Phil Jackson: Ex-Los Angeles Lakers coach says it was important for him to try LSD in the 1970s
LEGENDARY NBA coach Phil Jackson has opened up on his drug use, saying LSD was a “liberating” experience for him.
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LEGENDARY NBA coach Phil Jackson has opened up on his drug use, saying LSD was a “liberating” experience for him.
Jackson, who revealed in his autobiography that he dabbled with LSD in the 1970s, said in an interview at the New Yorker Festival that it was “important” for him to try the psychedelic drug.
“It wasn’t an important aspect of my life. It was a liberating experience for me — not something I repeated,” Jackson said.
“But something that was an open door for and important for me to be aware of.”
Jackson, who won two NBA championships as a player and 11 as a coach at Chicago and the LA Lakers, previously claimed he was passed over for NBA coaching roles in the 1980s while coaching Albany in the Continental Basketball Association after his drug use became public knowledge.
The 69-year-old is now president of the New York Knicks, where he has wrested control of the team from owner Jim Dolan.
Jackson said one of the conditions for him taking a role with the underperforming Knicks was complete autonomy when putting together the team’s roster.
“That’s our deal. The choices as we go forward are mine to make how to get this team to come together. I was point-blank and honest (before I took the job). ‘If I come into your office or call and tell you I want to trade X player, who’s an All-Star, and Y player, who’s a fan favourite, and I think it’s the right thing, I want you to feel confident I could do this and give me liberty to do that. Will you do that?’ He said yes,” Jackson said.
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