Zen? How about rapture?
For Phil Jackson, endings have always been much more powerful than beginnings.
But what would you expect from a guy who was raised by two itinerant fundamentalist preachers? Jackson grew up a son of the Northern Plains, in one Montana community after another, always facing “the rapture,” the belief that the world was soon coming to its glorious end.
“Every Sunday since I was born, the apocalypse has been coming next year,” Jackson once told Knicks teammate Bill Bradley in trying to explain his parents’ view of life. Jackson’s young world would be shaped by a growing awareness of his mother’s intense devotion and her focus on the moment of Christ’s return, what she called “the rapture of the saints,” and he would spend his childhood years anticipating that rapture.
Those childhood experiences brought him moments of terror, he once revealed.
And so he learned the power of endings. Anyone who doubts that only has to recall how he used the “end game” to motivate and focus a crazily fractured and distracted Chicago Bulls team to win the 1998 NBA championship. Jackson employed every mind game possible to squeeze a sixth title out of that club and even gave it a tagline as he was doing it, “The Last Dance.”
Hey, he’s a guy who’s made millions off a book titled “The Last Season.”
So Jackson’s recent noise about retiring after the 2010 campaign has to be taken with a grain of context. And that context is this: With Phillip Douglas Jackson you never know where the mind games end and the stark reality begins. That’s part of his motivational success in a business where you’re trying to shape, guide and control headstrong young millionaires in short pants.
We do know this fact. Tex Winter has worked with Jackson closely for years. He’s the guy’s mentor. Winter says that he’s never seen Phil tighten down the control like he has this season.
That, of course, has everything to do with the fact that he’s trying to push a talented young team to a championship, a talented young team that had its mental fragility exposed last year against the Boston Celtics.
It wasn’t easy for Jackson growing up with the isolation of being a son of the Holy Rollers, those folks who worshipped in tents and talked in tongues and based their lives on the notion that the world was going to end any day. But that experience is just one of many things in Jackson’s powerful bag of tricks, things that he has drawn upon over the course of his masterful career.
When Jackson coached the Bulls, some people in that organization chafed at things that he did, as have other coaches around the league. There’s the perception that he’s supremely arrogant.
But as one Bulls official once told me, “If you’re going to coach Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen you better have some shit with you.”
Jackson has always had some shit with him.
Maybe he is planning to retire. Maybe he isn’t. Only Phil knows. And maybe even he doesn’t know.
But we all know this: nothing in life is guaranteed. The opportunity for the Lakers to win is now. The sense of urgency must be huge.
That would seem simple and clear enough to most folks. But the young people in the NBA cash very big checks. They are veal, fed on the milk of potential. It’s always about what they’re going to do down the road. That’s how they’re evaluated. That’s why it’s so easy for them to miss the point, to make huge assumptions that just aren’t true. And in the process, they let the opportunity of a lifetime slip away.
That’s already a bitter cud that Jackson and Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal will have to taste every single day for the rest of their lives. Their silliness in 2004 (when they broke up a team that had won three titles) has cost the three of them dearly in terms of championships won.
They all acted like big brats and left huge winnings, the winnings of a competitive lifetime, on the table. They could have challenged Bill Russell and his Celtics. Instead, all they challenged was our patience. The three of them have been stalked by that truth since the day they parted in 2004 in a fury of bad adolescent gas.
So, it’s rapture time for Phil and his boys. It’s one of his many ways of saying it’s time to put aside childish things, time to focus furiously on the task at hand. There is no tomorrow.
Repeat that. There is no tomorrow.
If you think any other way, you’re just not a competitor. If you entertain any other thought, then the only rings you’re going to have are the smoke rings you’re blowing up each other’s asses.
