Phil Jackson Quotes - Page 3

Kobe 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.’

Basketball 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.

I 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.

An acrobatic dunk will make it onto Sports Center. A simple, unspectacular bounce pass in the rhythm of the offense will not. System basketball has been replaced by players who want to be the system.

My job as a coach was to make something meaningful out of one of the most mundane activities on the planet: playing pro basketball.

I'm a patient person. I think that's one thing that I feel comfortable I can deal with - the downfall and the errors, as long as I see progress and people trying.

People 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.

I'm not going to coach again. I've done my coaching, and I think I can put that aside.

The road to freedom is a beautiful system

I think the most rewarding part of the job, and I think most coaches would say it, is practice. If you have it, a very good practice in which you have 12 guys participate, and they can really get something out of it, lose themselves in practice.

Tomorrow gives a beck'ning hand-- I turn my face away; I'll not invite her to my home-- I only love Today.

You have to be unique.

The bigger your head, the easier to fill your shoes.

I gave it my body and mind, but I have kept my soul.

Basketball is a simple game. Your goal is penetration, get the ball close to the basket, and there are three ways to do that. Pass, dribble and offensive rebound.

I 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.

For us tall people, the whole key is that your hips and your knees should form a right angle when you sit down. That's where backs and hips get to be problems for big guys.

I 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.

Coaching is salesmanship. Coaching is winning players over and convincing them they have to play together. It takes a team conviction to play together to make things work.

I will have Derek Fisher wear all 5 of his rings the first time he comes in to talk to Carmelo.

There'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.

I don't believe in curfews, because you can't treat men like they were boys without forfeiting a certain level of trust.

I thrive on challenges, and there is no more imposing challenge for someone in my profession than winning an NBA title.

My accountant tells me I can't be a California resident anymore. I spend too much of my time in New York.

Basketball is sharing.