Young Phil Jackson on the differences between black and white basketball players

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"Throughout the years the black players on the Knicks have possessed much better physical ability than the white players, being generally faster and better jumpers. I also think that they have always had superior one-on-one talent."

"White players are more often willing to run patterns and to work collectively."

"Because of the predominance of blacks in pro basketball, the sport is rapidly disintegrating into a one-on-one sport. There are only five or six NBA teams who play with more than a superficial degree of team unity."

On the Knicks: "The starting front court played white basketball while guards played black basketball."

"Black kids growing up want to be the superstar of their neighborhood. They want to be the toughest kids on the block, the richest or, once they get to the playground, the best one-on-one basketball players. White kids, on the other hand, usually are raised in a more homogeneous environment which provides other outlets for personal expression. They're also constantly being taught the principle of subordinating their own personal glory for the good of the group."

"The average player's career is a very short period of his life, and the minute he's through nobody knows who is. Twenty-five years from now the only people who will remember me will be a few trivia experts, and that's exactly how it should be. A lot of black players look at their careers differently. Many blacks have let themselves believe that being in the NBA is one of the greatest things a person can accomplish. I believe this type of feeling is ultimately very destructive, because the only way you can live with it is to get into a heavy fantasy trip. I've seen the process develop many times, and very few players ever find happiness that way."

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