Damon Said,
January 27, 2009 @ 1:07 pm
the lakers could have challenged the russell-celtics? lmao
they even lost with 4 future hof. after that shaq really declined. you really think they could have won more than 2 or 3 titles after 04?
two words: no way…
ghost Said,
January 27, 2009 @ 2:21 pm
I always thought Roland L. Has got the best insights on the Lakers, Kobe and Phil. I also said that the reason why the Lakers lost the Finals was mainly because of Lack of leadership and Boston’s illegal defense. Problem is Fisher is not talented enough to get guys to fear him whereas as Kobe who is talented enough and is feared but guys do not follow him or should i say Kobe doesn’t know how to lead. Its not the guy’s fault, a lot of that has to do with the way he was raised.
Derek Karlos Said,
January 27, 2009 @ 5:35 pm
Of course i take it with a grain of salt….seeing that Phil Jackson NEVER said he was retiring in 2010. He just said he was going to take it a year at a time. Way to make more of a non-story that ESPN started. Ask Magic Johnson, he never said it. I’m studying Journalism at UC Berkeley just so I can fix what you “sports journalists” call integrity.
c money Said,
January 27, 2009 @ 6:26 pm
Phil is OVERATED. Jordan in his Prime. Pippen in his prime. Shaq in his prime. Kobe in his prime. Hell, i could have squeezed out at least 5 championships….and i never even coached a little league game. I know….I know….you gotta manage the superstars. You gotta know what buttons to push to get them to see the BIG picture. Yeah….Right!! Coaches don’t win championships….Great players do. This man has had 4 of the top ten talents in NBA history on his teams for like 20 years. Two of the top ten at two @ separate times in their primes. If he was such a manager of personalities…..why aren’t SHAQ and KOBE still together? How could his team damned near get swept by a less talented team in the finals? oh…..he had too many personalities on the team….Mailman, Kobe, GP, Shaq……..
I don’t mean to sound like I’m hating on the man, but, please spare me the “one of the greatest coaches” lines…… I would rather hear he was one of the most fortunate coaches in NBA history. He does deserve his due for being the coach of all of those great teams that he has coached to those titles, but Great players/Teams when championships………This man has had the best player in the NBA on his team for 90% of his coaching career.
Mada Said,
January 28, 2009 @ 2:05 am
If Phil is overrated, then so is MJ!!! If anything he is underrated…
I believe he has only won one coach of the year award. It was in 1996 when they had to give him the award as his team looked like they were playing in the NCAA. They had to give him the award when they went 72-10. (just think about this: Phil has the same number of Coach of the year awards as Sam Mitchell, and Mike Dunleavy… that is very funny to me)
Some of you might say that the coaches don’t win games, the players do. So why then in 1990 the Bulls got killed by the Pistons (with MJ and Scottie). They had the exact same team the next year, the only difference is that Phil became the coach… Now what happened in 1991? Someone please tell me because I seem to forget… Yes the bulls killed the Lakers (with the other great MJ) in the finals. They did the same in 92, and 93. MJ took a break, came back and got right where they left off. They win again in 96, 97 and 98.
In 1999 the Lakers got killed in the playoffs by I believe was the Jazz. One year later, and one great coach later they were atop the NBA, while forming arguably the greatest 1-2 punch off all time. Now what was the difference between 1999 and 2000. Yes it was a change in the millennium. But also Phil took over the Lakers. Now this is not a coincidence because he did the exact same thing with the bulls. Just think about it, yes he had MJ and Scottie, Shaq and Kobe, but they didn’t do anything before he came in.
He also took the one year off from the Lakers. I believe that they missed the playoffs that year, one year later with Phil back they make the playoffs with Kobe and a bunch of NBDL players….
So Phil is not overrated, he is underrated. He deserves a lot more recognition and Coach of the year awards.
GREATEST COACH OF ALL TIME!!!
Roland Lazenby Said,
January 28, 2009 @ 2:17 am
Derek Karlos,
I admire your insistence on integrity from journalists. But you’ve missed the mark here. Let’s see, Magic Johnson is a Lakers minority owner being paid on the side as a journalist. So he interviews one of his own organization’s employees. If you want to rave about journalistic ethics, why not start with ESPN for allowing such a conflict of interest.
