Eleven Rings

Phil Jackson, who won 11 championship rings as a head coach and 2 more as a player with the New York Knicks, reflects on his career in this memoir. He opens with the 2009 Lakers championship celebration at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, where 95,000 fans gathered to honor a team that had transformed from a collection of disconnected individuals into a unified squad. Jackson organizes his narrative around 11 principles of mindful leadership, drawing on Zen Buddhism, Native American philosophy, and humanistic psychology to explore how competitive, ego-driven athletes can be forged into selfless teams.

Jackson grew up the son of two Pentecostal ministers whose rigid religious dogma shaped his childhood. Basketball became his escape. Drafted by the Knicks in 1967, he joined a team in transition. When Red Holzman replaced head coach Dick McGuire midseason, the Knicks were transformed. Holzman operated by two rules: "See the ball" on defense and "Hit the open man" on offense. He insisted on selfless play and built a defense relying on collective awareness. Jackson absorbed these principles as an energetic, long-armed defender and won his first championship in 1970, when the Knicks defeated the Lakers in a seven-game finals capped by center and team leader Willis Reed's iconic injured return for game 7. A back injury requiring spinal fusion surgery sidelined Jackson for much of that season, leaving him feeling guilty about his limited contribution.

During the early 1970s, Jackson embarked on a spiritual quest that shaped his coaching philosophy. After his marriage to college sweetheart Maxine ended, he explored traditions ranging from Christian mysticism and Sufism to Zen Buddhism, which he discovered through Shunryu Suzuki's Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind. He began sitting zazen, a form of seated meditation, and found that Zen's emphasis on present-moment awareness, relinquishing control, and cultivating compassion aligned with his evolving view of leadership. He won a second championship with the Knicks in 1973, then watched the dynasty erode as veterans retired and newcomers failed to embrace selfless teamwork. After a stint with the New Jersey Nets, where coach Kevin Loughery mentored him, Jackson was cut from the active roster and became a full-time assistant, ending his playing career in 1980.

Jackson joined the Chicago Bulls as an assistant coach in 1987, hired by general manager Jerry Krause. Assistant coach Tex Winter taught him the triangle offense, a system of coordinated ball movement requiring all five players to read the defense and react in real time. Fellow assistant Johnny Bach provided encyclopedic knowledge of strategy. Jackson observed head coach Doug Collins's reliance on sideline play-calling, which reduced everyone except Michael Jordan to a supporting role. When Collins lost the organization's confidence, Krause and owner Jerry Reinsdorf offered Jackson the head coaching job in 1989.

Jackson's first task was convincing Jordan to accept the triangle offense and reduce his shot attempts so teammates could become more involved. Jordan agreed. Drawing on the framework of Tribal Leadership by Dave Logan, John King, and Halee Fischer-Wright, Jackson set about moving the Bulls from a Stage 3 tribe of individual achievers to a Stage 4 tribe dedicated to collective pride. He introduced customs from the Lakota, a Native American people, including gathering in a circle at center court; incorporated mindfulness meditation into practices; and named center Bill Cartwright co-captain to balance Jordan's intensity. The first season ended in a crushing game 7 loss to the Detroit Pistons, but the pain galvanized the players into a tighter unit.

The breakthrough came in 1990-91. Jackson created a "point forward" position for Scottie Pippen that unleashed Pippen's playmaking abilities. After compiling a 61-21 record, the Bulls swept the Pistons in the Eastern Conference finals and defeated the Lakers for the championship, with Jordan finally trusting teammate John Paxson for key shots in the clinching game. Two more consecutive titles followed in 1992 and 1993, as Jackson drew on Abraham Maslow's theory of self-actualization and Lao-tzu's Tao Te Ching to sustain the team's focus. The third title, sealed by Paxson's three-pointer against the Phoenix Suns, capped a passing sequence Jackson considers the perfect embodiment of the triangle. That summer, Jordan's father was murdered, and Jordan retired to pursue professional baseball.

Without Jordan, the Bulls remained competitive under Pippen's leadership. Jackson introduced sports psychologist George Mumford to help players stay present and find new roles. Jordan returned in March 1995, but the Bulls fell to the Orlando Magic in the second round. Jackson then orchestrated a transformation: acquiring rebounding specialist Dennis Rodman, shifting to a big-guard defensive strategy, and helping Jordan develop a more compassionate leadership style after a practice fight with Bulls guard Steve Kerr forced Jordan to reexamine his behavior. The 1995-96 Bulls set a record with 72 regular-season wins and captured the championship. Two more titles followed, but mounting tension between Jackson and Krause made the 1997-98 season a bittersweet farewell that ended with Jordan's iconic steal from Utah Jazz forward Karl Malone and championship-winning jumper. Jackson then left the Bulls.

After a year away, Jackson accepted the Lakers coaching job in 1999, inheriting a talented but unfocused team built around center Shaquille O'Neal and the young Kobe Bryant. He introduced the triangle offense, daily meditation, and a culture of mindful awareness, but had to navigate the volatile dynamic between his two stars. He urged Shaq to inspire rather than criticize teammates and showed Kobe through film sessions how selfish play hurt the team. The Lakers won the 2000 championship after a game 7 comeback against Portland in which they erased a 16-point deficit. Despite a public feud between Shaq and Kobe, the team completed an unprecedented 15-1 playoff run for the 2001 title, then survived a grueling seven-game Western Conference finals against the Sacramento Kings, highlighted by Lakers forward Robert Horry's buzzer-beating three-pointer in game 4, to complete a three-peat in 2002.

The 2003-04 season proved disastrous. Kobe faced a sexual assault charge in Colorado, the Shaq-Kobe feud escalated, and despite acquiring All-Stars Gary Payton and Karl Malone, the team lost the finals to the Detroit Pistons. Lakers owner Dr. Jerry Buss chose not to renew Jackson's contract and planned to trade Shaq to build around Kobe. Jackson returned in 2005, negotiating a new understanding with Kobe based on mutual need. The pivotal acquisition came during the 2007-08 season when the Lakers traded for Pau Gasol, whose collaborative European style transformed the team's chemistry. After losing the 2008 finals to the Celtics, the team was galvanized. During 2008-09, Kobe evolved into a more inclusive leader, and veteran point guard Derek Fisher, who had returned as co-captain, provided steady leadership anchored by his bond with Kobe. The team finished 65-17 and won the championship against the Orlando Magic in five games.

The 2009-10 season brought a seven-game finals rematch with the Celtics. Trailing by 13 in the third quarter of game 7, the Lakers rallied after Fisher's three-pointer with 6:11 remaining ignited a 9-0 run, and defensive specialist Ron Artest's three-pointer in the final minutes sealed an 83-79 victory for Jackson's 11th ring. The following season ended with a second-round sweep by the Dallas Mavericks, as Kobe's deteriorating knee, roster turnover, and Jackson's prostate cancer diagnosis took their toll. In the afterword, Jackson describes his engagement to Jeanie Buss, Dr. Buss's daughter and the team's executive vice president; the death of Dr. Buss in 2013; a failed effort to bring an NBA team to Seattle; and his 2014 appointment as president of the Knicks, where he aims to rebuild the franchise using the principles of teamwork and selflessness that produced his 11 coaching titles.