Sports Basketball

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.

From NBA legend Bill Russell, Go Up for Glory is a basketball memoir that transcends time. First published in 1965, this narrative traces Russell's childhood in segregated America and details the challenges he faced as a Black man, even when he was a celebrated NBA star. And while some progress has been made, this book serves as an urgent reminder of how far we still have to go in the fight for human rights and equality.

In John Wooden: The Inspiring Life and Leadership Lessons of One of Basketball's Greatest Coaches, you will learn the inspirational story of arguably the greatest coach of the 20th century, John Wooden. Few coaches carry the same esteem as Wooden, known for not only being a highly effective coach, but also a mentor and friend to his players. Wooden consistently led by example by inspiring his players to build strong habits both on and off the court.

The Sixers won 65 games and an NBA championship in 1982-83, still one of the finest seasons in NBA history. It was Moses Malone who, in the days before the playoffs, gave the team its battle cry. Asked by coach Billy Cunningham how he thought things would go in the playoffs, Moses said, "Fo’, fo’, fo’,” - meaning, in Moses' shorthand, that he expected the Sixers to sweep each of the three series they would need to play in order to win a championship.

During one unforgettable season as a Citadel cadet, Pat Conroy becomes part of a basketball team that is ultimately destined to fail. And yet for a military kid who grew up on the move, the Bulldogs provide a sanctuary from the cold, abrasive father who dominates his life- and a crucible for becoming his own man.

Throughout the NCAA Tournament’s history, underdogs, Cinderella stories, and upsets have captured the attention and imagination of fans. Making March Madness is the story of this premiere tournament, from its early days in Kansas City, to its move to Madison Square Garden, to its surviving a point-shaving scandal in New York and taking its games to different sites across the country.

When a group of private equity bigwigs purchased the Philadelphia 76ers in 2011, the team was both bad and boring. Attendance was down. So were ratings. The Sixers had an aging coach, an antiquated front office, and a group of players that could best be described as mediocre. Enter Sam Hinkie - a man with a plan straight out of the PE playbook, one that violated professional sports' Golden Rule: You play to win the game.

Pistol is more than the biography of a ballplayer. It's the stuff of classic novels: the story of a boy transformed by his father's dream and the cost of that dream. Even as Pete Maravich became Pistol Pete, a basketball icon for baby boomers, all the Maraviches paid a price. Now acclaimed author Mark Kriegel has brilliantly captured the saga of an American family: its rise, its apparent ruin, and, finally, its redemption.

From the East Baltimore playground courts where he earned his nickname by muggin' opponents for possession of the ball to Dunbar High School where he excelled alongside future NBA players, Muggsy Bogues set the tone in his early years for the great heights he'd reach professionally. In this new autobiography, Bogues delves deep into his life and career, reflecting on legendary battles with Michael Jordan, John Stockton, and other generational stars of ’80s and ’90s hoops.

In This Book Has Balls, Rapaport uses his signature smack-talk style and in-your-face humor to discuss everything from why LeBron will never be like Mike to how Tiger needs the ladies to get his golf game back and how he once thought Mary Lou Retton was his true love. And, of course, why next year will be the year the New York Knicks win the championship. This book is a series of rants - some controversial, some affectionate, but all incredibly hilarious.

As the crack epidemic swept across inner-city America in the early 1980s, the streets of Baltimore were crime ridden. For poor kids from the housing projects, the future looked bleak. But basketball could provide the quickest ticket out, an opportunity to earn a college scholarship and perhaps even play in the NBA. Dunbar High School had one of the most successful basketball programs, not only in Baltimore but in the entire country, and in the early 1980s, the Dunbar Poets were arguably the best high school team ever.

The day after future NBA superstar Chris Paul signed his letter of intent to play college basketball for Wake Forest, he received a world-shattering phone call. His grandfather, Nathaniel "Papa" Jones, a pillar of the Winston-Salem community where he owned and operated the first Black-owned service station in North Carolina, was mugged and ultimately died from a heart attack resulting from the assault. His funeral filled the largest church in the county, which held over 1,000 people. He was 61 years old.

In Tales from the Duke Blue Devils Locker Room, readers will laugh, dream, and sweat alongside the players of one of the most successful and storied college basketball teams to ever take to the hardwood. In this treasure trove of Duke history, Jim Sumner brings to life the legendary games and unique players that have come to define this championship team.

One of the most storied college basketball programs in America, the Kansas Jayhawks have produced some of the greatest legends to ever roam the hardwood. In this newly revised edition of Tales from the Kansas Jayhawks Locker Room, fans can sift through a treasure trove of first-hand memories from the players and coaches who made history at the University of Kansas.

Wes Miller grew up in the shadow of the Atlantic Coast Conference, college basketball's most powerful league. But as a high school senior, none of those elite programs offered him a scholarship - they thought he was too small and too slow. After a year at a mid-major program, he chose to attend North Carolina without a basketball scholarship. Over the next four years, Miller's hard work resulted in a major role on the Carolina team. He earned a starting spot as a junior, displacing more highly touted players. He began his senior year with a mission - to chronicle all aspects of his final season in Chapel Hill.

Tales from the Indiana Hoosier Locker Room covers over a century of Indiana University basketball. Current and former Hoosiers talk of the excitement, the disappointment, and the celebration that has turned IU basketball into a statewide religion. The history of the Indiana program is revealed through the memories of the school’s hundreds of lettermen. Without a doubt, this is a must-listen for every March Madness and college basketball fan.

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 listeners 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.

In Erik Spoelstra: The Inspiring Life and Leadership Lessons of One of Basketball's Greatest Coaches, you will learn the story of one of basketball's premier coaches, Erik Spoelstra. In his tenure as the head coach of the Miami Heat, Spoelstra has been responsible for guiding the Heat to four NBA Finals appearances and two NBA Championships. He is most known for coaching the Heat during the Big Three era of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh.

Kenny Smith was a star at the University of North Carolina before his storied NBA run, in which he won two championships with the Houston Rockets. His popularity skyrocketed when he joined TNT’s new show, Inside the NBA, which has thrived for twenty-four years and won multiple Emmys, receiving enormous acclaim for the insight, humor, social commentary, and unrivaled basketball coverage from Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, and Ernie Johnson, Jr. Kenny is known to fans for his laser-sharp analysis and eloquent observations of the basketball scene and culture.

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.