Phil Jackson Quotes

On this page you can find the TOP of Phil Jackson's best quotes! We hope you will find some sayings from Basketball Coach Phil Jackson's in our collection, which will inspire you to new achievements! There are currently 87 quotes on this page collected since September 17, 1945! Share our collection of quotes with your friends on social media so that they can find something to inspire them!
  • Before a vision (dream) can become a reality, it must be owned by every member of the group.

  • 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.

    Team   Winning   Player  
  • 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.

    "Sunday Conversation: Phil Jackson". Interview with Jim Gray, www.espn.com. October 3, 2005.
  • 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 System basketball has been replaced by players who want to be the system.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 (2005). “The Last Season: A Team in Search of Its Soul”, Penguin Group USA
  • Approach the game with no preset agendas and you'll probably come away surprised at your overall efforts.

    "Biography / Personal Quotes". www.imdb.com.
  • 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.

  • The ideal way to win a championship is step by step.

    Winning  
  • The real value in everything you do is in the details. I just like that quote. A very similar way to say the same thing. If you're washing dishes you pay attention to washing dishes. If you're driving a car, you're paying attention to driving the car.

    Source: onlyagame.wbur.org
  • I will have Derek Fisher wear all 5 of his rings the first time he comes in to talk to Carmelo.

  • The strength of the team lies within the individual. And the strength of the individual lies within the team

    Team  
  • I know what it takes to be a coach. I've gone through that. I think I came up short my last season. Lots of things were happening physically to me, and emotionally, perhaps mentally, too. I thought it was time to tend to more important things, like health and like family. I still enjoy that, and I don't think I have any need to go back to coach.

    Source: onlyagame.wbur.org
  • 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.

    Player  
  • I'm not railing, 'This is inadequate' or 'This isn't right.' Just show me what will work.

    Source: espn.go.com
  • I played hockey in North Dakota growing up and watch a lot of that.

    "Phil Jackson talks Lakers, his future, Dwight Howard, more". Interview with Jack Mccallum, www.si.com. February 19, 2013.
  • I probably would have no capability of absorbing a 60-defeat season as a coach. It would be a foreign experience. My whole career, even as a player, has been on winning basketball clubs and it just seems to have been a part of the make-up of what’s been given me. That’s what I’ve been given and that’s what I’ve had to deal with. Some people can make fun of it or some people can have a good time with it, or some people can resent it. It’s just what it is.

    Winning  
  • The best thing that I think happened to me was I got the opportunity to have really good players and we were able to meet the demand of the competition. And I think that's what I value most.

    Player  
    Source: onlyagame.wbur.org
  • The bigger your head, the easier to fill your shoes.

  • Basketball is a great mystery. You can do everything right. You can have the perfect mix of talent and the best system of offense in the game. You can devise a foolproof defensive strategy and prepare your players for every possible eventuality. But if the players don’t have a sense of oneness as a group, your efforts won’t pay off. And the bond that unites a team can be so fragile, so elusive.

    Team   Player  
    Phil Jackson, Hugh Delehanty (2013). “Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success”, p.84, Penguin
  • The problem with trading dominant players of that size is you never get in return what you've bargained away.

    Player  
  • 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.

  • 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. Of course, it's no accident that things are more likely to go your way when you stop worrying about whether you're going to win or lose and focus your full attention on what's happening right this moment.

    Winning  
  • 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 talks Lakers, his future, Dwight Howard, more". Interview with Jack McCallum, www.si.com. February 19, 2013.
  • The road to freedom is a beautiful system

    Phil Jackson, Hugh Delehanty (2013). “Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success”, p.17, Penguin
  • 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.

    Team  
    Phil Jackson (2005). “The Last Season: A Team in Search of Its Soul”, Penguin Group USA
  • I think the most important thing about coaching is that you have to have a sense of confidence about what you're doing.

  • Tomorrow gives a beck'ning hand-- I turn my face away; I'll not invite her to my home-- I only love Today.

  • I don't believe in curfews, because you can't treat men like they were boys without forfeiting a certain level of trust.

  • 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 talks Lakers, his future, Dwight Howard, more". Interview with Jack McCallum, www.si.com. February 19, 2013.
  • 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: What I've Learned" by Mike Sager, www.esquire.com. May 8, 2011.
  • And yet as a coach, I know that being fixated on winning (or more likely, not losing) is counterproductive, especially when it causes you to lose control of your emotions. What’s more, obsessing about winning is a loser’s game: 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.

    Winning  
    Phil Jackson, Hugh Delehanty (2013). “Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success”, p.23, Penguin
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  • We hope you have found the saying you were looking for in our collection! At the moment, we have collected 87 quotes from the Basketball Coach Phil Jackson, starting from September 17, 1945! We periodically replenish our collection so that visitors of our website can always find inspirational quotes by authors from all over the world! Come back to us again!

    Phil Jackson

    • Born: September 17, 1945
    • Occupation: Basketball Coach