Now, I’m writing about one of the most nuanced coaches in the history of sport. He’s an amazingly subtle and tricky guy. My discussion dealt with Jackson’s “noise” about retirement. I nowhere said he announced his retirement. I chose that wording to reflect the very conditions that you complain about. I’m not sure I see the lack of integrity in that. I do see a passionate Lakers fan angrily defending his coach. That’s fine. But Phil has used those “last” circumstances throughout his career to great effect. Maybe Magic’s interview and question didn’t come with a wink-wink. Then again, maybe they did.
I’m within my rights as a columnist to raise the question.
Thank you for your fervor.
RL
Roland Lazenby Said,
January 28, 2009 @ 2:27 am
Damon,
You raised a great question. But Phil Jackson had just won six championships with an aging Michael Jordan. He wins three in his first three years with the Lakers?
I think the agenda from there is wide open. You can set it to win all the championships on the horizon, which is what Bill Russell did.
Or you can set it to feed your ego and your billfold, which is what appears to have happened in Los Angeles in 2004.
Maybe the Lakers were thinking like you, thinking they couldn’t do it. But the evidence suggests they were thinking about money and about who gets all the attention. My point? As they get older, that will haunt them.
RL
ryguy Said,
January 28, 2009 @ 2:38 am
c money,
although its true that phil jackson has been blessed with talented superstars on his team, that does not detract from his success as a coach or his title as one of the greatest coaches ever. what coach in any sport has ever won without talented players?
what makes jackson so great and unique is the style with which he approaches basketball. he makes sure each player knows his role and motivates and unites the team to be successful.
also, you can’t say that coaches don’t win championships because an nba coach gives his team an identity. mike d’antoni gave pheonix their run and gun identity. thats why when a team underachieves the first thing that changes is the coach. phil hasnt been simply given the best players in the world, he developed them into the superstars they are. you think tis a coincidence that he coached the best two players (kobe and jordan) in nba history? no, he taught them and molded them to greatness.
thats why he is the greatest coach of all time
Benoit Benjamin Said,
January 28, 2009 @ 4:28 am
Nice peace, and I see your point Mr Lazenby. I still don’t believe the lakers could have challenged the Russell Celtics. but you’re probably right. when Shaq and kobe realize they probably could have won two or three more titles together, they’ll surely feel sorry. And as for C money, true, Jackson had four the best players ever on his teams, but he’s as much part of their success as they are. great coaches AND great palyers win championchips. without him, Pippen would have probably been traded at one point and who knows, maybe Shaq and kobe would have split way sooner.
Todd Said,
January 28, 2009 @ 9:22 am
Damon - agreed…
c money - agreed!
Mada - you explained the argument perfectly why he won just one coach of the year award - b/c everyone knew he was blessed with MJ & Scottie…Anybody can with those two in their primes. He’s a great coach don’t get me wrong but wouldn’t you rather see someone do more with less? To me that’s the catalyst for coach of the year.
As a Laker fan - Phil will be Phil and his “mind games” get tiresome. Surely that’s not the only way to get the best out of people but maybe that’s the only way he knows how…I’ll retire or put the notion out there so that the urgency is now for our current crop of players.
c money Said,
January 28, 2009 @ 10:28 am
OK…Point received. You cannot say that any of those teams would have won any of those championships without him. However, both YOUNG teams were on the cusp just before he got there, its not like they were eighth seeded teams lucky to make the playoffs. I did not realize that PHIL only had one coach of the year award, and maybe it is because with the talent on those teams their achievements were EXPECTED. Regardless…his teams did win those titles and he is regarded as one of the great coaches ever to touch down in the NBA with his 6 titles (tied for the most right?)
