I came across this in a garage sale. Its a bit dated, 2001.
There is a lot of back and forth in time within the narrative so it can be a bit jerky in places but there are quite a few gems inside.
On getting fouled and beat up on the court-
Let me say this: If I feel someone is trying to hurt me, I will take action. Foul me under the basket and I’ve got something for you. Because it’s gotten out of control. Its about, “you can’t stop this guy basketball –wise so lets go WWF on him. Let’s put him in a choke hold. That’s what it’s become. And a lot of referees think, “You’re big, you’re strong, you can take it.” People always think it’s like a Volkswagen running into a Mack truck. But you know what? I pinch you its gonna hurt. You pinch me it’s gonna hurt. So what if I’m big and strong. Pain is pain.
On Teamwork-
Having two stars on one team can be the best thing to ever happen or the worst thing. They both want the ball; they both like to shoot. But one has got to eventually bow down. One has to know, “I’m a star, I’ve got to come down and throw the ball to him first.”
For example, if I played with Jordan, I would know that Jordan’s taking most of the shots, and I would have to change my role. I would accept that. Dennis Rodman was good at this. He never shot but he shined.
On Phil Jackson and leadership-
Here’s an example. In the finals Glen Rice’s wife started saying her husband isn’t getting enough shots and that Phil didn’t like him. She said something to a paper in Charlotte. Then the L.A. Times went crazy with the story. It was like Phil vs Glenn and his wife instead of us against the Pacers. His wife is Cuban so some of the reporters were calling it the Cuban Mrs. Crisis.
Now from watching Glenn’s career, anyone can tell you that Glenn is the type of player who’s always had plays called for him. And Phil didn’t have no offense for that. I guess it kind of got to Glenn. After all Kobe gets 20 shots a game, I’m getting 20 shots a game, and everybody else just has to play their role. I don’t think Glenn liked that so there’s some truth to the story. At the same time it’s Glenn’s wife that’s complaining, not Glenn. And we’re up 3 games to 1 and she’s choosing to bitch.
Phil handled it quick. “Listen. I’m not going to get into this back and forth; all we need is 1 more game. I’m not going to get into this. I’ve never got into this, so I’m not going to get into it now. One more game.”
A bit later-
If a guy did something wrong, Phil would fine him. Not big money, like ten, twenty bucks. If someone came in late, he wouldn’t say, “Where the hell have you been?” He would just look over at Laker’s assistant coach Frank Hamblen and say, “All right. Frank, fine him.” Then, at the end of every week, if the pot was around $1,000, we’d split up the team and play a shooting game for the $1000.