Phil Jackson always three peats.
He did it twice with the Bulls and once already with the Lakers.
Going through the process of winning a title this year was just a formality.
Or so we thought.
It was definitely what the fans thought. Apparently, it was what the players thought as well.
There is a danger with assuming success. It causes you to get dominated in a playoff series you should at least compete in. I’m not saying the Lakers SHOULD have won against the Mavericks, a team that is completely different with Tyson Chandler on board.
But there is no excuse for getting swept. You can argue that the Lakers have 4 of the top 5 players in that series (Kobe, Dirk, Gasol, Bynum, Odom). The Lakers made JJ Barea look like the second coming of Steve Nash.
It was some of the worst basketball I’ve ever seen the Lakers play.
When it was over Kobe and Phil were laughing at their press conferences. Not a lot was invested in this season.
They assumed it was going to be a cake walk.
Phil Jackson always three peats.
You simply cannot assume success. You can’t lean on past accomplishments to determine future results. You have to bring the same fire and passion in every moment to stay on top.
Understandably, this is something that is difficult to do. But I hope it is a lesson I can apply to my life. There is a quote that I always remember from the start of a Jay Z song:
“The key to staying, on top of things is treat everything like it’s your first project, knahmsayin?
Like it’s your first day like back when you was an intern Like, that’s how you try to treat things like, just stay hungry”
-Notorious BIG
To continue to be successful in whatever you do you have to keep that hunger that you had when you did it for the first time. Like I said, it is really hard to do, but I’m hoping this Lakers debacle can remind me to have that perspective in my life.
Without it, Phil Jackson doesn’t always three peat.
