The Wisdom behind Phil Jackson’s 11 NBA Championships
He built team excellence on presence, oneness and creativity (plus MJ, Kobe and Shaq…).
Phil Jackson has won more NBA titles than any other head coach. He managed two of the game’s all-time greats in MJ and Kobe, as well as one of basketball’s most complex personalities in Dennis Rodman.
His famous triangle offense aside, Jackson puts his success down to how he helped team members cultivate resilient calmness and develop a deep sense of connection with one another. To improve their performance, he broadened his teams’ horizons and encouraged them to see things in fresh ways.
Jackson has more championship rings than he does fingers and thumbs. With his broad exposure to world spiritual traditions, he knew of Native American circles, Zen’s Enso, Taoism’s Yin/Yang icon and Ouroboros, the ancient mythological snake swallowing its own tail. These are also rings. He brought his teams to think of the ring as a symbol of something more precious than sporting victory.
On a psychological level, the ring symbolizes something profound: the quest of the self to find harmony, connection, and wholeness. (3)*
