Phil Jackson Quotes on Basketball (13 Quotes)

We can't feel sorry for ourselves. That's the great thing about basketball, you have to go out there and play another game. We're just going to have to bounce back.

It was a disappointing loss for us as a basketball team. We couldn't keep them off the free throw line in the fourth quarter. We just didn't have things go our way.

I think we are playing relatively good basketball. Tonight we were quick to the ball and did a good job on defense.

I'm staying away from basketball now to see how much I miss it and how big an influence it's going to be in my life. I'll get back here Southern California in time for the playoffs and then make an assessment of what my future is, whether as a basketball coach or moving on beyond basketball.

We're not even going to discuss it. It's a basketball team and we've got to focus on what we need to do.

I have my hopes as to how we can grow as a basketball club,

That's not what basketball is about. Basketball is about playing as a team and finding a functioning level.

Right now, we need to focus on who we are as a basketball club. I don't live with expectations, so there's nothing there I can say I expected. We're just out here kind of treading water as a basketball team right now. We're neither hot nor cold, neither fish nor fowl.

He was a great student and a really fine leader on the basketball court. He directed a lot of what happened, he was very much one of the reasons why we were successful over those six championships.

I think some of our guys hit a little bit of a wall here. We talked a lot about that ... This is a heavy time to play basketball. You've really got to take care of yourself. I had a couple of guys fighting through things out there, under-the-weather type of things. They just couldn't get themselves going.

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.

His confidence grew as we kept going back in to him, and he got more productive from that. I think guys started relying on the fact that he could be counted on to catch the basketball and convert.

I think that it can provide a space away from the other things that I'm sure have encroached upon his life and really give him a chance to do what he does best, ... His genius is basketball, and to do that he's got to play it at the highest level.