Phil Jackson Corrects Rick Carlisle, Says 'You Don't Smoke Peyote'

Phil Jackson Corrects Rick Carlisle, Says ‘You Don’t Smoke Peyote’

by Michael Hurley on Mon, May 9, 2011 at 11:29AM

Phil Jackson knows his basketball, and he also knows his hallucinogenic drugs.

The Lakers' coach, known for his mastery of Zen and inner peace, coached what many believe to be his final NBA game on Sunday. Dallas head coach Rick Carlisle, though, wasn't convinced that Jackson is done, jokingly telling reporters that Jackson will be back.

"My belief is that he'll retire for a while, but I don’t know how long you can go to Montana and meditate and … smoke peyote or whatever he does there," Carlisle told reporters. "He's gonna get bored, and I mean that in an endearing way."

Later, Jackson was asked for his response to that assertion, and he first had to make an important correction.

"Well, first of all, you don't smoke peyote. That's one thing," Jackson said with a smile.

Peyote, for the record, is a cactus that when eaten causes psychoactive effects for hours.

Watch Jackson's postgame meeting with the media in the video below, with the peyote comments at the 2:12 mark.