Sports Basketball

In Boston Celtics: Where Have You Gone? fans can catch up with their favorite players from past and present.

In 2011, Butler University made history as the first team to make it to two consecutive finals of the NCAA basketball tournament without being seeded first or second. As the smallest school to play in the championship game in the 40-year history of the tournament, Butler became the quintessential "Cinderella" team. How did this little-known Midwest university achieve what few schools have ever done by making it to the final championship game two years in a row?

The last American company to truly compete with Nike in the billion-dollar basketball sneaker market was And1, a rags-to-riches enterprise founded by three friends in Philadelphia who used grassroots marketing and an audacious approach to connect with young consumers. That was nearly 20 years ago. Can And1 possibly catch lightning in a bottle again? Zach Schonbrun inspects the rise, fall, and current relaunch of one of the most fascinating American brands of the 1990s, led by Cape Capener.

In an era when many teams have left rustbelt cities to relocate elsewhere, Detroit has held on to its franchises, and there is currently great hope in the revival of the city focused on its downtown sports complexes - but to whose benefit? Szymanski and Weineck show how the fate of the teams in Detroit's stadiums, gyms, and fields is echoed in the rise and fall of the car industry, political upheavals ushered in by the depression, World War II, the 1967 uprising, and its recent bankruptcy and renewal.

Shaquille O'Neal discovered his love of basketball while spending time in an afterschool program called the Boys & Girls Club of America. Standing over six feet tall by the time he turned 11 years old, Shaq—as he is affectionately known—continued to practice the game and stunned the country with his phenomenal skills. From leading his high-school team to its first-ever state title to becoming the first pick in the 1992 NBA draft and going on to win four NBA championships, Shaq proved that he could dominate almost any player.

In unflinchingly honest prose, Sugar Rodgers shares her inspiring story of overcoming tremendous odds to become an all-star in the WNBA (Women’s National Basketball Association). Her story is a message of hope and inspiration for young girls and boys everywhere, but especially those growing up in economically challenging conditions. Never sugarcoating her life experiences, she delivers a powerful message of discipline, perseverance, and always believing in oneself.

A list of legends is significant not only for who makes the list, but who gets left off of it. If there are no obvious omissions, then the list of candidates was probably less than legendary in the first place. Not so in the case of the Syracuse University Orangemen. Calling roll on Syracuse’s all-time basketball greats can take up the greater part of a day. The school produced its first All-American, Lewis Castle, in 1912. More recently, Carmelo Anthony, one of the best freshmen to ever play college basketball, led the 2003 Orangemen to the school’s first NCAA championship.

Teresa Edwards has won more Olympic medals than any other basketball player in history with four golds and one bronze. She is the youngest woman to win a gold medal in basketball - and the oldest. She’s a WNBA pioneer and has been inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Now, for the first time, she shares the story of her greatest loss - and her most incredible victory.

Maya Moore is a standout forward in the WNBA. Learn about her childhood and her rise to becoming a basketball superstar.

The LA Lakers have long been one of the NBA's most exciting teams. In The Show, critically acclaimed sportswriter Roland Lazenby brings the story of this charismatic team to life in an unprecedented oral history, featuring such legendary players as Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Magic Johnson, along with current stars like Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant.

After 12 years of playing basketball at the highest professional level, Brian Grant could have been forgiven for thinking that the hardest part of his life was behind him, that he'd be able to kick back and enjoy the fruits of his considerable labors. But soon after his retirement from the NBA, Grant was diagnosed with Young-Onset Parkinson's Disease, ushering in a challenge greater than any he'd faced before. In Rebound, Grant shares his remarkable life before, during, and after those NBA years with no shortage of compassion and wit.

In January of 1989, Cameron Stauth became a fly on the office wall of Pistons General Manager Jack McCloskey. He watched day by day, crisis by crisis, as McCloskey, Coach Chuck Daly, and a handful of immensely talented and ambitious basketball players—the Bad Boys of Detroit—won the NBA championship.

These exciting and informative books will turn any young listener into a sports fanatic! Learn all about the history of the world’s most entertaining sports like football, basketball, and soccer.

Part life story, part philosophy text, and part spiritual guide, Sister Jean's wit, wisdom, and common sense has broad appeal and application that transcends religious creed, belief, and even feelings on Loyola's basketball team.

In this biography of Kobe Bryant, James doesn’t just reveal the inspirational life story behind the world-famous athlete as he was catapulted from the courts of high school to the professional world of NBA. Listeners will also get insight into the core of his success: a mindset and training regimen that honed him into the perfect ball-playing machine, gifting him with a technique that put him head and shoulders above his opponents.

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 everything from locker-room chats with superstar point guard Steve Nash, to coaches' meetings with maverick coach Mike D'Antoni, McCallum learned what makes this wildly popular, innovative, and international assemblage of talented players and brilliant coaches tick.

Growing up, young Chris Paul dreamed of playing professional basketball. But he knew it would take more than dedication and practice, so Chris looked to his grandfather Papa Chilly as a shining example of the values he could apply both in basketball and in life. Papa taught him about respect, faith, kindness, generosity, and the determination to succeed, just as Papa had succeeded as the first Black business owner of a service station in North Carolina.

How does it feel to play your last college game and land on the cover of Sports Illustrated? What was it like to be a part of the team that won the University of Kentucky’s first national championship ever? Listeners will find the answer to these questions and so much more in Ryan Clark’s newly updated edition of Game of My Life: Kentucky Wildcats. Clark takes listeners into the arena and onto the court with this in-depth look at the legends of Kentucky basketball.

As the revenues generated by big-time college sports continue to skyrocket, virtually all of the debate involves whether (and how much) student-athletes should be paid for play. Kenneth L. Shropshire and Collin D. Williams Jr., argue that "student" has to come first: the focus should be on prioritizing a meaningful education. They draw on new research to reveal that it has become increasingly difficult for college athletes to balance school and sports, much less a social life, leading to serious economic, professional, and emotional consequences for young people.

Around three years old, Sabrina Ionescu picked up a basketball. While she had natural talent, Ionescu worked hard. In middle school there weren’t enough players for a girls’ basketball team. Ionescu wasn’t allowed on the boys’ team, but she didn’t give up. Instead, she recruited enough girls to make a team.