If you meet the Buddha in the lane, feed him the ball.
Good teams become great ones when the members trust each other enough to surrender the Me for the We.
Wisdom is always an overmatch for strength.
I won’t coach this team next year if he is still here. He won’t listen to anyone. I’ve had it with this kid.
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.
You can’t force your will on people. If you want them to act differently, you need to inspire them to change themselves.
Approach the game with no preset agendas and you’ll probably come away surprised at your overall efforts.
Coaching is about, “How do I get people to play at their peak level?” It is a spiritual quest. And if it’s not that, you don’t have a challenge, you don’t have a mission. Forming a brotherhood and trying to move it forward – that’s what coaching is.
Once you’ve done the mental work, there comes a point you have to throw yourself into the action and put your heart on the line. That means not only being brave, but being compassionate towards yourself, your teammates and your opponents.
When the mind is allowed to relax, inspiration often follows.
Winning is important to me, but what brings me real joy is the experience of being fully engaged in whatever I’m doing.
Leadership is not about forcing your will on others. It’s about mastering the art of letting go.
The most we can hope for is to create the best possible conditions for success, then let go of the outcome. The ride is a lot more fun that way.
No one plays this or any game perfectly. It’s the guy who recovers from his mistakes who wins.
It takes a number of critical factors to win an NBA championship, including the right mix of talent, creativity, intelligence, toughness, and of course, luck. But if a team doesn’t have the most essential ingredient – love – none of those other factors matter.
I’m not trying to find answers anymore. I’m trying to live what I know.
A coach’s main job is to reawaken a spirit in which the players can blend together effortlessly.
In basketball – as in life – true joy comes from being fully present in each and every moment, not just when things are going your way.
An acrobatic dunk will make it onto Sports Center. A simple, unspectacular bounce pass in the rhythm of the offense will not. System basketball has been replaced by players who want to be the system.
Always keep an open mind and a compassionate heart.