iBookstore Top 50 Basketball Ebooks

The top 50 best selling basketball ebooks on the Apple Boks. The chart of the most popular basketball iBook best sellers is updated daily.

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Sports Ebook Best Sellers

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1

The Wonder Boy - Tim MacMahon Cover Art

The Wonder Boy

The Wonder Boy Luka Doncic and the Curse of Greatness by Tim MacMahon

ESPN’s Tim MacMahon goes behind the scenes of Luka Dončić’s years with the Dallas Mavericks—before his trade to the Lakers stunned the basketball world—telling the story of a franchise’s quest to build a championship team around a prodigy. Ebook now features a brand new chapter detailing Luka's shocking trade to the Lakers. In 2018, the Dallas Mavericks landed the most hyped prospect in basketball history—teenaged Luka Doncic. With The Wonder Boy, MacMahon takes us beyond the highlights to the madness that ensues as the Mavericks try to avoid blowing their golden opportunity. From the internal power struggles in owner Mark Cuban’s front office during the early years of Doncic’s career, to the new regime’s effort to earn Doncic’s loyalty and put the ruthless competitor in position to win, readers will learn never-before-reported details about the saga’s biggest moments, including:     ·The blockbuster deal for Kristaps Porzingis that blew up in the Mavs’ faces    ·The divorces with coach Rick Carlisle and GM Donnie Nelson    ·Jalen Brunson’s exit after a run to the Western Conference finals    ·The new pairing with the mercurial Kyrie Irving    ·The improbable journey to the 2024 Finals As the clock ticks on the Mavs’ quest to win it all with their irreplaceable young star, The Wonder Boy pulls back the curtain on a dilemma every NBA team would love to have.

2

Season on the Brink - John Feinstein Cover Art

Season on the Brink

Season on the Brink by John Feinstein

Decades after it spent weeks at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list, A Season on the Brink remains the most celebrated basketball book ever written—an unforgettable chronicle of his year spent following the Indiana Hoosiers and their fiery coach Bob Knight. Granted unprecedented access to legendary coach Bob Knight and the Indiana Hoosiers during the 1985–86 season, John Feinstein saw and heard it all—practices, team meetings, strategy sessions, and midgame huddles—as the team worked to return to championship form. The result is an unforgettable chronicle that not only captures the drama and pressure of big-time college basketball but also paints a vivid portrait of a complex, brilliant coach as he walks the fine line between genius and madness. This anniversary edition features an updated Introduction by Feinstein.

3

Uncommon Favor - Dawn Staley Cover Art

Uncommon Favor

Uncommon Favor Basketball, North Philly, My Mother, and the Life Lessons I Learned from All Three by Dawn Staley

For the first time, Dawn Staley shares powerful and inspiring stories that have shaped her journey on and off the court. A three-time Olympic gold medalist, six-time WNBA All-Star, and the first person to win the Naismith College Player of the Year award as both a player and coach, Staley has shattered expectations at every level of the game. While her name resonates with both longtime WNBA fans and newcomers, she has kept her personal life private. Uncommon Favor reveals the journey that led to Staley’s success, including the challenges she faced. From dealing with sexism on the court to feeling isolated in new environments, Staley honed her skills and learned valuable life lessons about mental fortitude and maturity that have grounded her throughout her career. Beginning with her humble origins on the North Philadelphia basketball court and her rise to national fame at the University of Virginia—where she led her team to three Final Fours—Staley recounts the key moments that shaped her winning mindset. Staley’s iconic career in the WNBA and her groundbreaking coaching journey at the University of South Carolina highlight the milestones and turning points that have defined her success, both on and off the court. Fearless and authentic, Uncommon Favor shares the rewards of leading with conviction and the courage to redefine the limits of what is possible.

4

When the Game Was War - Rich Cohen Cover Art

When the Game Was War

When the Game Was War The NBA's Greatest Season by Rich Cohen

The gritty, no-holds-barred account of the 1987 NBA season, a thrilling year of fierce battles and off-the-court drama between Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Isiah Thomas, and Michael Jordan—from New York Times bestselling author Rich Cohen. “Plug in to a world where rivalries really mattered.”—Bob Ryan, sports columnist emeritus, The Boston Globe AN ESQUIRE BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR Four historic teams. Four legendary players. One unforgettable season. The 1980s were a transformative decade for the NBA. Since its founding in 1946, the league had evolved from a bruising, earthbound game of mostly nameless, underpaid players to one in which athletes became household names for their thrilling, physics-defying play. The 1987–88 season was the peak of that golden era, a year of incredible drama that featured a pantheon of superstars in their prime—the most future Hall of Famers competing at one time in any given season—battling for the title, and for their respective legacies. In When the Game Was War, bestselling author Rich Cohen tells the story of this incredible season through the four teams, and the four players, who dominated it: Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics, Magic Johnson and the Los Angeles Lakers, Isiah Thomas and the Detroit Pistons, and a young Michael Jordan and his Chicago Bulls. From rural Indiana to the South Side of Chicago, suburban North Carolina to rust-belt Michigan, Cohen explores the diverse journeys each of these iconic players took before arriving on the big stage. Drawing from dozens of interviews with NBA insiders, Cohen brings to vivid life some of the most colorful characters of the era—like Bill Laimbeer, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Danny Ainge, and Charles Oakley—who fought like hell to help these stars succeed.  For anyone who longs to understand how the NBA came to be the cultural juggernaut it is today—and to relive the magic and turmoil of those pivotal years— When the Game Was War brilliantly recasts one unforgettable season and the four transcendent players who were at the center of it all.

5

The Last Amateurs - John Feinstein Cover Art

The Last Amateurs

The Last Amateurs Playing for Glory and Honor in Division I College Basketball by John Feinstein

America's favorite sportswriter takes readers on a thrilling and unforgettable journey into the world of college basketball in this national bestseller. Like millions who love college basketball, John Feinstein was first drawn to the game because of its intensity, speed and intelligence. Like many others, he felt that the vast sums of money involved in NCAA basketball had turned the sport into a division of the NBA, rather than the beloved amateur sport it once was. He went in search of college basketball played with the passion and integrity it once inspired, and found the Patriot League. As one of the NCAA's smallest leagues, none of these teams leaves college early to join the NBA and none of these coaches gets national recognition or endorsement contracts. The young men on these teams are playing for the love of the sport, of competition and of their schools. John Feinstein spent a season with these players, uncovering the drama of their daily lives and the passions that drive them to commit hundreds of hours to basketball even when there is no chance of a professional future. He offers a look at American sport at its purest.

6

The Book of Basketball - Bill Simmons & Malcolm Gladwell Cover Art

The Book of Basketball

The Book of Basketball The NBA According to The Sports Guy by Bill Simmons & Malcolm Gladwell

Foreword by Malcolm Gladwell   Newly updated with fresh takes on LeBron, Kobe, the Celtics & more* *Including even more footnotes! Bill Simmons, the wildly opinionated and thoroughly entertaining hoops addict known to millions as ESPN.com’s Sports Guy, has written the definitive book on the past, present, and future of the NBA. From the age-old question of who actually won the rivalry between Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain to the one about which team was truly the best of all time, Simmons opens—and then closes, once and for all—every major pro basketball debate. Then he takes it further by completely reevaluating not only how NBA Hall of Fame inductees should be chosen but how the institution must be reshaped from the ground up, the result being the Pyramid: Simmons’s one-of-a-kind five-level shrine to the ninety-six greatest players in the history of pro basketball. And ultimately he takes fans to the heart of it all, as he uses a conversation with one NBA great to uncover that coveted thing: The Secret of Basketball. Comprehensive, authoritative, controversial, hilarious, and impossible to put down (even for Celtic-haters), The Book of Basketball offers every hardwood fan a courtside seat beside the game’s finest, funniest, and fiercest chronicler.

