Sports Basketball

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.

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 Dikembe Mutombo: The Inspiring Story of One of Basketball’s Greatest Centers, you'll learn the inspirational story of one of basketball's greatest defensive players, Dikembe Mutombo. Mutombo had an illustrious NBA career, retiring with eight All-Star selections and four Defensive Player of the Year awards. His impact on his teams as a defensive anchor cannot be understated.

At one time Lew Alcindor was just another kid from New York City with all the usual problems: He struggled with fitting in, with pleasing a strict father, and with overcoming shyness that made him feel socially awkward. But with a talent for basketball and an unmatched team of supporters, Lew Alcindor was able to transform and to become Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

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.

Newly revised through the end of the 2022-2023 season, Ja Morant: The Inspiring Story of One of Basketball’s All-Star Point Guards explores the inspirational story of one of basketball's latest star point guards, Ja Morant. Since being selected with the second overall pick of the 2019 NBA Draft, Ja Morant has consistently impressed fans across the league. So much so, that he won the 2020 Rookie of the Year Award. In his rookie season, Ja finished averaging 17.8 points per game, along with 7.3 assists per game.

Like millions of kids before him, Jay Williams used to pretend he was making the game-winning shot while playing basketball in his Plainfield, New Jersey, backyard. Unlike almost all of those other kids, he kept right on making shots until he became an NCAA champion and two-time national player of the year at Duke and the number-two overall NBA draft pick in 2002.

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.

Spanning the entire amateur and pro basketball landscape and using the 2014-2015 NBA season as a prism to a much larger story, Chasing Perfection is a fascinating, all-access spin through the inner workings of the smartest minds at every level of the game. It is about the ongoing relentless, high-stakes quest to find what national sportswriter Andy Glockner calls "perfected players" and what ultimately happens to them at the highest (pro) level.

Breanna Stewart is a basketball superstar! She dominated in high school. Stewart then went on to play college ball for the UConn Huskies. From there she was tapped to play for Team USA in the Olympics—where she scored the last shot! Find out how Breanna overcame a difficult childhood to go on to achieve her dreams.

In Shaquille O'Neal: The Inspiring Story of One of Basketball's Greatest Centers, you will learn the inspirational story of one of basketball's greatest centers, Shaquille O'Neal. Often nicknamed "Shaq" or "The Diesel", O'Neal left an indelible mark on the center position. His incredible power and athleticism made him a practically unstoppable presence on both the offensive and defensive ends of the basketball court. It's no surprise O'Neal concluded his career a four-time NBA Champion.

Two-time All-Star and 13-year NBA veteran Caron Butler has an impressive basketball record. He was Big East Co-Player of the Year at UConn, the 10th overall pick of the 2002 NBA Draft and a key player for the Dallas Mavericks in their championship-winning season in 2011. But before Butler had a chance to prove himself on the court, he spent his time trying to prove himself on the streets, as a gang member and drug dealer in his hometown of Racine, Wisconsin. He saw friends gunned down in the bloody street wars near his home....

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.

Leonard was just 20 years old when he was first drafted in the NBA. Since then, he has had many triumphs, and has helped lead his teams to greatness. Discover more about Leonard's career highlights in this exciting biography in the Stars of Sports series.

This is the inspiring children's story of Stephen Curry, a boy who became a star. This is the story of a young boy who nobody believed could be an NBA super star because he was too small. But he decided to follow his dream, worked hard, and overcame all obstacles to become one of the best basketball players in history. Perfect gift for all basketball fans. Perfect audiobook to teach children to work hard to make their dreams come true.

¿Quieres conocer al hombre, la leyenda, la Mamba Negra? Usted aprenderá: Cómo se convirtió en uno de los mejores, cómo se elevó por encima de todo, cómo vivirá su legado a pesar de su trágico final y muchos más! ¡Todo lo que necesitas saber sobre lo mejor del baloncesto está en este audiolibro! ¡Honra la memoria de Kobe Bryant al aprender sobre su increíble vida! Este audiolibro tiene como objetivo proporcionar una visión completa de la impresionante carrera de Kobe Bryant y los desafíos que tuvo que superar.

Mind Games 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 Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls from a one-man show to a five-man team of domination, and after battling with Bulls management, ended one dynasty to start another on the West Coast.

In Larry Bird: The Inspiring Story of One of Basketball's Greatest Forwards, you will learn the inspirational story of one of basketball's premier forwards, Larry Bird. Larry Bird had a profound impact on the Boston Celtics' franchise throughout the 1980s, leading the franchise to three NBA Championships. With an extraordinary ability as a two-way player, Bird was gritty, full of heart, and the definition of a superstar.

At the height of the Great Depression, Sam Babb, the charismatic basketball coach of tiny Oklahoma Presbyterian College, began dreaming. Like so many others, he wanted a reason to have hope. Traveling from farm to farm, he recruited talented, hardworking young women and offered them a chance at a better life: a free college education if they would come play for his basketball team, the Cardinals. Despite their fears of leaving home and the sacrifices faced by their families, the women followed Babb and his dream.

The Last Shot: City Streets, Basketball Dreams is the “revelatory” (New York Times), “deeply empathetic” (New Yorker) true story of four teenagers attempting to escape the cycles of poverty, crime, and despair in 1990s Brooklyn by getting recruited to play college basketball. With poignant intimacy, Darcy Frey chronicles the aspirations of these young men, including the future superstar Stephon Marbury, who are among the most promising players in Coney Island.