Before becoming the go-to trainer for NBA superstars like Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant, and C.J. McCollum, Chris Brickley was a player development for the New York Knicks staring down possible unemployment after the team hired Phil Jackson as the president of basketball operations in 2014. Prior to his interview with the Zen Master, Brickley's chances of staying with the organization appeared slim. Jackson was making sweeping changes, firing the entire coaching staff. When he finally sat down with the Zen Master, Brickley's job's security depended on how he answered just three questions.
"I'm thinking I'm gonna go in there, I'm gonna meet with him, I'm done," Brickley toldBusiness Insider. "So I go in, I'm super nervous, super scared. It's Phil Jackson. I don't even know the guy. I come in sit down in his office and he said, 'I'm gonna ask you three questions.'" The questions were on Steve Nash's athleticism, the proper footwork leading into a jumper, and five characteristics of an athlete. "I had my interview and it went well, and he's like, 'I'll see you at pre-draft workouts in two days,'" Brickley concluded.
This story falls in line with the belief that no one knows the methods to Jackson's madness. While Brickley doesn't disclose how he responded to those three questions, it probably would have been in his best interest to drop a few triangle and/or triangle offense references.
To read the Business Insider's entire piece on Brickley, click here.