7

Kingdom on Fire - Scott Howard-Cooper Cover Art

Kingdom on Fire

Kingdom on Fire Kareem, Wooden, Walton, and the Turbulent Days of the UCLA Basketball Dynasty by Scott Howard-Cooper

In the tradition of Blood in the Garden and Three-Ring Circus comes a bold history of the iconic UCLA Bruins championship teams led by legendary coach John Wooden, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Bill Walton —set against the turmoil of American culture in the 1960s and ’70s. Few basketball dynasties have reigned supreme like the UCLA Bruins did over college basketball from 1965–1975 (seven consecutive titles, three perfect records, an eighty-eight-game winning streak that remains unmatched). At the center of this legendary franchise were the now-iconic players Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Walton, naturally reserved personalities who became outspoken giants when it came to race and the Vietnam War. These generational talents were led by John Wooden, a conservative counterweight to his star players whose leadership skills would transcend the game after his retirement. But before the three of them became history, they would have to make it—together. Los Angeles native and longtime sportswriter for the Los Angeles Times , Scott Howard-Cooper draws on more than a hundred interviews and extensive access to many of the principal figures, including Wooden’s family, to deliver a rich narrative that reveals the turmoil at the heart of this storied college basketball program. Making the eye-opening connections between UCLA and the Nixon administration, Ronald Reagan, Muhammad Ali, and others, Kingdom on Fire puts the UCLA basketball team’s political involvement and influence in full relief for the first time. “Perceptive and exciting, this is a slam dunk for college hoops fans” ( Publishers Weekly ).

8

Redemption - Adam Lucas, Steve Kirschner & Matt Bowers Cover Art

Redemption

Redemption Carolina Basketball's 2016–2017 Journey from Heartbreak to History by Adam Lucas, Steve Kirschner & Matt Bowers

This is the story of a national championship that was a year in the making. Redemption: Carolina Basketball’s 2016–2017 Journey from Heartbreak to History is a behind-the-scenes look at the Tar Heels' ride to the 2017 national title. Featuring never-before-published, exclusive photographs that will take readers from the practice court and game action to the team bus and locker room, this book is the most complete chronicle of a UNC national championship ever made. In addition to the full-color images, the book also includes interviews with the players and coaches that can only be found here, a foreword by head coach Roy Williams, and exciting new stories from Adam Lucas, Steve Kirschner, and Matt Bowers, who accompanied the team every step of the way. Much more than a detailed account of Carolina’s 33 victories, Redemption describes the amazing journey of one of UNC’s most inspiring championships, from heartbreak in Houston to the storybook finish in Phoenix. Here readers can get the team’s perspective on what propelled them to a title and find out what moments the players and coaches considered most important, both on and off the court. The result is a must-have book for Tar Heel fans everywhere.

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Gold Standard - Bay Area News Group Cover Art

Gold Standard

Gold Standard The Golden State Warriors' Dominant Run to the 2017 Championship by Bay Area News Group

Dominant. Few seasons in sports history better exemplify that term than the Golden State Warriors' road to the 2016-2017 NBA championship. After adding Kevin Durant to an already elite lineup, the Warriors stormed to a league-leading 67 wins in the regular season. Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson and Durant were all NBA All-Stars, and the foursome played an awe-inspiring brand of basketball. And the Warriors overcame adversity — from Durant missing 19 games late in the season due to injury to head coach Steve Kerr's health issues costing him much of the playoffs. Yet Curry, Durant and company avenged their 2016 NBA Finals loss with an unprecedented run through the postseason and a sublime NBA Finals destruction of LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Packed with stunning photography and expert analysis from the Bay Area's largest newspaper publisher, Gold Standard takes fans through the Warriors' historic season, from Thompson's 60-point outburst to Durant's triumphant return to Oklahoma City to the final unforgettable minutes against the Cavaliers. This commemorative edition also includes in-depth profiles of Curry, Durant, Kerr, Thompson, Green and other Warriors stars.

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Golden Age - Thomas Bevilacqua Cover Art

Golden Age

Golden Age The Brilliance of the 2018 Champion Golden State Warriors by Thomas Bevilacqua

In the 2018 NBA Finals, the Golden State Warriors cemented their place in basketball history by dominating LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, and winning their third championship in four seasons. Golden Age: The Brilliance of the 2018 Champion Golden State Warriors takes fans through the memorable ride that was the 2017-2018 season, from superstar Steph Curry's perseverance through injuries, to the team sending an amazing four players to the All-Star game, to the outspokenness and unique coaching approach of Steve Kerr on their way to another NBA title. Featuring terrific coverage from Golden State of Mind's Thomas Bevilacqua and full of action-packed photos, this commemorative edition takes fans from the disappointing opening night loss against the Houston Rockets, to the Warriors ultimately triumphing over Houston in seven games in the Western Conference Finals, all the way through the moment the Dubs clinched their status as an NBA dynasty with a third title in four years. This keepsake also features in-depth stories on fan favorites Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and more.

11

Heart of Gold - The Athletic Cover Art

Heart of Gold

Heart of Gold The Golden State Warriors' Remarkable Run to the 2022 NBA Title by The Athletic

In 2022, the Golden State Warriors proved critics wrong and resurrected a dynasty, triumphing over the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals to reign supreme once again. Steve Kerr's squad dug deep following years of injury and disappointment to form new bonds and reclaim their glory. The stellar trio of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green was finally reunited, this time with a new supporting cast including Andrew Wiggins, Gary Payton II, and Jordan Poole. Heart of Gold: The Golden State Warriors' Remarkable Run to the 2022 NBA Title chronicles their incredible accomplishments through in-depth analysis and expert insight from The Athletic. Featuring dynamic full-color photography, this commemorative edition traces the key storylines of the 2021-2022 season, including Curry's quest to break Ray Allen's 3-point record, Thompson's march to recovery, and of course a momentous postseason journey. With in-depth profiles on Curry, Thompson, Green, Wiggins and more, this commemorative book is an essential chronicle for all Warriors faithful.

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The Mamba Mentality - Kobe Bryant Cover Art

The Mamba Mentality

The Mamba Mentality How I Play by Kobe Bryant

The Mamba Mentality: How I Play is Kobe Bryant’s personal perspective of his life and career on the basketball court and his exceptional, insightful style of playing the game—a fitting legacy from the late Los Angeles Laker superstar. In the wake of his retirement from professional basketball, Kobe “The Black Mamba” Bryant decided to share his vast knowledge and understanding of the game to take readers on an unprecedented journey to the core of the legendary “Mamba mentality.” Citing an obligation and an opportunity to teach young players, hardcore fans, and devoted students of the game how to play it “the right way,” The Mamba Mentality takes us inside the mind of one of the most intelligent, analytical, and creative basketball players ever. In his own words, Bryant reveals his famously detailed approach and the steps he took to prepare mentally and physically to not just succeed at the game, but to excel. Readers will learn how Bryant studied an opponent, how he channeled his passion for the game, how he played through injuries. They’ll also get fascinating granular detail as he breaks down specific plays and match-ups from throughout his career. Bryant’s detailed accounts are paired with stunning photographs by the Hall of Fame photographer Andrew D. Bernstein. Bernstein, long the Lakers and NBA official photographer, captured Bryant’s very first NBA photo in 1996 and his last in 2016—and hundreds of thousands in between, the record of a unique, twenty-year relationship between one athlete and one photographer. The combination of Bryant’s narrative and Bernstein’s photos make The Mamba Mentality an unprecedented look behind the curtain at the career of one of the world’s most celebrated and fascinating athletes.

13

Boost Your Basketball IQ - Jason Calabrese Cover Art

Boost Your Basketball IQ

Boost Your Basketball IQ How to Think the Game, Be the Smartest Player on the Court, and Win More by Jason Calabrese

Learn the Most Important Basketball Skill of All... Much of today's basketball training focuses on improving speed, agility, scoring moves, and shooting abilities. While this increases physical skills, it doesn't teach young athletes the mental ins and outs of the game. Boost Your Basketball IQ teaches players and coaches arguably the most important (and neglected) skill of all: game awareness - a skill that most players often don't develop until late in their careers. You'll learn: Insights, intricacies, and ins and outs that win games.How to do the little things on the court that others overlook that make a huge difference to the outcome of a game.Proven ways to sharpen your mental skills and build a winning mindset.Original drills and skills that you will find nowhere else. Boost Your Basketball IQ gives average players an advantage over the most talented players and makes talented players into superstars. Read this book, learn to 'think the game,' become the smartest player on the court, and win more games!

14

Rebound! - Michael Connelly Cover Art

Rebound!

