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Sacred Hoops: Spiritual Lessons of a Hardwood Warrior

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I picked up this book in an airport bookstore only because I love basketball and I have been a Michael Jordan fan since he was in high school. I LOVED it. Sacred Hoops helped me really understand and appreciate why the Bull's, and other teams that build on a similar philosophy, have a special magic. It also helped me see how this philosophy can be used to improve and enhance any endeavor that requires teamwork. I will be reading this book again to be reinspired. I loaned the book to my 75-year old mother. She bought additional copies to give to friends and bought it for the local library. Then she lent it to my 15-year old niece, who plays high school hoops. My niece commented that her coach must have read the book half-way through last season because he suddenly changed his coaching style to be similar to Jackson's. My niece passed it on to her mother, a mother of 4 with a black belt in karate. Her mother immediately went out and bought two books Jackson recommends, commenting that she imagined anything he recommended would be worth reading. When the book returned to me, my husband (who is, no kidding, a rocket scientist) decided to read it to see what all the fuss was about. He has now passed it on to an Italian colleague who says, wow this is good. Never have a seen such a wide range of people, in interests and ages, respond so strongly and positively to a book. This is a book that can enhance your life, no matter what you do

In lieu of the recent NBA lockout and the subsequent retirement of its premier star attraction, Michael Jordan, reading Sacred Hoops, brilliantly written by former Bulls' coach Phil Jackson, provides a very refreshing and thought-provoking look into the money-driven and often soulessness world of professional basketball. The book takes a wonderful look into the mind of Jackson, raised by Pentacostal parents in Montana, who later became enlightened by Zen and Native American principles during his playing career with the New York Knicks and early coaching stints in Albany, N.Y. and Puerto Rico. Jackson's higher wisdom of teamwork - his philosophy of preaching the expression of the power of mindfulness and compassion in action - became a paradigm for his success in guiding the Bulls to six NBA championships in the 1990s (the paperback edition chronicles through the 1995-96 season). The book also serves as an insightful memoir full of stories about Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Toni Kukoc and Dennis Rodman. For devotees of Jordan, Sacred Hoops serves as a nice complement to other books written about him and shows how Jackson instilled in Jordan - and his teammates - the ability to act with a clear mind and stay calmly focused at all times; how he changed the Bulls into a team that served the "we" instead of "me". Sacred Hoops is an inspiring book - one which you won't want to put down.

I am not now, nor have I ever been, a fan of basketball. But it is at least a sport that I can appreciate, which is more than I can say for American football. Nevertheless, this book is not really about basketball-it's about spirituality and selflessness through basketball. The author is Phil Jackson, formerly of the New York Knicks (and colleague of Bill Bradley) and, later, coach of the Chicago Bulls - the only coach in NBA history to pull of twin "three-peats" - three consecutive NBA Championships, not once but twice. Under Jackson's guidance and the leadership of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Bill Cartwright, and others, the Bulls became the best basketball team in the world.

But Jackson is not focused solely on success for the sake of success. He recounts his fundamentalist upbringing, his forays into Zen Buddhism and Lakota spirituality, and his efforts to bring ideas of oneness and attunement and selfless play into an NBA dominated by ego, money, cynicism, and media hype. He describes the esoteric "triangle offense" that was based on those philosophical principles.

I was very impressed by this book. It takes many of the principles I've learned in other places and applies it directly to something that I would normally not think of as spiritual. Moreover, Jackson and his Bulls are a powerful and very prevalent example of how spiritual principles can be applied in the real world and made into a success.

Plus, there's a foreword by ex-Senator and ex-Knick Bill Bradley, and numerous stories about Jackson playing with the Knicks and coaching basketball greats. Though I'm not a basketball fan, the magnetism of personalities still fascinates me, and these personal anecdotes only add depth to the lessons Jackson conveys.

I have always been a huge fan of basketball, especially the Chicago Bulls. Being from Chicago I have always been a fan and the highlights and stories I've seen are just amazing. I am also a big fan of Phil Jackson, so I decided to read the book he wrote when he was a coach for the Bulls, "Sacred Hoops". Once I started; I just couldn't stop until I got to the end. "Sacred Hoops" is more than just a book about basketball, it's a book about life lessons that Phil Jackson has learned during the years he spent coaching the Bulls.

