Basketball Books

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, ...

Take Your Best Shot... Authorized by the National Basketball Association, here is the ultimate trivia challenge for hoopsters of all ages. Filled with more than 700 multiple-choice questions, "Official NBA Trivia" will test your basketball acumen on all aspects of the league including: All-time reco...

The Los Angeles Lakers are and always have been one of the NBA's most interesting, exciting, and even glamorous teams. Now Roland Lazenby, author of the Los Angeles Times bestseller Mindgame: Phil Jackson's Long Strange Journey and the critically acclaimed Mad Game: The NBA Education of Kobe Bryant,...

They were the Beatles of basketball, the "Mercury" Seven in sneakers. In "Dream Team, "acclaimed sports journalist Jack McCallum delivers the untold story of the greatest team ever assembled: the 1992 U.S. Olympic Men's Basketball Team that captivated the world, kindled the hoop dreams of countless...

Shaquille 'Shaq' O'Neal is a four time NBA champion and a three time NBA Finals MVP. After being an All-American at Lousiana State University, he was the number one draft pick by the NBA in 1992. Today in 2011, he's still playing - in fact, at 38, Shaq is the oldest player in the NBA. His presence -...

Sports Illustrated's chief NBA writer, Jack McCallum, only planned to spend the preseason with the Phoenix Suns as an "assistant coach" -- and then write a story about his experiences. Instead, he stayed on with the Suns throughout their exciting and controversial 2005-2006 season. Gaining access to...

An inventive novel, "Make It, Take It" sneaks the reader past the press conferences, locker rooms, and huddles of college basketball. Without judgment or sentimentality, Rus Bradburd lays bare the web of conflicts between players and coaches, blacks and whites, revealing the complex humanity of a te...

Shaquille 'Shaq' O'Neal is a four time NBA champion and a three time NBA Finals MVP. After being an All-American at Lousiana State University, he was the number one draft pick by the NBA in 1992. Today in 2011, he's still playing - in fact, at 38, Shaq is the oldest player in the NBA. His presence -...

This is an Olympic sport book that's going to be in demand. This new edition shows coaches how to prepare for games, teach skills, correct mistakes, encourage players and provide a safe playing environment. Incorporating a player-centric model which places greater emphasis on the development of play...

With unforgettable players and the winningest tradition in the NBA, the Celtics can lay claim to some of the most unique stories in the league. But what happens when the lights go dim, the crowds depart, and the players leave the court? In Boston Celtics Where Have You Gone? fans can catch up with t...

Whether it was helping Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls win three-straight NBA titles in the 1990s or showing up to a book signing in a dress and full makeup, Dennis Rodman has always distinguished himself as one of the great and most polarizing personalities in the sports world. The controversi...

Since joining ESPN in 1979, Dick Vitale has become the senior spokesman for college hoops. In Living A Dream, Vitale reveals details about his start at ESPN and shares his feelings about the most important people in the college basketball world. A must-have for any basketball fan.

"I'm on top of the world!" shouted Kevin Garnett after the Boston Celtics demolished the heavily favored Los Angeles Lakers for a league-leading seventeenth NBA championship. Peter May chronicles the amazing run of the team, who went from having the second-worst record in 2007 to leading the pack in...

Basketball's Greatest Stars features detailed profiles of the 50 greatest and most exciting players in basketball history. They're all here: the score-at-will centres, the quick-dishing guards and the take-it-to-the-hoop power forwards. The book also features the players whose star power has gone be...

The history of basketball has always belonged to champions like the Celtics, the Lakers, and the Bulls. Yet the game's history cuts much deeper than that. The bottom line, the record books and retired jerseys, can never fully do justice to this wild, chaotic, and energetic game. In between the champ...

Perhaps the greatest all-around player in basketball history, Oscar Robertson revolutionized basketball as a member of the Cincinnati Royals and won a championship with the Milwaukee Bucks. When he was twenty-three, in 1962, he accomplished one of basketball's most impressive feats: averaging the tr...

Basketball is second of the top three elite professional sports, whose players command stratospheric salaries. The spectacular success of the NBA is based on its stars' performances, which excite fans game after game, championship after championship. Basketball's Greatest Stars features detailed pro...

For young athletes who want to learn how to improve their basketball skills and become an advanced player, this exciting guide is the answer! Detailed photographs take readers through step-by-step drills on dribbling, passing, shooting, blocking, slam dunks, and more. Clear text outlines the rules a...

