We catch up with legendary former Chicago Bulls coach Phil Jackson to talk about Jordan, Kobe, and his new book on Chicago Tonight at 7:00 pm. Read an excerpt from his book, Eleven Rings, view a slideshow, and watch web extra videos below. And visit Web Extra: Phil Jackson Behind-the-Scenes to read a blog and view a photo gallery.

THE CIRCLE OF LOVE

Life is a journey. Time is a river. The door is ajar.

—Jim Butcher

Cecil B. DeMille would have loved this moment.

Here I was sitting in a limo at the ramp leading into the Los

Angeles Memorial Coliseum, waiting for my team to arrive,

while an ecstatic crowd of ninety-five thousand plus fans, dressed in

every possible combination of Lakers purple and gold, marched into

the stadium. Women in tutus, men in Star Wars storm-trooper costumes,

toddlers waving “Kobe Diem” signs. Yet despite all the zaniness,

there was something inspiring about this ancient ritual with a

decidedly L.A. twist. As Jeff Weiss, a writer for LA Weekly, put it: “It

was the closest any of us will ever know what it was like to watch the

Roman Legions returning home after a tour of Gaul.”

 

Truth be told, I’ve never really felt that comfortable at victory celebrations,

which is strange given my chosen profession. First of all,

I’m phobic about large crowds. It doesn’t bother me during games,

but it can make me queasy in less controlled situations. I’ve also never

really loved being the center of attention. Perhaps it’s my inherent

shyness or the conflicting messages I got as a kid from my parents,

who were both ministers. In their view, winning was fine—in fact,

my mother was one of the most fiercely competitive people I’ve ever

met—but reveling in your own success was considered an insult to

God. Or as they would say, “The glory belongs to Him.”

 

This celebration wasn’t about me, though. It was about the remarkable

transformation the players had undergone en route to the

2009 NBA championship. You could see it in their faces as they descended

the long purple and gold staircase into the coliseum dressed

in rally caps and championship T-shirts, laughing, jostling, beaming

with joy, while the crowd roared with delight. Four years earlier the

Lakers hadn’t even made the playoffs. Now they were masters of the

basketball universe. Some coaches are obsessed with winning trophies;

others like to see their faces on TV. What moves me is watching

young men bond together and tap into the magic that arises when

you focus—with your whole heart and soul—on something greater

than yourself. Once you’ve experienced that, it’s something you never

forget. Read more here.

In the following web extra October 1995 conversation with John Callaway, Bulls Coach Phil Jackson talks about the team on the eve of what would turn out to be their greatest season. The team would go 72 and 10 in 1995-96 and win its fourth of six NBA titles. Jackson also talks about his book, Sacred Hoops.