Rebound! Basketball, Busing, Larry Bird, and the Rebirth of Boston by Michael Connelly

In the mid-1970s, the city of Boston entered a period of upheaval on both its historic cobblestone streets and its legendary parquet basketball court. The Boston Celtics’ long dominance of the NBA came to an abrupt end, and the city's image as a hub of social justice was shaken to its core. When the federal courts declared, in 1974, that the city was in violation of school desegregation rulings and would need to institute a busing program, Boston became deeply polarized. Then, just as the city was struggling to pull itself out of economic and social turmoil, the Boston Celtics drafted a forward from Indiana State named Larry Bird. Upon the arrival of the “Hick from French Lick” to Boston in 1979, the fates of team and city were reborn. Pride, championships, reduced crime, and an economic boom re-emerged in Boston. In Rebound! , author Michael Connelly chronicles these parallel but intertwining worlds. It is an account of a city in financial, moral, and social decline brought back to life by the re-emergence of the Boston Celtics dynasty and the return of hope, purpose, and pride to “Hub of the Universe.” Interviews with city officials, former players, and others on the frontlines provide a fascinating exploration into this tumultuous time.

15

Canyon Dreams - Michael Powell Cover Art

Canyon Dreams

Canyon Dreams A Basketball Season on the Navajo Nation by Michael Powell

The inspiration for the Netflix film Rez Ball —produced by Lebron James The moving story of a Navajo high school basketball team, its members struggling with the everyday challenges of high school, adolescence, and family, and the great and unique obstacles facing Native Americans living on reservations. Deep in the heart of northern Arizona, in a small and isolated patch of the vast 17.5-million-acre Navajo reservation, sits Chinle High School. Here, basketball is passion, passed from grandparent to parent to child. Rez Ball is a sport for winters where dark and cold descend fast and there is little else to do but roam mesa tops, work, and wonder what the future holds. The town has 4,500 residents and the high school arena seats 7,000. Fans drive thirty, fifty, even eighty miles to see the fast-paced and highly competitive matchups that are more than just games to players and fans.   Celebrated Times journalist Michael Powell brings us a narrative of triumph and hardship, a moving story about a basketball team on a Navajo reservation that shows how important sports can be to youths in struggling communities, and the transcendent magic and painful realities that confront Native Americans living on reservations. This book details his season-long immersion in the team, town, and culture, in which there were exhilarating wins, crushing losses, and conversations on long bus rides across the desert about dreams of  leaving home and the fear of the same.

16

Jail Blazers - Kerry Eggers Cover Art

Jail Blazers

Jail Blazers How the Portland Trail Blazers Became the Bad Boys of Basketball by Kerry Eggers

In the late ’90s and early 2000s, the Portland Trail Blazers were one of the hottest teams in the NBA. For almost a decade, they won 60 percent of their games while making it to the Western Conference Finals twice. However, what happened off-court was just as unforgettable as what they did on the court. When someone asked Blazers general manager Bob Whitsitt about his team’s chemistry, he replied that he’d “never studied chemistry in college.” And with that, the “Jail Blazers” were born. Built in a similar fashion to a fantasy team, the team had skills, but their issues ended up being their undoing. In fact, many consider it the darkest period in franchise history. While fans across the country were watching the skills of Damon Stoudamire, Rasheed Wallace, and Zach Randolph, those in Portland couldn’t have been more disappointed in the players’ off-court actions. This, many have mentioned, included a very racial element—which carried over to the players as well. As forward Rasheed Wallace said, “We’re not really going to worry about what the hell [the fans] think about us. They really don’t matter to us. They can boo us every day, but they’re still going to ask for our autographs if they see us on the street. That’s why they’re fans and we’re NBA players.” While people think of the Detroit Pistons of the eighties as the elite “Bad Boys,” the “Jail Blazers” were actually bad. Author Kerry Eggers, who covered the Trail Blazers during this controversial era, goes back to share the stories from the players, coaches, management, and those in Portland when the players were in the headlines as much for their play as for their legal issues.

17

Why So Serious? - Mike Singer Cover Art

Why So Serious?

Why So Serious? The Untold Story of NBA Champion Nikola Jokic by Mike Singer

“A deeply insightful and introspective look at arguably the best basketball player in the world.”—Jemele Hill “This is a fantastic book. Mike Singer, through moments large and small, captures the unlikely journey of Nikola Jokic with detail and texture, and with a style that holds the reader’s attention and energy from start to finish.”—Bomani Jones A revealing, intimate biography of basketball savant and enigmatic NBA superstar Nikola Jokic, filled with news-breaking interviews and deep reporting from Mike Singer, the Nuggets’ former beat writer for the Denver Post. Why So Serious? takes readers on Nikola Jokic’s long, strange, and incredibly unlikely journey to becoming the heartbeat of the champion Denver Nuggets and the best basketball player on the planet. As he traces Jokic’s transformation from his humble beginnings in Sombor, Serbia, sports journalist Mike Singer captures the witty irreverence, unparalleled competitiveness, and slight mischievousness of the MVP fondly known as “The Joker.” Behind his veiled public persona, who really is Nikola Jokic? Filled with exclusive, sure-to-be-headline-making interviews, including unique insights from Jokic himself, Why So Serious? delves deep into the soul of the mysterious center and reveals how the big man developed his relentless work ethic, exceptional court vision, and magical playing style that has redefined dominance in the NBA.

18

Unrivaled - Jeff Goldberg Cover Art

Unrivaled

Unrivaled UConn, Tennessee, and the Twelve Years that Transcended Women's Basketball by Jeff Goldberg

For twelve years the women’s basketball rivalry between UConn and Tennessee was the most iconic matchup in women’s sports. Even now, twenty years since the annual series started, the competition between these two storied programs still provokes heated argument and bitter resentment. Led by Hall of Fame coaches Geno Auriemma and Pat Summitt, UConn and Tennessee combined for nine national championships, with the UConn Huskies winning five—including four against the Tennessee Lady Vols. In all, UConn won thirteen of twenty-two matchups during the rivalry, and along the way the two coaches—with distinctive and brash personalities and a shared determination to rule their sport—clashed privately and publicly, generating enough heat to make women’s basketball relevant in the national sports landscape as never before. On the court, the two teams produced a series of memorable games, from overtime thrillers to timeless classics that defined the sport. Off the court, the coaches’ encounters were often marked by their seemingly genuine dislike for each other, until the conflict reached a breaking point in 2007 and Summitt stunned the basketball world by canceling the series for reasons neither side has ever revealed. Now, eight years after the last game, Unrivaled uncovers the on-court and behind-the-scenes story of this intensely personal rivalry between coaches, players, and the two most passionate fan bases women’s sports has ever known.  

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Basketball Skills & Drills - Jerry V. Krause Cover Art

Basketball Skills & Drills

Basketball Skills & Drills by Jerry V. Krause

Before you can make that winning buzzer beater, you need to master fundamental skills in all phases of the game. The fourth edition of the best-selling instructional resource Basketball Skills & Drills provides the perfect blueprint for building the foundation that all well-rounded players and championship teams need. With complete coverage of individual skills and team play, you’ll find 103 developmental drills covering everything from stance and footwork to scoring plays and transitions. Enhanced with an online video library featuring 42 clips demonstrating the drills in action, you’ll have the optimal guide for mastering these fundamental skills: • Player positioning • Footwork • Moving without the ball • Ballhandling and court vision • Shooting • Perimeter moves • Post moves • Rebounding • Team offense • Team defense Recognizing that individual skills are effective only when used within the team concept, the book also covers team principles for both ends of the court. Tactics for offense, including special situations for out-of-bounds plays, will improve spacing, ball and player movement, shot selection, and scoring. Defensive tactics emphasize positioning, pressure, and various systems to apply in each zone of the court. At all levels of basketball, success comes with mastery of the basic skills. Basketball Skills & Drills is your best-selling guide to becoming that dominant force on the court.

20

Desi Hoop Dreams - Stanley I. Thangaraj Cover Art

Desi Hoop Dreams

Desi Hoop Dreams Pickup Basketball and the Making of Asian American Masculinity by Stanley I. Thangaraj

South Asian American men are not usually depicted as ideal American men. They struggle against popular representations as either threatening terrorists or geeky, effeminate computer geniuses. To combat such stereotypes, some use sports as a means of performing a distinctly American masculinity. Desi Hoop Dreams focuses on South Asian-only basketball leagues common in most major U.S. and Canadian cities, to show that basketball, for these South Asian American players is not simply a whimsical hobby, but a means to navigate and express their identities in 21st century America. The participation of young men in basketball is one platform among many for performing South Asian American identity. South Asian-only leagues and tournaments become spaces in which to negotiate the relationships between masculinity, race, and nation. When faced with stereotypes that portray them as effeminate, players perform sporting feats on the court to represent themselves as athletic. And though they draw on black cultural styles, they carefully set themselves off from African American players, who are deemed “too aggressive.” Accordingly, the same categories of their own marginalization—masculinity, race, class, and sexuality—are those through which South Asian American men exclude women, queer masculinities, and working-class masculinities, along with other racialized masculinities, in their effort to lay claim to cultural citizenship. One of the first works on masculinity formation and sport participation in South Asian American communities, Desi Hoop Dreams focuses on an American popular sport to analyze the dilemma of belonging within South Asian America in particular and in the U.S. in general.

