Nine-time NBA Champion coach Phil Jackson knows all about being in the spotlight-about high-profile, high-pressure seasons coaching gigantic personalities through adversity and controversy in the middle of a media hothouse in which every move is another headline, another installment in the soap opera. But nothing-not six championships with the Bulls of Michael Jordan, Dennis Rodman and Scottie Pippen, not three previous championships with the Lakers of Shaq and Kobe-had quite prepared him for the only-in-Hollywood high-wire act of the Lakers' 2003-2004 season. In The Last Season, Jackson tells the full inside story of the season that proved to be the final ride for this great Lakers dynasty. From its beginnings in the off-season-with the signing of the future Hall-of-Famers Karl Malone and Gary Payton and the enormous expectations it created, and the bombshell news of the felony sexual assault charges against Kobe Bryant, one of the league's marquee superstars-Jackson describes the many challenges that arose during this turbulent season. Juggling enormous egos with enormous sums at stake, managing difficult relationships and public feuds, facing injuries, contract disputes, and team meltdowns, all in the shadow of the Kobe Bryant trial-slash-media circus, Phil Jackson somehow guided his team through to its fourth NBA Finals in his five years as its coach. There, finally, his team ran out of road, a failure Jackson examines with the same deep honesty and wisdom he brings to bear on the rest of this amazing season. Few seasons in memory can rival this one for drama, and fewer coaches rival Phil Jackson in the ability to write about it with such wisdom and clarity. The combination has produced, in The Last Season, a book of tremendous human drama and timeless appeal, rich in lessons about coaching and about life. With the honesty and insight that are his hallmarks, one of the most successful coaches in the history of basketball offers his personal account of a season like no other-the extraordinary ride of the 2003-2004 Los Angeles Lakers

他是篮球史上最成功的主帅之一，他拥有诚实和卓越的特质。现在，他将从自己的观点讲述一个非同寻常的赛季——洛杉矶湖人2003－2004赛季的特别之旅 。 曾赢得9枚总冠军戒指的NBA主帅菲尔·杰克逊熟知聚光灯下的一切——他清楚如何在高强度高压力的赛季执教那些性格迥异的球员，与此问时，置身媒体温床的他们的每一个举动都有可能是报刊头条，每一次变动都可能成为一场肥皂剧。但是，没有什么——哪怕是与迈克尔·乔丹、丹尼斯·罗德曼、斯科特·皮蓬一起为公牛赢得6个总冠军，和湖人的沙克和科比一起完成三连冠——都没有像湖人的2003－2004这样让他手足无措，这是一个独属好莱坞的戏剧式赛季。 在本书中，杰克逊讲述了这个赛季的所有内幕故事，一切都证明伟大的湖人王朝已经日薄西天。从夏日的开始——未来的名人堂成员卡尔·马龙和加里·佩顿的加入带来无限期待崇敬；然后是科比·布莱恩特，一个超级巨星突然卷入性侵犯丑闻的超级新闻——杰克逊描述了麻烦是如何顽固地横亘在自己面前并日趋严峻。变戏法式地压抑超级明星的狂妄自我，协调各种关系和冲突，面对伤病，处理合约纠纷，科比·布莱恩特所引来的媒体马戏团无处不在，即便如此，菲尔·杰克逊依然率领他的军队在执教的5年中第四次杀入了总决赛。然后在总决赛中，他的球队倒在了路上，失败者杰克逊以令人敬佩的诚实和睿智来审慎一切。 很少有赛季在戏剧化程度上能与这个赛季抗衡，也很少有主帅能像菲尔·杰克逊这样从容本色地写下一切；二者结合在一起带来了《终极赛季》，它不仅讲述了篮球执教，也讲述了人生哲学。