The Spiritual Leadership of Phil Jackson
Phil Jackson brought spirituality to the NBA. He challenged the status quo and won 11 NBA titles coaching the Chicago Bulls and LA Lakers. He combined his personality, philosophy and beliefs, and background to coach his own way. He introduced mindfulness and meditation to basketball.
Phil Jackson is the greatest basketball coach of all-time. He won a total of eleven rings. Six with the Chicago Bulls and five with the LA Lakers. I find Phil Jackson inspirational. It’s not just what he accomplished at such a high level – it’s that he did it as his authentic self. He did it his way. His style was unprecedented in the NBA and his fearlessness is motivating. He challenged the status quo and won.
Phil Jackson wrote Sacred Hoops in 1995. I’ve read all his books, but this is where you need to start. He guides you through his leadership and coaching philosophy. His background as a Zen Christian and influence of the Lakota Native American tribe growing up in Montana.
His goal was to bring spirituality to the hardwood. Egoless basketball. He aspired to create a Oneness on the court among the team and he would employ the triangle offense to achieve that. With the triangle, there should be two open passes at all times. Use the defenses’ aggression against them and get them off-balance.
Basketball in the ‘90s was about power. Machoism. Phil Jackson challenged it. He introduced meditation and mindfulness to the team. He emphasized the importance of calmness and awareness. Each season is a journey they get to participate in. He was notorious for not calling timeouts during games because he wanted the players to problem solve on their own. Players would look at the bench and Phil’d say, “What’re you looking at me for?” Sometimes he’d call timeouts and not even go over plays. He’d have guys in practice visualize a safe calm place from their life. During the timeouts, he’d ask them to close their eyes and go to their safe place. Coming out of the break, they’d be more clear and focused amid the chaos.
I’ve read Sacred Hoops four times. This last time was after watching The Last Dance. Honestly, it feels like I learn something dramatically new with every read. This last summer confirmed the habits I’ve taken on since reading it in 2018. I meditate every morning because Phil Jackson had his teams do it and they won eleven championships. It must work. So I began practicing everyday. Some days were good. Some days were okay. Some days were bad. After a year of doing it, I gotta say: it works. I understand what awareness means. I understand its benefits. But I can’t explain it to you. It won’t make sense. You just have to do it for yourself.
Something did stick out to me this last time I read Sacred Hoops. Over and over, he mentioned the book, Zen Mind Beginner’s Mind. It was written in 1971, and it’s basically like an introduction to mindfulness for Americans. So of course I bought it and read it. The main point of that book is emptiness, openness, and practice. Meditation, meditation, meditation.
Another reason I love Phil Jackson is that he focused on people’s strengths and put them in the best position to help the team reach their overall goal. That’s leadership. It’s not about you. It’s about serving others. He understood that everyone is different and coming from different experiences and backgrounds. It’s not wise to just coach everyone the same. Understand each person for the unique human being that they are and explore what will work best for them. “Guys, Dennis is great at getting rebounds. We need him to be at his best. So if he needs to take two days off and go to Vegas, that’s what we gotta let him do. Let Dennis be Dennis.”
I believe sports are so valuable for society. The lessons learned on the court or field can be applied to achieve goals in one’s own life. It’s awesome to have an example like Phil Jackson who infused other aspects of life to achieve goals in sports. As a generalist, I can apply anything I learn to anything else. By elevating my awareness I can see things other people pass up and I can make connections that no one else can. It’s beautiful.