Although there are a lot of great spiritual lessons in the book anyone who reads it cannot help but be intrigued about the basketball part. Phil Jackson was a part of the Chicago Bulls organization while it was going through one of the greatest runs in all of NBA basketball. Between the years of 1990 and 1993, the Bulls won three straight NBA championship titles, making their mark in the basketball world forever. As many people know, this was the time that Michael Jordan was on the team and helped carry the team to the championship. The summer after the last championship, Jordan announced his retirement from the basketball world and shocked everyone. One year later, Jordan decided to come back to the league and from 1996 to1998 the bulls made a run for another 3-peat. Some argue that the Bulls became the best team ever in basketball. But, the team was nothing without a great coach.

Although winning was very important to Phil Jackson, he knew there were a lot more important things too. He took a lot of the knowledge he from his studies of different religions such as Buddhism, and incorporated them into the way he coached his teams. His goal was to take the professional sports self-centered and competitive attitude and make it in an enlightened and selfless organization. In a world where money, media, and arrogance dominates the athletes, Phil Jackson tried to implement the Triangle Offense which brought all his teachings into terms that even the biggest of all egos could understand.

Overall, this book really has inspired me just like it has with many of the other readers that have commented about the book. The book has a lot of great lessons that I really think I could try and bring into my own life. There's really nothing about this book I didn't like. Anyone who decides to read this book, whether you are a basketball fan or not, will be sucked in and won't be able to put it down.

Phil Jackson's philosophy on teamwork and leadership is based upon Native American and Buddhist principles. From his book these principles and spiritual lessons are brought to life and explained in a manner only a man like himself could do. He is trying to let people know lessons are taken from the lessons he has learned throughout his life as a basketball player and coach, but these lessons not only pertain to basketball, they can be used for anyone in order to increase the potential of the human spirit. Phil Jackson is a world-renowned player and coach of the NBA. He is now the coach of the Los Angeles Lakers and has won three NBA championships with them; however, he is most famous for leading the Chicago Bulls to 6 NBA championships with legendary players, such as, Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, John Paxson, and many others. He has adopted the teachings of Eastern philosophies, like Buddhism, and received the nickname the "Zen Master" because of it. Phil Jackson has not only written Sacred Hoops, but several other virtuous books. Other books include Maverick, Take It All, More Than a Game, and The Last Season: a Team in Search for Its Soul. Jackson's inspirational messages are powerful and thought provoking and make the reader experience a sense that they are able to incorporate these teachings into their everyday lives, even if they do not play or watch the game of basketball. The methods he uses, for example, meditation, mindfulness, and visualization, and also quotes used from Zen Buddhism to Native American teachings help provide a new or improved outlook on their lives and help make them, as well as other people around them, better people. As Phil Jackson says, "Being aware is more important than being smart." Whether or not you are an athlete, student or just someone looking for inspirational insight this book is a terrific read.

Coach of the last great dynasty in pro basketball Phil Jackson writes a book about how he coached the greatest players to SIX NBA Championships. This book is more than just about basketball its about thinking and enlightening. He writes about his beleifs from growing up in North Dakota and then his knowledge gained in college. While playing for the New York Knicks Jackson begins to use his knowledge in buddhism and indian spirits to help him through the season. Jackson writes about how he used this knowledge to lead the Bulls to win after win. He produced harmony among the greatest player of all time and the rest of the team that was content to watching Michael Jordan. This harmony is rarely acheived in Pro sports, especially when you add players like Dennis Rodman to the team. Jackson used his calm and controlled style to coral Rodman and get him to play with the team.

This book is not just about basketball! Its more about coming to peace with yourself and enilightening others. Basketball is just the basis for the teachings of Jackson. You do not need to be a fan of basketball nor a fan of sports in general to enjoy this book. Sared Hoops will make you think about things that you have never thought about before, you will be enlightened.

I always knew there was someone who had a truly selfless coaching philosophy and I am glad he wrote a book. There is hope for the corporate world.

This book captures the essence of Phil Jackson.

I think this book is a must read for anyone who manages people and thinks you must brow beat performance out of them. If you have a manager like that, send him/her a copy.

I felt totally at peace while reading this book. This book is a very easy read and I enjoyed it throughly. I am certain you will enjoy it too!!

When I was going through a very hard time in my life, my boxing trainer recommended I read this book. I'm not a basketball fan and am not normally into self-help books either. Phil Jackson takes the reader down a spiritual road that overlaps with his career as a professional basketball coach. I've found some of his techniques and philosophies have brought great mental peace to me, while the stories of the professional sports business were interesting and entertaining.