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Heart of a Champion - Carl Deuker Cover Art

Heart of a Champion

Heart of a Champion by Carl Deuker

Jimmy Winter is a born star on the baseball field, and Seth Barnam can only dream of being as talented. Still, the two baseball fanatics have the kind of friendship that should last forever. But when Seth experiences an unthinkable loss, he's forced to find his own personal strength--on and off the field. An ALA Best Book for Young Adults An ALA Best Book for Reluctant Readers A New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Book of the Year

22

Relentless - Tim S Grover Cover Art

Relentless

Relentless From Good to Great to Unstoppable by Tim S Grover

For more than two decades, legendary trainer Tim Grover has taken the greats—Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, and hundreds of relentless competitors in sports, business, and every walk of life—and made them greater. Now, for the first time ever, he reveals what it takes to achieve total mental and physical dominance, showing you how to be relentless and achieve whatever you desire. Direct, blunt, and brutally honest, Grover breaks down what it takes to be unstoppable: you keep going when everyone else is giving up, you thrive under pressure, you never let your emotions make you weak. In “The Relentless 13,” he details the essential traits shared by the most intense competitors and achievers in sports, business, and all walks of life. Relentless shows you how to trust your instincts and get in the Zone; how to control and adapt to any situation; how to find your opponent’s weakness and attack. Grover gives you the same advice he gives his world-class clients—“don’t think”—and shows you that anything is possible. Packed with previously untold stories and unparalleled insight into the psyches of the most successful and accomplished athletes of our time, Relentless shows you how even the best get better . . . and how you can too.

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Tall Men, Short Shorts - Leigh Montville Cover Art

Tall Men, Short Shorts

Tall Men, Short Shorts The 1969 NBA Finals: Wilt, Russ, Lakers, Celtics, and a Very Young Sports Reporter by Leigh Montville

This "part memoir, part sports story" ( Wall Street Journal ) from the New York Times bestselling author of The Big Bam chronicles the clash of NBA titans over seven riveting games—Celtics versus Lakers, Russell versus Chamberlain—covered by one young reporter. Welcome to the 1969 NBA Finals! They don’t set up any better than this. The greatest basketball player of all time - Bill Russell - and his juggernaut Boston Celtics, winners of ten ( ten! ) of the previous twelve NBA championships, squeak through one more playoff run and land in the Finals again. Russell’s opponent? The fearsome 7’1” next-generation superstar, Wilt Chamberlain, recently traded to the LA Lakers to form the league’s first dream team. Bill Russell and John Havlicek versus Chamberlain, Jerry West and Elgin Baylor. The 1969 Celtics are at the end of their dominance. The 1969 Lakers are unstoppable.   Add to the mix one newly minted reporter. Covering the epic series is a wide-eyed young sports writer named Leigh Montville. Years before becoming an award-winning legend himself at The Boston Globe and Sports Illustrated , twenty-four-year-old Montville is ordered by his editor at the Globe to get on a plane to L.A. (first time!) to write about his luminous heroes, the biggest of big men.   What follows is a raucous, colorful, joyous account of one of the greatest seven-game series in NBA history. Set against a backdrop of the late sixties, Montville’s reporting and recollections transport readers to a singular time – with rampant racial tension on the streets and on the court, with the emergence of a still relatively small league on its way to becoming a billion-dollar industry, and to an era when newspaper journalism and the written word served as the crucial lifeline between sports and sports fans. And there was basketball – seven breathtaking, see-saw games, highlight-reel moments from an unprecedented cast of future Hall of Famers (including player-coach Russell as the first-ever black head coach in the NBA), coast-to-coast travels and the clack-clack-clack of typewriter keys racing against tight deadlines.   Tall Men, Short Shorts is a masterpiece of sports journalism with a charming touch of personal memoir. Leigh Montville has crafted his most entertaining book yet, richly enshrining luminous players and moments in a unique American time.  

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Coaching Basketball Successfully - Morgan Wootten Cover Art

Coaching Basketball Successfully

Coaching Basketball Successfully by Morgan Wootten

Legendary UCLA coach John Wooden once said, “People say Morgan Wootten is the best high school basketball coach in the country. I disagree. I know of no finer coach at any level—high school, college, or pro.” Morgan Wootten has retired from coaching, but his knowledge of the game remains unsurpassed and keen as ever. Coaching Basketball Successfully contains a wealth of Wootten’s timeless wisdom. And, in this third edition, Wootten adds even more value—the coaching experiences, methods, and tactics of his son Joe, a successful high school coach himself. Loaded with insights, instruction, drills, and Xs and Os, Coaching Basketball Successfully is the best single resource on making the most of your program, team, and players each season.

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Pipeline to the Pros - Ben Kaplan & Danny Parkins Cover Art

Pipeline to the Pros

Pipeline to the Pros by Ben Kaplan & Danny Parkins

Jeff Van Gundy. Brad Stevens. Frank Vogel. Mike Budenholzer. Tom Thibodeau. Sam Presti. Leon Rose. Before you knew his name, before he drafted your favorite player, before he guided your team to a championship, he had a playing career of his own at an NCAA Division III college. He didn't play for fortune – the NBA was out of reach, and his school didn't even give athletic scholarships. He didn't play for fame – his games weren't televised, and the stands were rarely full. Whatever the motivation, he simply couldn't give up the game of basketball. And that didn't change after graduation, when it was time to pick a career path. For the first time in league history, NBA coaches and general managers are just as likely to have played Division III basketball as they are to have played in the NBA. While the number of former D3 players working in the NBA is higher than ever, small college alums have served in leadership positions since the league's founding. They shaped the NBA into what it is today, playing integral roles in the Lakers' initial success in Los Angeles, the inception of several expansion franchises, the creation of the popular All-Star Weekend dunk contest, the globalization of the league, and more. Their improbable and inspiring journeys tell a bigger story – the history of small college athletics, the evolution of coaching and management in the NBA, and the hiring practices in the most competitive fields. Their alma maters were small, but their impact on the game, and the implications of their success, loom large.

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Sprawlball - Kirk Goldsberry Cover Art

Sprawlball

Sprawlball A Visual Tour of the New Era of the NBA by Kirk Goldsberry

From the leading expert in the exploding field of basketball analytics, a stunning infographic decoding of the modern NBA: who shoots where, how well, and why. Says Nate Silver: “If you want to understand how the modern NBA came to be, you’ll need to read this book.” The field of basketball analytics has leaped into overdrive thanks to Kirk Goldsberry, whose spatial and visual analyses of players, teams, and positions have helped us all understand who really is the most valuable player at any position. SprawlBall combines stunning visuals, in-depth analysis, behind-the-scenes stories, and gee-whiz facts to chart a modern revolution. Since the introduction of the three-point line, the game has changed drastically, with players like Steph Curry and James Harden leading the charge. In chapters like “The Geography of the NBA,” “The Interior Minister (LeBron James),” “The Evolution of Steph Curry,” and “The Investor (James Harden),” Goldsberry explains why today’s on-court product—with its emphasis on shooting, passing, and spacing—has never been prettier or more democratic. And it’s never been more popular. For fans of Bill Simmons and FreeDarko, SprawlBall presents a bold new vision of the game, giving readers an innovative, cutting-edge look at the sport based on the latest research, as well as a visual and infographic feast for fans. ¶“Beautifully illustrated and sharply written, SprawlBall is both a celebration and a critique of the three-point shot. If you want to understand how the modern NBA came to be, you’ll need to read this book.” —Nate Silver, editor, fivethirtyeight.com, and bestselling author of The Signal and the Noise

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The Basketball 100 - The Athletic, David Aldridge & John Hollinger Cover Art