But MADA/Lazemby please….an aging Jordan….the man averaged 30 something points a game and was still on the all defensive team, all NBA team, League MVP, Finals MVP……….old?
wil Said,
January 28, 2009 @ 10:40 am
ryguy….
did you really just say that Kobe was one of the two best players to ever play in the NBA? I can’t take anything you say seriously after that. Kobe is good, don’t get me wrong. But I think Wilt, Kareem, Russel, the Big O, and a few others would have something to say to that.
David Said,
January 28, 2009 @ 3:53 pm
I’ve always considered PJ to be arrogant and somewhat of a hypocrite. He complains more about officiating than any other coach and starts to work on the refs well before any “BIG” game.
Then I read his book and softened up on the guy a little (hard being a Spurs fan and all). I liked his basic philosophies but never quite bought into the Zen. PJ gets into everyone’s head and that can be the difference between winning and losing.
Roland, I think you did a good job of giving a fresh perspective and new insight on someone everyone other than Lakers fans love to hate. It was better than a lot of the drivel that shows up here, with guys pumping out their chests over .05 difference in a rebounding stat…
Ghost Said,
January 28, 2009 @ 4:18 pm
Roland,
Fact is Phil Jackson is an overrated coach. he has had the best player in game throughout his career (chicago : MJ, Lakers: Kobe). He was one of the main culprit as to why the Bulls Dynasty collapsed, why the Shaq-Kobe lakers collapsed, why Kobe demanded to be traded and why we lost to Boston.
1.Bulls collapsed: If he had set his ego aside and try to make Krause, the then Bulls GM feel important, Krause would have never rebelled and destroy one of the greatest teams of all time. He thought because he had Jordan on his side, all would be well. But he didnt put into question that Krause ambition to build his “own” might have been that big.
2.Kobe-Shaq lakers collapse: PJ purposely threw Shaq at kobe because he thought that would keep Kobe in line. But again, he miscalculated that Kobe’s ego and desire to be better or equal Jordan in terms of greatness. He favored Shaq in every in-fights. Even Shaq thought himself important until Jerry Buss responded to his ultimatum by kicking both Shaq and Phil Jackson to the curb.
3.Kobe trade demand: Everything in my right mind tells me that Phil Jackson was the driving force behind that blowout. He was in contact with Kobe but again he miscalculated Kobe’s stubborness and couldn’t control kobe anymore which at the beginning of training camp you saw him resigned to the fact that Kobe was going to be traded. Sam Smith wrote an article right after visiting Phil Jackson, it was titled: “Kobe should seat season out”. Now where did he get that idea from?
Everything about that summer screamed POWER: Power of the star player, Power of the coach to be the man who fix everything, Power for the owner’s son who wants to prove himself.
4. Loss to the Celtics: Phil’s rotation in that finals made sense. He never bothered to call a timeout when clearly his young team was mentally fragile(it was the youngest team to ever reach an NBA Finals). his substitution patters were downright peculiar. Especially that game 5 where he put Chris Mihm(who hadn’t played all season) while seating Turiaf(toughest post def on lakers) and we lost a 10 point lead just as quickly.
Roland you might stand up for Phil cause you know him personally, but you can’t deny that he is a tad bit overrated either.
Snoopy2006 Said,
January 28, 2009 @ 5:07 pm
C Money - Actually, Phil has 9, which, yes, is tied for the most in NBA history. You’re also forgetting the 2006 campaign, which many people say was Phil’s greatest coaching jobs. Kwame Brown? Smush Parker? This was a 1 man team, and Phil maximized its potential to the fullest, pushing a title-worthy Phx to 7 games (yes, as much as I hate them, I think the Suns could have won in a different era). He instilled such discipline in his team, to pound it inside to Kwame Brown and Luke Walton and Odom, that the Lakers became the only team other than the Spurs to slow down Phx’s style of play.
That’s what makes him great - getting the best out of his available talent. That’s what makes all coaches great. Is Pop any less great of a coach because he has the greatest “PF” of all time, and two of the best in Manu and Tony? Red Auerbach had Russell, Cousy, Havlicek. The only team that won without a superstar was the Pistons. Phil is great for the same reasons that Pop, Sloan, and others are - he makes his teams so much better than they were without him.