Sacred Hoops is about Phil Jackson. It is about his search for enlightenment and also about his accomplishments as a player and as a coach in the NBA. He was a basketball player in his time, before becoming a coach. He played all through high school and college. He eventually went on to play in the NBA. He played for the legendary New York Knicks of the 1970's. While playing Phil often searched for a way to clear his mind and to execute. He eventually found his method while dabbling in the Zen religion. Zen focuses on clearing your mind and that is what he needed. He often described himself as a "Zen Christian". The practice of Zen led him to be more aware on the court. HE figured that if you play with a jumbled mind then you will obviously make mistakes. The object was to clear your mind in order to help you execute to your highest capabilities. He often said that focusing on something that happened in the past (such as a recent turnover) was not worth dwelling over. The more that you dwell on a mistake, the farther removed from the game you become. Therefore, clear your mind and the rest will come naturally. Phil then translated everything that he had learned while practicing Zen into his coaching career. He taught his players about selfless team play and playing with a clear mind and he built a dynasty. Obviously, there was also a key to his dynasty. The key was Michael Jordan, but even dealing with that wasn't a walk in the park. By the end of his coaching stretch in Chicago, Phil had amassed 6 championships. He attributes most of his success to the fundamentals starting with team play and extreme focus. I have never read a book like this and I was rather impressed with his ideas. The idea of meditation and Zen isn't very widespread, so it was something that interested me. I really liked the idea of just clearing your mind and letting your game flow. I am a basketball player and I know that sometimes even the slightest hesitation or even just something on your mind can really throw your game off. It isn't quite as easy as he says to clear your mind and let your game flow, but it is definitely something to shoot for. I really liked this book. It was a little different because of the practicing of Zen, but I have always been interested in meditation. Just being able to clear your mind would really help sometimes. On page 48 he says ,"The thoughts themselves are not the problem; it's our desperate clinging to them and our resistance to what's actually happening that causes us so much anguish." This seems true because I am sure everyone, including myself, has had a problem that they couldn't get off their mind. Just being able to compartmentalize your thoughts would be nice. Not so much to not care about the problem, but just to not let it affect your judgement or demeanor. That should allow you to think rationally about the explanation to your problem and make a decision unaffected by emotion. This book was good, but may not be for everyone. The idea of meditation and Zen isn't really that common. The practice of Zen, I am sure, is even less common. Obviously there will be people that won't have a thing to do with another religion. They may be mad even that he could try out another religion, but I think he was just trying whatever worked. He searched for a long time for this religious mix that he and his team practices and he just happened to find what works. It isn't a sacrilege, it is more just utilizing an effective method from another religion. Even if someone is not interested in the Zen part of the book, they can still read about all the accomplishments in his life. From being the NBA player to possibly one of the greatest coaches of all time he definitely has alot to write about.

Sacred Hoops: Spiritual Lessons of a Hardwood Warrior by Phil Jackson is an exhilarating story of Phil Jackson's life and life lessons. I am a high school student and I really enjoyed this book. I also play basketball and this book helped me stop and think about what my actions will be.

Mr. Jackson's main goals were to not only teach readers about his coaching career, but to teach them about Zen and Native American principles. The reader will be intrigued, as was I, with the Zen teachings. Phil Jackson was a Christian from Montana who became enlightened by Zen after being so stressed out. Phil accomplished his goals well in this book. Some people may be influenced enough by this book to go learn more about Zen that's how good this book is written.

How Sacred Hoops is written is one of its main strengths. It's very easy to read and it's hard to put down. Everything is explained to perfection. It's also not just for basketball fans. Anyone can read this book no matter what kind of books the reader is in to.

One negative about this book is the length. I would've liked it to be longer and have given me more information. Other than that small thing, the book was very good.

The one-star review of this book was about how Sacred Hoops is nonsense and that Phil Jackson's quotes will make you "laugh out loud". They also said that if Phil Jackson is an intellectual in the NBA, than the NBA is in trouble. The only thing relevant about that is that Phil Jackson wrote the book. Phil Jackson's quotes are very good and meaningful. This book is makes complete sense unlike what the one-star reviewer said.

Sacred Hoops is a very meaningful book about Phil Jackson's life and his own experiences with Zen. The reader doesn't have to have any prior knowledge of Zen or basketball to enjoy this book.