The Basketball 100

The Basketball 100 by The Athletic, David Aldridge & John Hollinger

A celebration of basketball by way of the 100 greatest players to ever grace the court in the history of the NBA—from The Athletic’s foremost basketball writers and analysts the game has to offer. With a foreword by Charles Barkley. Over the course of 100 luminous player profiles, the best sports newsroom on the planet paints vivid portraits of the game’s most compelling characters. There’s George Mikan, who was cut from his high school team because he wore glasses, then went on to become the fledgling NBA’s first transcendent star. Gary Payton, called “The Glove” for his skintight defense, who talked as much trash to his teammates as he did to his opponents on the court. Dennis Rodman, who started playing basketball at age 20, and in a few short years went from working as a janitor at the airport to being one of the strangest superstars that sport has ever known. Allen Iverson, who drew inspiration from hip hop for his inimitable style and swagger, on and off the court. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who was so dominant in the paint that they changed the rules—and Steph Curry, who was so dominant outside it that he seemed to expand the very boundaries of the court. The Basketball 100, edited by award-winning reporters David Aldridge and John Hollinger, also answers the game’s toughest, most important questions: How should we weight championship rings, versus statistical profiles, versus the “eye test”? Were the great players of yesteryear, like Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell, propelled by the inferior athleticism of their competition or would they have been transcendent in any era? And of course, who’s the GOAT—MJ or LeBron? Speaking of GOATs, for the book, Hollinger (inventor of the statistical metric PER) has created a new benchmark, GOAT Points. Wonderfully written, authoritative, and full of joy, The Basketball 100 is a fitting tribute to the greatest sport in the world.

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Five Banners - John Feinstein Cover Art

Five Banners

Five Banners Inside the Duke Basketball Dynasty by John Feinstein

On an early morning in 1983, after the worst loss of his career (109-66 against Virginia) and amid the cries of powerful athletics boosters calling for him to be fired, Duke men’s basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski went to breakfast at 2:00 a.m. to vent with friends. Sports journalist and Duke alumnus John Feinstein was at the table. For Coach K, “the night at Denny’s” would mark a turning point in his career and for the team, and eight years later, the Blue Devils would win their first NCAA national championship. In Five Banners , Feinstein tells the inside history of Coach K’s forty-two-year career at Duke and its five NCAA championships, from the first, against Kansas in 1991, to the most recent, in 2015 against Wisconsin. With unparalleled access to Coach K, the team, and its staff, Feinstein takes readers on a mesmerizing ride into the locker room and onto the court. Full of intimate details, personal memories, and previously untold on- and off-court stories, it is a book that only Feinstein could write. Feinstein explores a basketball legacy that begins with his days as an undergrad Duke Chronicle reporter covering coaches Bucky Waters and Neill McGeachy (who went 10-16 in one year as head coach), includes the “drought years” of the 1980s and the glory of the teams of the 1990s, and moves into the present day with Jon Scheyer’s succession. Drawing on new interviews, Feinstein highlights the voices of Grant Hill, Nolan Smith, Christian Laettner, Tommy Amaker, and Bobby Hurley, who each bring new insights on the championship years.  Throughout, Feinstein unveils the momentous force of college basketball as a game of intense relationships and intimate conversations. Candid, revelatory, and engrossing, Five Banners is an essential book for all Duke fans and anyone who loves the college game.

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Dream Team - Jack McCallum Cover Art

Dream Team

Dream Team How Michael, Magic, Larry, Charles, and the Greatest Team of All Time Conquered the World and Changed the Game of Basketball Forever by Jack McCallum

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER   Acclaimed sports journalist Jack McCallum delivers the untold story of the greatest team ever assembled: the 1992 U.S. Olympic Men’s Basketball Team. As a writer for Sports Illustrated, McCallum enjoyed a courtside seat for the most exciting basketball spectacle on earth, covering the Dream Team from its inception to the gold medal ceremony in Barcelona. Drawing on fresh interviews with the players, McCallum provides the definitive account of the Dream Team phenomenon. He offers a behind-the-scenes look at the controversial selection process. He takes us inside the team’s Olympic suites for late-night card games and bull sessions where superstars like Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and Larry Bird debated the finer points of basketball. And he narrates a riveting account of the legendary intrasquad scrimmage that pitted the Dream Teamers against one another in what may have been the greatest pickup game in history. In the twenty years since the Dream Team first captivated the world, its mystique has only grown. Dream Team vividly re-creates the moment when a once-in-a-millennium group of athletes came together and changed the future of sports—one perfectly executed fast break at a time.   With a new Afterword by the author .   “The absolute definitive work on the subject, a perfectly wonderful once-you-pick-it-up-you-won’t-be-able-to-put-it-down book.”— The Boston Globe   “An Olympic hoops dream.”— Newsday   “What makes this volume a must-read for nostalgic hoopsters are the robust portraits of the outsize personalities of the participants, all of whom were remarkably open with McCallum, both then and now.”— Booklist (starred review)

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The Miracle of St. Anthony - Adrian Wojnarowski Cover Art

The Miracle of St. Anthony

The Miracle of St. Anthony A Season with Coach Bob Hurley and Basketball's Most Improbable Dynasty by Adrian Wojnarowski

In a city mired in endless decay, where the youth suffer through all the horrors of urban blight, hope comes in a most unassuming form: a tiny brick schoolhouse run by two Felician nuns where a singular basketball genius takes teenagers from the mean streets of Jersey City and turns them into champions on the hardcourt. Coach Bob Hurley had been working miracles at St. Anthony High School for over thirty years, winning state and national championships and offering his players rescue from their surroundings through college scholarships, when he met his most dysfunctional team yet. In The Miracle of St. Anthony Adrian Wojnarowski follows Hurley through a gripping and heartrending season as he struggles to lead a troubled team to glory through his unparalleled understanding of the game and his ceaseless determination to see no more children lost to these streets. In The Miracle of St. Anthony , acclaimed sports journalist Adrian Wojnarowski follows Hurley through a gripping and heartrending season, as he struggles to lead a troubled team to glory through his unparalleled understanding of the game and his ceaseless determination to see no more children lost to the city streets.

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Let Me Tell You a Story - Red Auerbach & John Feinstein Cover Art

Let Me Tell You a Story

Let Me Tell You a Story A Lifetime in the Game by Red Auerbach & John Feinstein

"Did I ever tell you about Wilt Chamberlain?" "Did I ever tell you about Bob Cousy?" "Did I ever tell you about Joe DiMaggio?" Whenever Arnold "Red" Auerbach starts a sentence with those six words -- "Did I ever tell you about . . ." -- anyone within earshot should prepare to hear a marvelous story. As a living legend among sports fans, Red Auerbach -- the fiery coach who led the Boston Celtics to nine NBA championships, eight of them consecutive -- has long been renowned for his formidable personality: brash, opinionated, and unfailingly accurate. As a coach, he had a great eye for talent, drafting such Hall of Famers as Bill Russell and Larry Bird, and managed to build a powerful franchise with an abiding legacy. Red never stood still along the sidelines and was never seen without his trademark cigar. Now in retirement, at age eighty-seven, he remains a lively part of the game, still consulted by coaches, players, and general managers. And his admirers continue to be legion. Not long ago a former president postponed a meeting with Bill Gates so as not to pass up the chance to talk with Red. For the past several years, John Feinstein has met regularly with Red Auerbach and his friends in a series of raucous, unforgettable sessions. Out of those smoke-and-laughter-filled rooms have emerged the stories of Red's life, from his childhood on the playgrounds of Brooklyn to his triumphs at the famed Boston Garden, where he coached for sixteen years. Just listen as Red colorfully recalls all the players and coaches he has worked with and played against: Bill Russell, Larry Bird, Bob Cousy, Wilt Chamberlain, Sam Jones, and Michael Jordan -- you name them, the basketball greats are all here. Red holds nothing back. In Let Me Tell You a Story , Red Auerbach's unique experiences in sports and John Feinstein's unparalleled skills as a storyteller combine to produce one of the most richly entertaining books ever written about the game of basketball.

