Steve Kerr explains that Phil Jackson taught him the way to coach talented players is to get out of their way
“The way Phil coached Dennis really was the key to everything. It really informed me about what coaching was about.”
“Phil demanded certain things of Dennis and then got out of his way. I saw how powerful that was.”
“The idea of giving someone a vision and then letting them go. Then occasionally reining them back in. Show them the vision again. Letting them go again. That’s powerful. To me, that’s coaching. Because these players are artists, man. They’re so gifted at this level.”
“If you’re going to call every play and try to orchestrate everything, you’re overthinking things. You’re not letting the players be who they really are.”
“The way Phil handled Dennis was genius. Dennis was so excited to be part of the team, and he was so different. He connected with guys in strange ways. He wouldn’t say anything for a week.”
“But there was just an energy from him where you knew, ‘That’s a good dude.’ You could tell he had a good soul. He was vulnerable in that way. He allowed you to see his soul and what he was about.”
“But he didn’t communicate a whole lot. So you had to understand him. You had to get to know him a little bit.”