Snoopy2006 Said,
January 28, 2009 @ 5:09 pm
Ghost - I have many of the same concerns you do. I don’t like what Phil does on an ethical level. I think he, quite frankly, is an a** for the way he manipulates and tears down some players. But overrated? You look at the results, and he has 9 friggin rings. He maximized the potential of every single team he coached. You can say he’s an arrogant jerk (and I certainly do), but he’s rated just fine.
Damon Said,
January 29, 2009 @ 3:26 am
@mada
im sry, but jackson became the bulls coach in 89. that means they lost with him in 1990. so your point isn’t thtat clear…
JoAnne Said,
January 29, 2009 @ 10:03 am
Derek Karlos must be a freshman at UC Berkeley as he clearly has a lot to learn about journalism. In powerfully nuanced writing, Roland suggests that Phil’s fundamentalist upbringing is integral to his coaching philosophy. When the End will come is irrelevant; the End will come and PJ is preparing. He’s been waiting and expecting it all his life. The End is the motivation, as any Bible thumper can attest, and it better be the focus of these young millionaires or they’ll be as forgettable as a high school quarterback. Karlos would do well to have a few literature courses under his belt and know the difference between Flannery O’Connor and the Guiness Book of World Records before he calls something a “non-story.” I know nothing about pro basketball, but Roland’s perspective in this article guarantees that I’ll be awaiting the rapture this year along with the real Lakers fans.
Fatty Said,
January 29, 2009 @ 10:31 am
Biblical allegory in my favorite sport, NBA Basketball, now that’s deep!
As a less than Holy Roller, I can appreciate how PJ’s rapturist upbringing can still influence his thoughts today.
I also feel his Timothy Leary days have as much to do with his Zen-like statements more than anything. Throwing out bizarre thoughts and watching us grovel over there meaning must be the ‘ultimate trip’ for the ‘Guru’ of empty words. (see Emperors invisible clothes story)
For PJ, its not ALL about the money, (according to PJ, $12 million a year is not materialism) nor is it all about winning, but how you win.
We are talking ‘legendary status’ or legacy. That thing that all US Presidents worry about and only a few NBA coaches will ever to care to dream. In the end, PJ wants to be considered the best of the best, and until he gets to that status, he may stay around for a few more terms of coaching.
Nathan Kavanaugh Said,
January 29, 2009 @ 4:10 pm
C-MONEY, you are nuts. Scottie Pippen is not one of the top four talents in history. That’s just uninformed. Besides, if it’s only great players that win championships, why didn’t Jerry Sloan’s Jazz beat the Bulls in ‘97 or ‘98. They had more “great” players than the Bulls. So did the 1991 Lakers, for that matter. There are a lot of great players in the NBA, and a lot of good coaches. None of them are even close to Phil in the rings department though. That’s not an accident, and it’s not luck. Remember, Del Harris had that same lineup before Phil got to town (with arguably a better PG at the time in Van Exel). Phil Jackson and Gregg Popovich have proven that it takes a special coach to get every last drop from their players. Some coaches do it better than others, and no one does it better than Phil. Talk about a loaded team, look at the championships Mike D’Antoni won in Phoenix with the (by far) most talented team in the league for four years: Zero.
jn Said,
January 29, 2009 @ 4:59 pm
It never fails to crack me up how people spout their opinions with the line “fact is”. That’s not a fact, it’s even a stretch to call it an opinion. Specially when proof comes out to be “voices in my mind”.
For the record, timeouts are a tool, not a magical device. Calling timeouts will not make Garnett, Pierce and Allen go away.
Oh, by the way, I am sure it’s Jackson’s fault that Krause undermined the Bulls. After all, it’s not as if Krause hired Collins while Albeck was still the coach, then Jackson while Collins was still the coach, and finally introduced Tim Floyd to the Bulls while Jackson was still the coach. And then even poor Floyd clashed with Krause.