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Game Changers - Art Chansky Cover Art

Game Changers

Game Changers Dean Smith, Charlie Scott, and the Era That Transformed a Southern College Town by Art Chansky

Among many legendary episodes from the life and career of men's basketball coach Dean Smith, few loom as large as his recruitment of Charlie Scott, the first African American scholarship athlete at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Drawn together by college basketball in a time of momentous change, Smith and Scott helped transform a university, a community, and the racial landscape of sports in the South. But there is much more to this story than is commonly told. In Game Changers , Art Chansky reveals an intense saga of race, college sport, and small-town politics. At the center were two young men, Scott and Smith, both destined for greatness but struggling through challenges on and off the court, among them the storms of civil rights protest and the painfully slow integration of a Chapel Hill far less progressive than its reputation today might suggest. Drawing on extensive personal interviews and a variety of other sources, Chansky takes readers beyond the basketball court to highlight the community that supported Smith and Scott during these demanding years, from assistant basketball coach John Lotz and influential pastor the Reverend Robert Seymour to pioneering African American mayor Howard Lee. Dispelling many myths that surround this period, Chansky nevertheless offers an ultimately triumphant portrait of a student-athlete and coach who ensured the University of North Carolina would never be the same.

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God x Basketball - Nick Graham Cover Art

God x Basketball

God x Basketball An Athlete's Playbook to Navigating Life with God's Word by Nick Graham

As you develop your relationship with God, you will learn that while basketball is a lifestyle, it’s not life. God is. This book of basketball-themed devotionals accepts readers where they are and encourages them to continually strengthen their personal relationship with God. ‘God x Basketball’ will help you: •        develop Christ-led character on and off the court. •        discover a deeper purpose through your role in sports. •        allow God to lead you through the peaks and valleys of life and sports. •        use basketball as a vehicle to support you in your faith walk. •        place God first in your life. Readers will learn that their talents should never compromise the continued development of their Christ-like character, which is the spirit in which basketball was invented. Knowing what to do in the game is one thing. Know what to do in life is another.

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The Breaks of the Game - David Halberstam Cover Art

The Breaks of the Game

The Breaks of the Game by David Halberstam

A New York Times bestseller, David Halberstam's The Breaks of the Game focuses on one grim season (1979-80) in the life of the Bill Walton-led Portland Trail Blazers, a team that only three years before had been NBA champions. More than six years after his death David Halberstam remains one of this country's most respected journalists and revered authorities on American life and history in the years since WWII. A Pulitzer Prize-winner for his groundbreaking reporting on the Vietnam War, Halberstam wrote more than 20 books, almost all of them bestsellers. His work has stood the test of time and has become the standard by which all journalists measure themselves. The tactile authenticity of Halberstam's knowledge of the basketball world is unrivaled. Yet he is writing here about far more than just basketball. This is a story about a place in our society where power, money, and talent collide and sometimes corrupt, a place where both national obsessions and naked greed are exposed. It's about the influence of big media, the fans and the hype they subsist on, the clash of ethics, the terrible physical demands of modern sports (from drugs to body size), the unreal salaries, the conflicts of race and class, and the consequences of sport converted into mass entertainment and athletes transformed into superstars -- all presented in a way that puts the reader in the room and on the court, and The Breaks of the Game in a league of its own.

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Toughness - Jay Bilas Cover Art

Toughness

Toughness Developing True Strength On and Off the Court by Jay Bilas

ESPN basketball analyst and former Duke player Jay Bilas looks at the true meaning of toughness in this New York Times bestselling book that features stories from basketball legends. If anyone knows tough, it’s Jay Bilas. A four-year starter at Duke, he learned a strong work ethic under Coach Mike Krzyzewski. After playing professionally overseas, he returned to Duke, where he served as Krzyzewski’s assistant coach for three seasons, helping to guide the Blue Devils to two national championships. He has since become one of basketball’s most recognizable faces through his insightful analysis on ESPN’s SportsCenter and College GameDay . Through his ups and downs on and off the court, Bilas learned the true meaning of toughness from coaches, teammates, and colleagues. Now, in Toughness , he examines this misunderstood—yet vital—attribute and how it contributes to winning in sports and in life. Featuring never-before-heard stories and personal philosophies on toughness from top players and coaches, including Coach K, Bob Knight, Grant Hill, Mia Hamm, Jon Gruden, Tom Izzo, Roy Williams, Bill Self, Curtis Strange, and many others—Bilas redefines what it takes to succeed.

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The Big East - Dana O'Neil Cover Art

The Big East

The Big East Inside the Most Entertaining and Influential Conference in College Basketball History by Dana O'Neil

The definitive, compulsively readable story of the greatest era of the most iconic league in college basketball history—the Big East “This book, full of long-standing rivalries, unmatched moments in the lives of coaches and players, and juicy insider gossip, is, like the game of basketball, a ton of fun.”— Philadelphia magazine The names need no introduction: Thompson and Patrick, Boeheim and the Pearl, and of course Gavitt. And the moments are part of college basketball lore: the Sweater Game, Villanova Beats Georgetown, and Six Overtimes. But this is the story of the Big East Conference that you haven’t heard before—of how the Northeast, once an afterthought, became the epicenter of college basketball. Before the league’s founding, East Coast basketball had crowned just three national champions in forty years, and none since 1954. But in the Big East’s first ten years, five of its teams played for a national championship. The league didn’t merely inherit good teams; it created them. But how did this unlikely group of schools come to dominate college basketball so quickly and completely? Including interviews with more than sixty of the key figures in the conference’s history, The Big East charts the league’s daring beginnings and its incredible rise. It transports fans inside packed arenas to epic wars fought between transcendent players, and behind locker-room doors where combustible coaches battled even more fiercely for a leg up. Started on a handshake and a prayer, the Big East carved an improbable arc in sports history, an ensemble of Catholic schools banding together to not only improve their own stations but rewrite the geographic boundaries of basketball. As former UConn coach Jim Calhoun eloquently put it, “It was Camelot. Camelot with bad language.”

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Don't Put Me In, Coach - Mark Titus Cover Art

Don't Put Me In, Coach

Don't Put Me In, Coach My Incredible NCAA Journey from the End of the Bench to the End of the Bench by Mark Titus

An irreverent, hilarious insider's look at big-time NCAA basketball, through the eyes of the nation's most famous benchwarmer and author of the popular blog ClubTrillion.com (3.6m visits!). Mark Titus holds the Ohio State record for career wins, and made it to the 2007 national championship game. You would think Titus would be all over the highlight reels. You'd be wrong.   In 2006, Mark Titus arrived on Ohio State's campus as a former high school basketball player who aspired to be an orthopedic surgeon. Somehow, he was added to the elite Buckeye basketball team, given a scholarship, and played alongside seven future NBA players on his way to setting the record for most individual career wins in Ohio State history. Think that's impressive? In four years, he scored a grand total of nine—yes, nine —points. This book will give readers an uncensored and uproarious look inside an elite NCAA basketball program from Titus's unique perspective. In his four years at the end of the bench, Mark founded his wildly popular blog Club Trillion, became a hero to all guys picked last, and even got scouted by the Harlem Globetrotters. Mark Titus is not your average basketball star. This is a wild and completely true story of the most unlikely career in college basketball. A must-read for all fans of March Madness and college sports!

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Showtime - Jeff Pearlman Cover Art

Showtime

Showtime Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s by Jeff Pearlman

The New York Times bestselling author of Sweetness delivers the first all-encompassing account of the 1980s Los Angeles Lakers, one of professional sports’ most-revered — and dominant — dynasties.   The Los Angeles Lakers of the 1980s personified the flamboyance and excess of the decade over which they reigned. Beginning with the arrival of Earvin “Magic” Johnson as the number-one overall pick of the 1979 draft, the Lakers played basketball with gusto and pizzazz, unleashing their famed “Showtime” run-and-gun style on a league unprepared for their speed and ferocity—and became the most captivating show in sports and, arguably, in all-around American entertainment. The Lakers’ roster overflowed with exciting all-star-caliber players, including center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and they were led by the incomparable Pat Riley, known for his slicked-back hair, his Armani suits, and his arrogant strut. Hollywood’s biggest celebrities lined the court and gorgeous women flocked to the arena. Best of all, the team was a winner. Between 1980 and 1991, the Lakers played in an unmatched nine NBA championship series, capturing five of them. Bestselling sportswriter Jeff Pearlman draws from almost three hundred interviews to take the first full measure of the Lakers’ epic Showtime era. A dazzling account of one of America’s greatest sports sagas, Showtime is packed with indelible characters, vicious rivalries, and jaw-dropping, behind-the-scenes stories of the players’ decadent Hollywood lifestyles.  From the Showtime era’s remarkable rise to its tragic end—marked by Magic Johnson’s 1991 announcement that he had contracted HIV— Showtime is a gripping narrative of sports, celebrity, and 1980s-style excess.

