The reporting of and understanding of sports always seems to be a balancing act between the importance of teams vs. the primacy of an individual player.

Certainly in basketball, the decision was made a long time ago, that individuals stars  would drive the NBA.  Certainly many have over the years.  But as much as any one player, one coach has stood atop the sport.  With eleven championships, Phil Jackson is the master.

But what got him there?  Was it luck, timing, sheer basketball smarts, or a unique ability, almost like a film director in his prime, to manage huge egos and diverse personalities and consistently get the best out of them?

Long time sports journalist Peter Richmond, tries in  Phil Jackson: Lord of the Rings,to pin down who Phil Jackson is and what has made him so successful.

My conversation with Peter Richmond: