Top 77 Phil Jackson Quotes
#1. 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.
Phil Jackson
#2. The 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 Jackson
#3. I played hockey in North Dakota growing up and watch a lot of that.
Phil Jackson
#4. My father was a man who didn't consider himself learned. He was a man who liked to be a farmer. He enjoyed his dairy farm and felt the calling. So there was a dedication. I was dedicated as a child to the service of God, and so there was this continual centering of a greater purpose than your own.
Phil Jackson
#5. Make your work your play and your play your work.
Phil Jackson
#6. Once you've done the mental work, there comes a point you have to throw yourself into the action and put your heart on the line. That means not only being brave, but being compassionate towards yourself, your teammates and your opponents.
Phil Jackson
#7. In their groundbreaking book, Tribal Leadership, management consultants Dave Logan, John King, and Halee Fischer-Wright lay out the five stages of tribal development, which they formulated after conducting extensive research on small to midsize organizations.
Phil Jackson
#8. My 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 Jackson
#9. Remember, Team, surrender the me for the we.
Phil Jackson
#10. 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.
Phil Jackson
#11. Always keep an open mind and a compassionate heart.
Phil Jackson
#12. Winning is about moving into the unknown and creating something new.
Phil Jackson
#13. If you have a clear mind ... you won't have to search for direction. Direction will come to you.
Phil Jackson
#14. It 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 Jackson
#15. 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.
Phil Jackson
#16. Tomorrow gives a beck'ning hand
I turn my face away; I'll not invite her to my home
I only love Today.
Phil Jackson
#17. There's a lot of chatter in basketball and, rightfully, you want players to be talking to each other ... But sometimes in practice, it gets too verbose ... so I tried to take things out of the ordinary and make them special so they'd understand the difference.
Phil Jackson
#18. I'm a sports-watcher. I played football and baseball, coached baseball. So I watch those things.
Phil Jackson
#19. My father was the superintendent of the churches in the state of Montana. He was content in his beliefs. He befit the term 'true Christian.' He would turn the other cheek. He was truly a man of peace.
Phil Jackson
#20. If you meet the Buddha in the lane, feed him the ball.
Phil Jackson
#21. Yes, victory is sweet, but it doesn't necessarily make life any easier the next season or even the next day.
Phil Jackson
#22. The winter's a little bit daunting in Montana.
Phil Jackson
#23. He 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 Jackson
#24. Not only is there more to life than basketball, there's a lot more to basketball than basketball.
Phil Jackson
#25. 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.
Phil Jackson
#26. I'm not going to coach again. I've done my coaching, and I think I can put that aside.
Phil Jackson
#27. Coaching is about, "How do I get people to play at their peak level?" It is a spiritual quest. And if it's not that, you don't have a challenge, you don't have a mission. Forming a brotherhood and trying to move it forward - that's what coaching is.
Phil Jackson
#28. A coach's main job is to reawaken a spirit in which the players can blend together effortlessly.
Phil Jackson
#29. Everybody has an opportunity to play a role, a playmaking role, so it makes it harder to coach. It takes a little more time.
Phil Jackson
#30. 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.
Phil Jackson
#31. My 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 Jackson
#32. My mother's families were Mennonites or Anabaptists that came to Minnesota from Russia. They were actually moving around Europe doing diking and lowland reclamation work, and they moved into Minnesota.
Phil Jackson
#34. Basketball is a sport that involves the subtle interweaving of players at full speed to the point where they are thinking and moving as one.
Phil Jackson
#35. The greatest carver does the least cutting. LAO-TZU
Phil Jackson
#36. I will have Derek Fisher wear all 5 of his rings the first time he comes in to talk to Carmelo.
Phil Jackson
#37. 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.
Phil Jackson
#38. The problem with trading dominant players of that size is you never get in return what you've bargained away.
Phil Jackson
#39. The sign of a great player is how much he elevates his colleagues' performance.