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The Legends Club - John Feinstein Cover Art

The Legends Club

The Legends Club Dean Smith, Mike Krzyzewski, Jim Valvano, and an Epic College Basketball Rivalry by John Feinstein

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The riveting inside story of college basketball's fiercest rivalry among three coaching legends—University of North Carolina's Dean Smith, Duke's Mike Krzyzewski, and North Carolina State's Jim Valvano—by the king of college basketball writers. "One of Feinstein’s best."— Chicago Tribune On March 18, 1980, the Duke basketball program announced the hiring of Mike Krzyzewski, the man who would restore glory to the team. The only problem: no one knew who Krzyzewski was. Nine days later, Jim Valvano was hired by North Carolina State to be their new head coach. The hiring didn't raise as many eyebrows, but the two new coaches had a similar goal: to unseat North Carolina's Dean Smith as the king of college basketball. And just like that, the most sensational competitive decade in history was about to unfold. In the skillful hands of John Feinstein, The Legends Club captures an era in American sport and culture, documenting the inside view of a decade of absolutely incredible competition. Feinstein pulls back the curtain on the recruiting wars, the intensely personal competition that wasn't always friendly, the enormous pressure and national stakes, and the battle for the very soul of college basketball.

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The Last Great Game - Gene Wojciechowski Cover Art

The Last Great Game

The Last Great Game Duke vs. Kentucky and the 2.1 Seconds That Changed Basketball by Gene Wojciechowski

The definitive book on the greatest game in the history of college basketball, and the dramatic road both teams took to get there. March 28, 1992. The final of the NCAA East Regional, Duke vs. Kentucky. The 17,848 at the Spectrum in Philadelphia and the millions watching on TV could say they saw the greatest game and the greatest shot in the history of college basketball. But it wasn't just the final play of the game-an 80-foot inbounds bass from Grant Hill to Christian Laettner with 2.1 seconds left in overtime- that made Duke's 104-103 victory so memorable. The Kentucky and Duke players and coaches arrived at that point from very different places, each with a unique story to tell. In The Last Great Game , acclaimed ESPN columnist Gene Wojciechowski tells their stories in vivid detail, turning the game we think we remember into a drama filled with suspense, humor, revelations and reverberations. The cast alone is worth meeting again: Mike Krzyzewski, Rick Pitino, Bobby Hurley, Jamal Mashburn, Christian Laettner, Sean Woods, Grant Hill, and Bobby Knight. Timed for the game's 20th anniversary, The Last Great Game isn't a book just for Duke or Kentucky or even basketball fans. It's a book for any reader who can appreciate that great moments in sports are the result of hard work, careful preparation, group psychology, and a little luck.

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Return of the King - Brian Windhorst & Dave McMenamin Cover Art

Return of the King

Return of the King LeBron James, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Greatest Comeback in NBA History by Brian Windhorst & Dave McMenamin

In this New York Times bestseller, get the inside scoop into LeBron James's return -- and ultimate triumph -- in Cleveland. What really happened when LeBron James stunned the NBA by leaving a potential dynasty in Miami to come home to play with the Cleveland Cavaliers? How did the Cavs use secret meetings to put together the deal to add star Kevin Love? Who really made the controversial decision to fire coach David Blatt when the team was in first place? Where did the greatest comeback in NBA history truly begin-and end? Return of the King takes you onto the private planes, inside the locker-room conversations, and into the middle of the intense huddles where one of the greatest stories in basketball history took place, resulting in the Cavs winning the 2016 NBA title after trailing the Golden State Warriors three games to one. You'll hear from all the characters involved: the players, the executives, the agents, and the owners as they reveal stories never before told. Get the background on all the controversies, the rivalries, and the bad blood from two reporters who were there for every day, plot twist, and social media snafu as they take you through the fascinating ride that culminated in a heart-stopping Game Seven.

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Personal Foul - Tim Donaghy Cover Art

Personal Foul

Personal Foul A First-Person Account of the Scandal that Rocked the NBA by Tim Donaghy

Uncover the true story behind the Netflix documentary  Untold: Operation Flagrant Foul . “The book the NBA doesn’t want you to read.” —Deadspin.com Tim Donaghy loved basketball. In many ways, his zest for the game came from his father, who officiated high school and college games for over 30 years. After graduating from Villanova, Donaghy was unsatisfied with his career until he followed his heart and became a basketball referee, first in the CBA and then the NBA, where he officiated for 13 seasons: 772 regular-season games and 20 playoff games. He loved his job, his family, his life. He felt like he had everything. And then, suddenly, he had nothing. He succumbed to a gambling addiction and to intimidation from well-connected criminals—and began using inside information to win bets for them. Following an FBI investigation, Donaghy pled guilty to two federal charges, and on August 15, 2007, he was sentenced to 15 months in prison. He was released on November 4, 2009, after serving his sentence. This is his story, which provides a stunningly candid admission of his mistakes, as well as his insider’s account of the world of professional basketball. With a foreword by Phil Scala, the FBI special agent who worked the Gambino case, Personal Foul reveals how the fast life of professional sports can tempt and trap the unwary and unwise. Donaghy has written an unforgettable page-turner, one of the most controversial sports books ever published. It will confirm your suspicions about the influence of the front offices of major league sports, while examining the corrosive power of money and fame. From the Introduction: I’m guilty. For 13 years I was a referee in the National Basketball Association, living a glamorous life on and off the court, rubbing elbows with superstar players and celebrity A-listers. I suppose many would say that I had it all—a great job, money, a wonderful family—but it was all an illusion. You see, during my last four years in the NBA, I led a secret life that would ultimately cost me everything: my integrity, my reputation, my career, my livelihood, my marriage, my family, and my freedom.

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Play Their Hearts Out - George Dohrmann Cover Art

Play Their Hearts Out

Play Their Hearts Out A Coach, His Star Recruit, and the Youth Basketball Machine by George Dohrmann

“A tour de force of reporting” ( The Washington Post ) from a Pulitzer–prize winning journalist that examines the often-corrupt machine producing America’s basketball stars “Indispensable.”— The Wall Street Journal “Often heart-breaking, always riveting.”— The New York Times Book Review “Tremendous.”— The Plain Dealer Winner of the PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sportswriting • Winner of the Award for Excellence in the Coverage of Youth Sports Using eight years of unfettered access and a keen sense of a story’s deepest truths, journalist George Dohrmann reveals a cutthroat world where boys as young as eight or nine are subjected to a dizzying torrent of scrutiny and exploitation. At the book’s heart are the personal stories of two compelling figures: Joe Keller, an ambitious coach with a master plan to find and promote “the next LeBron,” and Demetrius Walker, a fatherless latchkey kid who falls under Keller’s sway and struggles to live up to unrealistic expectations.    Complete with a new “where-are-they-now” epilogue by the author, Play Their Hearts Out is a thoroughly compelling narrative exposing the gritty reality that lies beneath so many dreams of fame and glory.   One of GQ ’S 50 Best Books of Literary Journalism of the 21st Century • One of the Best Books of the Year: Los Angeles Times, The Christian Science Monitor, Kirkus Reviews This edition includes an exclusive conversation between George Dohrmann and bestselling author Seth Davis.

