In his book “Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success” former basketball coach and player Phil Jackson writes about the road he has traveled to coach two different National Basketball Association (NBA) teams to win a total of eleven championship rings. In his work, he describes the processes he used to help his players grow and mature into team members who could make magic on the basketball court. Jackson additionally writes about his early years in basketball as well as the impact growing up in a strict religious family had on his spirituality. In his autobiographical book, Jackson details his struggle to come to terms with his own spiritual beliefs as well as the importance of his spirituality on his basketball career.

Jackson begins his story during the celebration following the L.A. Lakers’ 2009 championship game. He says the team members are winners not only because they beat all of the other teams, but also because they underwent such a huge transformation to become a team that could beat the other teams. In order for the players to win their championship, Jackson says they needed to form a bond of love to interconnect them all. The ring is a symbol he uses often to describe the way a proper team should work, with all members part of a circle of love. In basketball, this ring is also a symbol of power and status, he says.

In about the first quarter of Jackson’s book, he writes about the influences that have affected the way he coaches basketball. These include his former coaches, his parents’ rigid spirituality, and his research into Buddhism and Native American traditions. He goes on to incorporate the things he’s learned in his search for his own form of spirituality, like mindfulness meditation, into his coaching techniques. Jackson additionally decides to make use of the triangle offense, a form of playing that he believes helps his players be more empowered and team oriented on the court.

The remainder of Jackson’s book details his work with both the Chicago Bulls and the L.A. Lakers. He describes the atmosphere of the team as a whole, relationships between individual players and the techniques he puts into action to help his players rise above themselves and be true team players. His crowning glory seems not only to be beating Red Auerbach for the most championships won but also the work he did in bringing the Lakers from a team that didn’t even make the playoffs in 2004 to one that won the championship four years later.