter.
Phil JacksonMy first act after being named head coach of the Bulls was to formulate a vision for the team. I had to take into account not only what I wanted to achieve, but how I was going to get there.
Phil JacksonLike life, basketball is messy and unpredictable. It has its way with you, no matter how hard you try to control it. The trick is to experience each moment with a clear mind and open heart. When you do that, the game - and life - will take care of itself.
Phil Jackson