Phil Jackson Tells It Like It Is

Posted on October 23, 2004

He is the Zen Master of basketball. Now Phil Jackson, the legendary coach of the Chicago Bulls and the L.A. Lakers, gives readers the inside scoop on exactly what happened during the 2003-2004 season in his new book, The Last Season: A Team In Search of Its Soul (Penguin). When the team signed Karl Malone and Gary Payton, fans were ecstatic. But the high hopes for the season were eventually crushed due to the outsize egos of the players and the interference of the team's owner. In fact, according to Jackson, it was a miracle that the team even got to the playoffs at all. Jackson spares no one's feelings in the book. Kobe Bryant comes off as a petulant child, with his constant fights with Shaquille O'Neal and his complaints about the quality of the jet provided for him to fly back and forth to his sexual assualt hearings in Colorado. This is a great read for basketball fans and for anyone who would like the inside story on how the NBA really works.