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 champi...

For the countless basketball fans who were spellbound by the Los Angeles Lakers? 2003? 2004 high-wire act, this book is a rare and phenomenal treat. In "The Last Season," Lakers coach Phil Jackson draws on his trademark honesty and insight to tell the whole story of the season that proved to be the ...

"Mindgames" follows the journey of Phil Jackson to the top of basketball's coaching hierarchy, a rise that took him from obscurity in the Continental Basketball Association to nine championship rings in the NBA. Along the way he turned multimillionaire players on to meditation, transformed the Micha...

What can the film Hoosiers teach us about the meaning of life? How can ancient Eastern wisdom traditions, such as Taoism and Zen Buddhism, improve our jump-shots? What can the "Zen Master" (Phil Jackson) and the "Big Aristotle" (Shaquille O'Neal) teach us about sustained excellence and success? Is w...

"Heaven Is a Playground" was the first book on the uniquely American phenomenon of urban basketball. Rick Telander, a young photojournalist and former high school basketball player, spent part of the summer of 1973 and all of the summer of 1974 in Brooklyn living the playground life with his subject...

Pat Williams has drawn on his basketball industry connections to compile great stories from on and off the court. Fans will be inspired, surprised, and even amused, by inside stories from well-known coaches and players, fascinating looks behind the scenes, and anecdotes from the people who make it a...

How this book will help you? It supplies field-tested successful teaching lessons ready to use. It teaches the fundamentals to players and to coaches. It shows you how best to plan and run practice. The Appendices supply a cool down, how to keep statistics and score, a cool down, and a list of every...

The Phoenix Suns' Steve Nash shines in running the break, but how do his teammates know where to go to get open to receive his passes? Orlando's Dwight Howard is a tremendous talent in the post, but how has he improved and added new dimensions to his game? And how is it that Utah's Deron Williams an...

"Charley Rosen has undertaken the challenge of documenting the latest and greatest history of the game professionally--and has done so to great success...When I finished the book it seemed as if I had gone through another season, injuries and all...Rosen skillfully leads readers through the NBA's fi...

Words and wisdom from Chicago Bulls #23: Mega-superstar, "His Airness" He is the most successful player to ever wear a basketball uniform. On the court and off the court, Michael has entertained the world as a pitchman, movie star, spokesperson, and an extraordinary athlete-although not the greates...

In this thought-provoking memoir, Phil Jackson reveals how he directs his players to act with a clear mind - not thinking, just doing; to respect the enemy and be aggressive without anger or violence; to live in the moment and stay calmly focused in the midst of chaos; to put the 'me' in service of ...

He is among the best-known and wealthiest athletes in the history of sport. With the possible exceptions of boxer Muhammad Ali and baseball player Babe Ruth, no athlete has made a greater impact on American society - or in the world - than Michael Jordan. This engaging and balanced biography traces ...

This book is aimed at basketball players serious about improving their game, as well as coaches looking to improve team play and incorporate new drills into their practices. It combines detailed instruction and practice drills to establish and reinforce the fundamentals of individual and team play. ...

This work provides a complete guide to performance factors, training direction and workouts. On-court demonstration of drills will guide basketball coaches and players to make the best possible decisions about their conditioning. In short, this book/DVD lives up to the title's promise of offering a ...

The legendary coach talks about his life, his players, and his winning philosophies in this bestselling autobiography John Wooden's dedication and inspiration made him America's "winningest" coach. His beliefs in hard work and preparedness brought the UCLA Bruins an unparalleled 10 NCAA basketball c...

HE HAS TAKEN HIS GAME -- AND THE GAME -- TO A NEW LEVEL He grew up in Virginia with nothing but his talent and his heart. But he had "The Plan: " his never-say-die dream to become an NBA superstar. So he began his journey down a road full of obstacles. But the world underestimated Allen Iverson.... ...

AS THE GAME REVEALS THE PLAYER, SO DOES THIS BOOK REVEAL THE COACH Phil Jackson is the most celebrated coach in basketball today, earning that respect by guiding his teams in Chicago and Los Angeles to an astounding eight NBA championships. The key to his success, he thinks is his ability to underst...

Part sports star, part antihero, part hip-hop icon, Allen Iverson has managed to cross over into the mainstream of American culture -- without compromise. Defiantly tattooed, with his hair in cornrows, the six-foot Philadelphia 76ers point guard is one of the most recognizable and controversial star...