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Basketball, unlike football with its prescribed routes, is an improvisational game, similar to jazz. If someone drops a note, someone else must step into the vacuum and drive the beat that sustains the team.

Phil Jackson

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Phil Jackson
Age: 79
Born: 1945
Born: September 17
Basketball Coach
Basketball Player
Coach
Deer Lodge
Montana
Philip Douglas Phil Jackson
Philip Douglas Jackson
Action Jackson
The Zen Master
PJ
Must
Step
Note
Football
Similar
Prescribed
Steps
Beat
Sustains
Game
Drive
Vacuums
Team
Notes
Vacuum
Games
Beats
Drops
Else
Jazz
Routes
Someone
Basketball
Unlike

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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 System basketball has been replaced by players who want to be the system.
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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.
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The ideal way to win a championship is step by step.
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I gave it my body and mind, but I have kept my soul.
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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.
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I'm not trying to find answers anymore. I'm trying to live what I know.
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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.
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I will have Derek Fisher wear all 5 of his rings the first time he comes in to talk to Carmelo.
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If we can accept whatever hand we've been dealt - no matter how unwelcome - the way to proceed eventually becomes clear.
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The problem with trading dominant players of that size is you never get in return what you've bargained away.
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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.
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When the mind is allowed to relax, inspiration often follows.
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I'm not going to coach again. I've done my coaching, and I think I can put that aside.
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Pau is one of the best big men in the game. I mean, Pau Gasol is going to be in the Hall of Fame.
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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.
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I thrive on challenges, and there is no more imposing challenge for someone in my profession than winning an NBA title.
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Approach the game with no preset agendas and you'll probably come away surprised at your overall efforts.
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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.
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I don't believe in curfews, because you can't treat men like they were boys without forfeiting a certain level of trust.
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No one plays this or any game perfectly. It's the guy who recovers from his mistakes who wins.
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