Phil Jackson – Author Biography
Early Life
Philip Douglas Jackson was born on September 17, 1945, in Deer Lodge, Montana, and raised in North Dakota and Montana as the son of Pentecostal ministers. He played college basketball at the University of North Dakota, where his lanky 6’8″ frame and sharp mind drew the attention of NBA scouts. Drafted by the New York Knicks in 1967, he won two championships as a player (1970, 1973) — a tough, cerebral role player on one of the league’s great teams.
Career
After retiring, Jackson coached in the minor leagues and studied everything from Native American spirituality to Zen Buddhism — earning the nickname “the Zen Master.” Given the Chicago Bulls job in 1989, he installed Tex Winter’s triangle offense and molded Michael Jordan’s brilliance into teamwork, winning six championships (1991–93, 1996–98). He then took over the Los Angeles Lakers, managing the combustible Shaquille O’Neal–Kobe Bryant partnership to three straight titles (2000–02) and two more with Bryant and Pau Gasol (2009–10). His eleven championships as a coach are the most in NBA history. His book Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success (2013), co-written with Hugh Delehanty, distilled his philosophy. A later stint as Knicks president (2014–17) was unsuccessful, but his coaching legend was already secure.
Major Works
Eleven Rings (2013) is his essential book — part memoir, part leadership manual, organized around each championship and the spiritual lesson it taught. Sacred Hoops (1995) was his earlier statement of philosophy.
Writing Style and Themes
Jackson writes with the calm of his sideline demeanor: stories from the locker room interwoven with Zen parables, Native American wisdom, and reflections on mindfulness. His great themes are selflessness over ego, mindfulness under pressure, and leadership as spiritual practice. His style is reflective and anecdotal — a coach thinking out loud about what winning actually requires.
Legacy
Jackson is the most successful coach in NBA history and one of the great leaders in all of sports — the man who tamed the two biggest egos in basketball history (Jordan, then Kobe and Shaq) into dynasties. Eleven Rings became a leadership classic far beyond sports, and his “Zen Master” approach influenced coaching across disciplines.
