Both authors opened a little door showing readers the link between philosophy, basketball, and life.
Jackson wrote about one vision. He wrote about a dream — looking through the Buddhist doctrine and finding in it many connections with basketball.
Jackson discovered quotations from the bible and other books like “Practicing the Presence” by Joel Gold Smith and “The Tao of Leadership” by John Heider.
These books, among others, allowed Jackson to see the links between basketball and its spiritual and philosophical beginnings. Even so, we haven’t had specific books about philosophic thought and the game of basketball since the publication of two intriguing textbooks: “The Tao of the Jump Shot: An Eastern Approach to Life and Basketball” by John Fitz Simmons Mahoney and “Basketball and Philosophy: Thinking Outside the Paint.”
Mahoney’s book is about analogies between the jump shot and the Taoist. A big significance is given to ‘actions that do not generate actions,’ which means feelings described and used by players from the National Basketball Association.
Quick facts: Any person affiliated with basketball is eligible for election into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Players must be retired for five years before they become eligible. Coaches and referees must have coached or officiated for 25 years or have been retired for at least five years. Contributors to the sport are also eligible.
