[PHIL JACKSON WAS MORE THAN JUST A COACH-HE WAS A VISIONARY.]

Whereas his assistant coach Tex Winter was all about the minutiae, Phil was about the scale. He taught concepts within basketball, but more so the macro concept of basketball. He was able to teach—without lecturing—the importance of being a team and how to get from Point A to Point B to Point Championship. He was also able to get guys to understand energy, flow, and meditation.

We had a great relationship and, obviously, won a lot of games and made Purple and Gold history together. One of the reasons our relationship worked is because, in a lot of ways, we were polar opposites. Every team needs either a confrontational star player or coach. In San Antonio, Gregg Popovich was that guy and Tim Duncan was not. In Golden State, Draymond Green is the confrontational one; Steve Kerr is not. For us, Phil was not that type of person, so I provided that force. You always have to have that balance and counterbalance, and Phil and I were perfectly suited for each other in that way.

However, it took us until our second stint together to realize how we were perfectly suited for one another. During our first go together, Phil thought I was uncoachable. He thought I questioned his authority and questioned his plans. He thought I didn’t listen. When he came back, he realized that was just me being me. He realized that I was just very inquisitive and unafraid to ask questions. He realized that that’s how I process information and learn. Once he put his pulse on that, he was more patient with me. He was more willing to sit and answer my many questions and talk everything through.

Now, I coach my daughter’s team, and we run the triangle offense. Recently, I called Phil and filled him in on what I was teaching the girls. He was surprised by how much I learned from him. More than that, he was surprised how much detail I had retained and was now passing down.