The Chicago Bulls have always been my favorite professional basketball team to watch play. Watching Michael Jordan play was just so thrilling. In Sacred Hoops, author Phil Jackson describes the success he and his Chicago Bulls team had and the road they took to achieve it.

Jackson began as a religious boy in Montana and soon realized how much he enjoyed the competitive game of basketball. In 1982, he moved to New York City to work on the New York Knicks staff. In the summer of 1984 the owner of the Quebradillas, a Puerto Rican professional team, contacted Jackson offering him a summer job coaching them. It was a much different coaching experience than he had ever experienced. Fans would arrive at the open-aired arenas, drunk and making a riot, yelling at him. On one occasion, an usher was accidentally shot by the mayor of Quebradilla who had disagreed with a call the referees had made. He couldn't risk coaching another season in Puerto Rico so he moved to upstate New York with his wife and children.

When he got offered a job on the Chicago Bulls staff he knew it was an opportunity of a lifetime. As in any other job though, he had to start at the bottom and work his way up. He started as just one of the assistant coaches until his debut as head coach of the Bulls in 1989.

Coaching Michael Jordan was the probably his best learning experience. He found that the whole team relied on Michael to carry the team on his back. He attended classes on spiritual meditation that helped him clear his head and think more clearly about what needed to be done. If I were him I would have made a deal with Michael and told him he couldn't start just to see if the team would pick up the slack of not having that one outstanding player. Even though he didn't do this the team started playing together once Dennis Rodman was traded. Dennis was just as much of a leader as Michael. He didn't talk much but was demanding a high salary pay with his trade. The dynamic duo led the team to three straight national titles from 1991-1993. I think the story is very inspirational and is full of wisdom. Definitely a book for basketball fans!