Mindgames : Phil Jackson's Long Strange Journey

Amazon.com
Complex as he is colorful, Phil Jackson has led an improbable basketball life, marching to the tune of his own iconoclastic drummer and managing to win at every level along the way. He doesn't think like an average jock, nor does he approach his game like one: just ask Michael Jordan or Shaquille O'Neal, who've played better for him than for anyone else. Roland Lazenby couldn't have come up with a better title for his compelling exploration of what makes Jackson tick and how he evolved into one of the most successful and driven coaches in NBA history; for Jackson, the joy of his game is every bit as cerebral and psychological as it is physical. His aim, he says, is to help his players "strengthen the muscle of their minds."

Of course, Jackson--part shaman, part shrink, part mentor, part guide--has found some fascinating ways to strengthen his own, including LSD, meditation, Zen, Native American culture, William James's Varieties of Religious Experience, and the Grateful Dead. They are as much a part of Jackson's evolving core as pounding the offensive boards with the Knicks and warring with Bulls' management. If some of it seems contradictory, it is those very contradictions--more than the seven championship rings as a coach and two as a player--that make Jackson so interesting; they have helped him reshape and redefine the job. "Somehow," writes Lazenby, "Jackson has managed the very difficult feat of blending fun and discipline and spiritual exploration for his teams, sort of like combining a trip to the dentist with a carnival ride." No other coach has learned to walk that delicate balance so gracefully. But then, balance is Jackson's operating metaphor: keeping himself--and his teams--in balance while keeping opponents off theirs.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"Mindgames is the story of Phil Jackson's remarkable rise to the top of the NBA coaching hierarchy. In it, author Roland Lazenby reveals the fascinating elements of Jackson's life and mental approach to coaching that have made followers of his players but also have made him - perhaps not surprisingly - unpredictable and sometimes unpopular to outsiders. It is also a detailed basketball story, with entertaining accounts from Jackson's years with the New York Knicks under the legendary Red Holzman to the remarkable six championships as coach of the Chicago Bulls and now a seventh title with the Los Angeles Lakers."--BOOK JACKET.

SYNOPSIS

National bestseller reveals the man behind eight NBA championships

"A must for any serious student of basketball."
—Gary Dretzka, Chicago Tribune

Mindgames follows the journey of Phil Jackson to the top of basketball's coaching hierarchy, a rise that took him from failure and obscurity in the CBA to eight championship rings in the NBA. Along the way he turned multimillionaire players on to meditation, transformed the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls from a one-man show into a five-man team of domination, and, after battling with Bulls management, ended one dynasty to start another on the West Coast.

Sportswriter Roland Lazenby, author of the bestselling Blood on the Horns and Mad Game, reveals the fascinating elements of Jackson's life and mental approach to coaching that have made followers of his players but also have made him—perhaps not surprisingly—unpredictable and sometimes unpopular to outsiders. It is also a detailed basketball story, with entertaining accounts from Jackson's years with the New York Knicks under the legendary Red Holzman to his remarkable eight championships coaching first the Chicago Bulls and then the Los Angeles Lakers. This paperback edition of Mindgames includes a new chapter on the 2000-2001 season, in which Jackson and the Lakers overcame the perils of success and team-breaking player infighting to capture their second consecutive NBA title.

In Mindgames, Lazenby compellingly portrays a man with a unique determination to control the competitive environment he inhabits. A clear picture of the Jackson mystique emerges: philosopher, teacher, manipulator, counselor, psychologist, shaman, champion, master of mind games.

FROM THE CRITICS

Mike McGraw - (Chicago) Daily Herald

a thorough account of his life and the 11 years he spent coaching in Chicago that should interest any serious Bulls fan.

Gary Dretzka - Gary Dretzka, senior writer, Chicago Tribune

A must for any serious student of professional basketball.

Jay Mariotti - One On One Sports