Phil Jackson has his dark side. He has made mistakes, he has gambled and lost sometimes. But the fact is, and this is a fact, that he has won nine rings as a coach, somehow beating out Doug Collins and Del Harris even though they coached the same teams.
c money Said,
January 29, 2009 @ 7:59 pm
OK. No one can dispute that fact that he has 9 Friggin rings. That alone places him among the coaching elite. No one can dispute the fact that he has had the opportunity to coach 3 of the best (KOBE, MJ, SHAQ) in their primes, and one of the top wherever you want to put him in PIPPEN. Jordan was the NBA throughout the 90’s, he made Phil…PERIOD. An inside out game of SHAQ in his prime and a rising KOBE better win championshipS, and they did under Phil’s watch.
Do you think Jordan would be as celebrated without phil? How about Shaq, KOBE?
Where do you think Phil would be without one of them on any of his teams? 9 Friggin rings? Greg Pop or……DOC Rivers?
Like i said….The guy is accomplished. He is a hall of famer, but, at the same time his credentials are little skewed.
Snoop….the playoffs are a lot diff. than the reg. season. Star players and Defense reign supreme. Show me who did Phoenix run on in the playoffs and you’ll see a team not worthy of going any further. The Lakers got in as what an 8th seed? Did the Clips have a better record than them? Who did they have? Elton Brand and a bunch of stiffs? Wasn’t that the year Phil was talkin about quiting?
And POP and Sloan are better coaches.
januko Said,
January 30, 2009 @ 5:55 am
For me, Phil Jackson is great. Before Phil came in the Bulls, Jordan and Pippen were unable to win championships. When he came, well, 3 rings and more than a year later, another 3 rings. Ok, the Lakers. Before Phil came, Shaq and Kobe were together and yet, no rings. When Phil came, 3 rings. Yes, he was blessed with great players with him alright.
But my question is, if these players who were in their primes at that time, would they win the championships without Coach Phil Jackson and Assistant Coach Tex Winter? Or would they even appear in the NBA Finals? Those players were expected to win them all in those years but can they win it without these two great basketball minds?
All I know is Phil Jackson’s only flaw when having a bunch of great players was in 2004 where Karl Malone playing not in his usual self because of injuries and Gary Payton unable to adapt the Triangle.
This season and last season, Phil Jackson is coaching in a very different time. The NBA is now different from the 90’s and the early 2000’s. The NBA today has teams teeming with great talents and players are playing better than ever as a team and as individuals. There are simply a lot of good players out there than in the 90’s or early 2000’s.
Simply put, Coach Phil is no longer coaching a team being the favorite to win them all because now, if all of you readers, “experts’, and fans alike can get this, there is no clear-cut team to win it all!
c money Said,
January 30, 2009 @ 10:22 am
Januko……Do you remember the Pistons…you know ZEEK, Lambeer, Dumars, Rodman, Vinnie, Aquire, Sally….yeah, those guys. Do you remember how dominant they were the ladder half of the 80’s? Do you remember they were big dogs following the LAKERS and the CELTICS domination of the NBA? the repeat in 89-90? BAD BOYS? Do you remember then knocking the Bulls out of the play-offs for three years straight? Those Detroit team were deep and EXPERIENCED. They were also a team on the decline when Jordan was rounding into his prime.
Like i said…the man won his rings…on the back of great players. The BULLS won three straight, Jordan retires and nothing. Jordan comes back three more titles.
Teams have teaming with great talent what? if I follow what you are trying to say, the Lakers are the epitome of a talented team. Half of their bench could start on more than half the teams in the league!! Their bench has ODOM, Farmar, Ariza!! They still have the best player in the league!! and yes, Experts to choose them to go to the finals this year…..and last.
The man is a Hall of Famer. It can be argued that it is because of the players. Jordan was an unstoppable force, And SHAQ/KOBE were the best inside out combo ever….period.