Phil Jackson
#40. Pau is one of the best big men in the game. I mean, Pau Gasol is going to be in the Hall of Fame.
Phil Jackson
#41. You have to be able to psychologically help your players, support-wise, be in touch with them, so I think managing people is very important.
Phil Jackson
#42. Approach the game with no preset agendas and you'll probably come away surprised at your overall efforts.
Phil Jackson
#43. I replaced three joints in my hips and one in my knee. I'm hoping that other knee doesn't have to be done. It's one of the toughest things to overcome.
Phil Jackson
#44. I'm not trying to find answers anymore. I'm trying to live what I know.
Phil Jackson
#45. You can't force your will on people. If you want them to act differently, you need to inspire them to change themselves
Phil Jackson
#46. Love is the force that ignites the spirit and binds teams together.
Phil Jackson
#47. 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.
Phil Jackson
#48. Winning is important to me, but what brings me real joy is the experience of being fully engaged in whatever I'm doing.
Phil Jackson
#49. No one plays this or any game perfectly. It's the guy who recovers from his mistakes who wins.
Phil Jackson
#50. The strength of the team lies within the individual. And the strength of the individual lies within the team
Phil Jackson
#51. I gave it my body and mind, but I have kept my soul.
Phil Jackson
#52. When the mind is allowed to relax, inspiration often follows.
Phil Jackson
#53. Like 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
#54. Good teams become great ones when the members trust each other enough to surrender the Me for the We.
Phil Jackson
#55. The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team.
Phil Jackson
#56. When I was young, I was dedicated to become a minister - my brothers and I were formally brought in front of the congregation in a dedication ceremony, where we were dedicated to the future service of God.
Phil Jackson
#57. My philosophy is that you don't motivate players with speeches; you have motivated players that you draft. That's where they come in, and those are the guys that are competitive. You can not teach competitiveness.
Phil Jackson
#58. If you give the future all your attention, the present will pass you by.
Phil Jackson
#60. What moves me is watching young men bond together and tap into the magic that arises when they focus with their whole heart and soul on something greater than themselves. Once you've experienced that, it's something you never forget.
Phil Jackson
#61. I thrive on challenges, and there is no more imposing challenge for someone in my profession than winning an NBA title.
Phil Jackson
#62. In basketball - as in life - true joy comes from being fully present in each and every moment, not just when things are going your way.
Phil Jackson
#63. The ideal way to win a championship is step by step.
Phil Jackson
#64. Basketball, 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 Jackson
#65. I don't believe in curfews, because you can't treat men like they were boys without forfeiting a certain level of trust.
Phil Jackson
#66. If we can accept whatever hand we've been dealt - no matter how unwelcome - the way to proceed eventually becomes clear.
Phil Jackson
#67. Wisdom is always an overmatch for strength.
Phil Jackson
#68. 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.
Phil Jackson
#69. I won't coach this team next year if he is still here. He won't listen to anyone. I've had it with this kid.
Phil Jackson
#70. You're only a success for the moment that you complete a successful act.
Phil Jackson
#71. Your problems never cease. They just change.
Phil Jackson
#72. As much as we pump iron and we run to build our strength up, we need to build our mental strength up ... so we can focus ... so we can be in concert with one another.
Phil Jackson
#73. Leadership is not about forcing your will on others. It's about mastering the art of letting go.
Phil Jackson
#74. Before a vision (dream) can become a reality, it must be owned by every member of the group.
Phil Jackson
#75. My parents were, had a marriage of passion, and the passion was about their religious beliefs. They were both immigrant families that - well, my father's family came as Puritans to Massachusetts.
Phil Jackson
#76. The bigger your head, the easier to fill your shoes.
Phil Jackson
#77. I think there's something about wanting to stand in the spotlight. I think the ball is a spotlight, for example, and I think they want to stand in that. I a lot of times see - LeBron is a guy that vacillates between wanting to do that and then wanting to get somebody else involved.
Phil Jackson
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