"Not only is there more to life than basketball, there's a lot more to basketball than basketball." - (Phil Jackson) This quote came from one of the all time greatest coaches in all sports and possibly the best coach ever in the NBA. He is non-other than the Zen master himself Phil Jackson. In this paper I will discuss the legendary life and unique style of leadership of Phil Jackson from the time he was born until present day.
Phil was born Sept. 17,1945 in Deer Lodge, Montana. His parents were evangelical preachers who had sworn an oath of poverty. Phil's parents restricted him from dances, movies, comic books, and other perceived evils. The only activity he was aloud to participate in was music and sports. Phil later on went to a small NAIA college in North Dakota where he still followed and expanded his strong spiritual path in the classroom and in life. Phil also played basketball in college, then he got drafted by the Knicks in the second round seventeenth pick overall. After basketball Phil joined the Nets and did some commentary work on television. After a year he decided commentating wasn't cut out for him and returned to basketball but this time as a coach. Jackson became the coach of the Continental Basketball Association's Albany Patroons and in five years Jackson won a title and won -CBA coach of the year. Jackson quit the Patroons after 87" season with a record of 117-90. Once Jackson left the Patroons he started his legacy in 89" with the Jordan led Chicago Bulls. Phil came to Chicago and turned the whole team round by leading them to their first teams NBA title. After Phil's first title with Chicago he didn't stop, he went on to win 5 more champions chips. Then after the 97" season Jackson decided to hang it up and watch basketball from the television instead of the bench. Later on Jackson decided to make his come back in basketball where he was named head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers.
