The Last Season: A Team in Search of Its Soul

I must begin by confessing (1) I love the Lakers of Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul Jabbar; (2) I love the Bulls of MJ, Dennis Rodman and Scotty Pippen; (3) I find the current crop of NBA players, typified by Kobe and Shaq, overpaid underperformers with a startling sense of entitlement.
I was interested in hearing what Phil Jackson had to say about The Last Season. He did not disappoint me. When he wrote about his former Bull team and team members, you could sense the love and longing in his tone. His heart was (and might always be) with them. When he writes about the Lakers, he is writing from the outside, as an observer, a hired hand. He admits that he felt an outsider, he refers to "The Laker Organization." He does not refer to "us." This lends some objectivity to his observations and comments.
He confirms my preconceived ideas about Kobe, but has forced me to re-evaluate my opinion of Shaq. Last week Kobe scored 41 points in a game and the Lakers lost. Based on what I heard in The Last Season, Kobe must be very happy. He is the star, there is no one around him competing for the limelight and he can say to one and all, as many three years olds like to do, "You are not the boss of me." Oh, the Lakers are losing? Who cares, its all about me, me, me.
I would recommend this book to any who is a fan of the NBA and is curious about what can cause a team with seemingly limitless talent to fail to reach its potential. For Phil Jackson, winning is not the most important thing; striving, doing your best, those are the things that count.

I completely agree with some of the other reviews, the narrator does a very poor job of conveying the otherwise fascinating information contained in this book. He reads in a smug, arrogant tone and all too often mispronounces player names. I found this very distracting during much of the listen.

The content itself is good and I would recommend the BOOK to any basketball fan.

This is an excellent story, however, the narrator didn't do his homework. Many of the names are prnounced wrong (Turk-a-glue, No-wits-ki) and all of the African-American athletes have voices like high jazz saxophone players. Come on - at least get someone who has respect for the game to read this book, or at minimum, some one who will learn to pronounce the words properly.

I have been an Audible subscriber for a long time. This is one of the most disappointing audio books I have ever listened to. The content is good, but the reader is not good at all. His style is to sound annoyingly assured and it is painful to listen to. I would recommend any one interested in this book to read it rather than listen to it. Like I said.........what a shame.

Although I live in the LA area, I am not a Laker fan. In spite of
this, I really enjoyed Jackson's chronical of a season I did not
follow. His description of the travils of coaching provide a good
insight into the profession.
This book has not converted me into a basketball fan; however, I am
a fan of Phil Jackson and hope he goes back into coaching or writes
another book.

I'd listen to Stephen Hoye read a grocery list - he's the best. And he conveys Phil Jackson's ups and downs during the course of this season. Jackson is a good writer and insightful. It's surprising how willing he was to be so honest about Kobe and Shaq, and just about his feelings in general. I don't think a non-sports fan would enjoy this much, but if you like sports, and especially basketball, you'll find a lot in here that's worthwhile.

Thank you, Phil Jackson, for this inside look at a world that fascinates and intrigues the viewer. You are a larger than life figure who manages to convey both your the human quaulities and those of the giants we love and hate.

Insightful book on the infamous 2003-2004 Lakers team. The Dream team that lost their way. Fascinating!