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Breaking Cardinal Rules - Katina Powell & Dick Cady Cover Art

Breaking Cardinal Rules

Breaking Cardinal Rules Basketball and the Escort Queen by Katina Powell & Dick Cady

An expose of sexual recruiting tactics from the journal pages of an escort queen. Breaking Cardinal Rules is an exposé by escort Katina Powell based on her experiences providing sexual services for the basketball program at the University of Louisville. It is written with Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Dick Cady. Powell has filled five journals with details of her escort escapades, sexual encounters and her activities at the University of Louisville. Most of the U of L services she provided took place in the men's dormitory where most of the basket players reside. Her main contact and the man with the money–the school's former director of basketball operations and former graduate assistant, Andre McGee–kept Powell and her girls busy from 2010 to 2014. Powell does not present a sympathetic character. Her life is full of contradictions. She has no remorse over the choices she has made. Her story is true in all its graphic detail. "If you think you've heard seamy tales about recruiting before, wait till you get a load of this. The Louisville high command has vowed to take the matter very seriously. It should." -Mike Lopresti, retired USA Today sports columnist ABOUT DICK CADY Dick Cady worked for the Dearborn (Michigan) Guide, Ypsilanti Daily Press, Detroit News, Indianapolis Star and Newsday and also wrote for The Nation, NUVO Newsweekly, Indianapolis Monthly Magazine, the Johnson County Journal and Bloomington Herald-Times. He won 51 local, state and national journalism awards, including the Pulitzer Prize for special local reporting, the Associated Press Freedom of Information Award, the Drew Pearson Award, George Polk Memorial Award, Sigma Delta Chi national journalism society Gold Medal, an American Bar Association special certificate of merit, and two National Headliners awards. In 1976-77 he was assistant director of "The Arizona Project" sponsored by Investigative Reporters and Editors, which examined organized crime, political corruption and land fraud after the assassination of Phoenix reporter Don Bolles. The project won a special gold medal from Sigma Delta Chi as "the outstanding investigative reporting effort of the year." Cady is the author of six books. Keywords: University Of Louisville, Cardinals, Recruitment, Basketball, College, Sports, Recruitment Violations, Sex, Striptease Andre Mcgee, Escorting Services

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Blood in the Garden - Chris Herring Cover Art

Blood in the Garden

Blood in the Garden The Flagrant History of the 1990s New York Knicks by Chris Herring

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A SELECTION ON BARACK OBAMA’S SUMMER READING LIST The definitive history of the 1990s New York Knicks, illustrating how Pat Riley, Patrick Ewing, John Starks, Charles Oakley, and Anthony Mason resurrected the iconic franchise through oppressive physicality and unmatched grit. For nearly an entire generation, the New York Knicks have been a laughingstock franchise. Since 2001, they’ve spent more money, lost more games, and won fewer playoff series than any other NBA team. But during the preceding era, the Big Apple had a club it was madly in love with—one that earned respect not only by winning, but through brute force. The Knicks were always looking for fights, often at the encouragement of Pat Riley. They fought opposing players. They fought each other. Hell, they even occasionally fought their own coaches. The NBA didn’t take kindly to their fighting spirit. Within two years, league officials moved to alter several rules to stop New York from turning its basketball games into bloody mudwrestling matches. Nevertheless, as the 1990s progressed, the Knicks endeared themselves to millions of fans; not for how much they won, but for their colorful cast of characters and their hardworking mentality. Now, through his original reporting and interviews with more than two hundred people, author Chris Herring delves into the origin, evolution, and eventual demise of the iconic club. He takes us inside the locker room, executive boardrooms, and onto the court for the key moments that lifted the club to new heights, and the ones that threatened to send everything crashing down in spectacular fashion. Blood in the Garden is a portrait filled with eye-opening details that have never been shared before, revealing the full story of the franchise in the midst of the NBA’s golden era. And rest assured, no punches will be pulled. Which is just how those rough-and-tumble Knicks would like it.

46

Got to Give the People What They Want - Jalen Rose Cover Art

Got to Give the People What They Want

Got to Give the People What They Want True Stories and Flagrant Opinions from Center Court by Jalen Rose

“I want to start conversations, and even better, arguments.” – From the Introduction   One of the most outspoken and original voices in sports sounds off while revealing his incredible life story.   Jalen Rose has never been quiet.  Not as a kid growing up in Detroit in the 70’s and 80’s.  Not as the brash, trash-talking leader of the legendary “Fab Five” at the University of Michigan.  Not as the player under the stewardship of Hall of Famers Larry Bird, Isiah Thomas and others throughout his 13-year NBA career.  And certainly not as a commentator and analyst on ABC/ESPN and Grantland.     In Got to Give the People What They Want , no topic is off limits.   Honest, unfiltered, unbiased.  Raw, refreshing, real.  This colorful collection of stories and opinions about basketball and life gives people the kind of insight and understanding they don’t get anywhere else in the sports world. 

47

Kevin Durant - Belmont & Belcourt Biographies Cover Art

Kevin Durant

Kevin Durant An Unauthorized Biography by Belmont & Belcourt Biographies

Kevin Durant is a star on the rise. A six-foot, nine-inch small forward, Durant has worked his way into an elite class of NBA all-stars. The 2008 Rookie of the Year led the league in scoring in the 2009-10 season and was the youngest player ever to win the NBA scoring title. This biography explores Durant’s upbringing, his high school and college basketball careers, and details his breakthrough into the NBA, all the way through the conclusion of the 2014-2015 season. From family to basketball to the future, all you need to know about Kevin Durant is right here, right now, in the most up to date coverage of Kevin Durant’s life. This book also includes all of Kevin Durant’s college and professional statistics.

48

Boys Among Men - Jonathan Abrams Cover Art

Boys Among Men

Boys Among Men How the Prep-to-Pro Generation Redefined the NBA and Sparked a Basketball Revolution by Jonathan Abrams

The definitive, never-before-told story of the prep-to-pro generation, those basketball prodigies who from 1995 to 2005 made the jump directly from high school to the NBA .   When Kevin Garnett shocked the world by announcing that he would not be attending college—as young basketball prodigies were expected to do—but instead enter the 1995 NBA draft directly from high school, he blazed a trail for a generation of teenage basketball players to head straight for the pros. That trend would continue until the NBA instituted an age limit in 2005, requiring all players to attend college or another developmental program for at least one year.   Over that decade-plus period, the list of players who made that difficult leap includes some of the most celebrated players of the modern era—Garnett, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwight Howard, Tracy McGrady, and numerous other stars. It also includes notable “busts” who either physically or mentally proved unable to handle the transition. But for better or for worse, the face of the NBA was forever changed by the prep-to-pro generation. In compelling, masterfully crafted prose,  Boys Among Men  goes behind the scenes and draws on hundreds of firsthand interviews to paint insightful and engaging portraits of the most pivotal figures and events during this time. Award-winning basketball writer Jonathan Abrams has obtained remarkable access to the key players, coaches, and other movers and shakers from that time, and the result is a book packed with rare insights and never-before-published details about this chapter in NBA history.  Boys Among Men  is a thrilling, informative, must-read for any basketball fan.

49

Basketball (and Other Things) - Shea Serrano, Arturo Torres & Reggie Miller Cover Art

Basketball (and Other Things)

Basketball (and Other Things) A Collection of Questions Asked, Answered, Illustrated by Shea Serrano, Arturo Torres & Reggie Miller

#1 New York Times  bestseller Who is the greatest dunker of all time? Which version of the Michael Jordan was the best Michael Jordan? What is allowed and absolutely not allowed in a game of pickup basketball? Basketball (and Other Things) presents readers with a whole new set of pivotal and ridiculous fan disputes from basketball history, providing arguments and answers, explained with the wit and wisdom that is unique to Shea Serrano. Serrano breaks down debates that NBA fans didn’t even know they needed, from the classic (How many years during his career was Kobe Bryant actually the best player in the league?) to the fantastical (If you could assign different values to different shots throughout basketball history, what would they be and why?). With incredible art from Arturo Torres, this book is a must-have for anyone who has ever stayed up late into the night debating basketball’s greatest moments, what-ifs, stories, and legends, or for those who are discovering the mythology of basketball for the first time.

50

Loose Balls - Terry Pluto Cover Art

Loose Balls

Loose Balls by Terry Pluto

What do Julius Erving, Larry Brown, Moses Malone, Bob Costas, the Indiana Pacers, the San Antonio Spurs and the Slam Dunk Contest have in common? They all got their professional starts in the American Basketball Association. What do Julius Erving, Larry Brown, Moses Malone, Bob Costas, the Indiana Pacers, the San Antonio Spurs and the Slam Dunk Contest have in common? They all got their professional starts in the American Basketball Association. The NBA may have won the financial battle, but the ABA won the artistic war. With its stress on wide-open individual play, the adoption of the 3-point shot and pressing defense, and the encouragement of flashy moves and flying dunks, today's NBA is still—decades later —just the ABA without the red, white and blue ball. Loose Balls is, after all these years, the definitive and most widely respected history of the ABA. It's a wild ride through some of the wackiest, funniest, strangest times ever to hit pro sports—told entirely through the (often incredible) words of those who played, wrote and connived their way through the league's nine seasons.

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