Sports Biographies Basketball

The experiment was dreamed up by two fathers, one white, one black. What would happen, they wondered, if they mixed white players from an elite Seattle private school and black kids from the inner city on a basketball team? The team's season unfolded like a perfectly scripted sports movie: The ragtag group of boys gelled together to win the league championship. The experiment was deemed a success. But was it?

In Bill Russell: The Inspiring Story of One of Basketball's Legendary Centers, you will learn the incredible story of one of basketball's greatest players of all time, Bill Russell. In his 13-year career, Bill Russell accomplished what many NBA players today would dream of. He was an 11-time champion, 12-time All-Star, and five-time Most Valuable Player. He won the MVP award so many times that the league renamed the trophy after him in 2009! Listen to find out more.

One of basketball's grittiest point guards, Jeremy Lin had an incredible journey to get to where he is today as a highly-capable starting point guard. Despite his successes, Jeremy Lin remains incredibly humble and a role model for aspiring basketball players around the world. He has become a global icon, and you'll hear the inspirational story of what makes Jeremy so great and why it should be no surprise why he is so successful today.

Learn the inspiring story of the Golden State Warriors' star sixth-man Andre Iguodala! In Andre Iguodala: The Inspiring Story of One of Basketball's Most Skilled Forwards, you'll learn the incredible story of one of basketball's premier forwards, Andre Iguodala. Since entering the league as the ninth overall pick in the 2004 NBA Draft, Andre Iguodala has molded quite the career for himself.

In DeMarcus Cousins: The Inspiring Story of One of Basketball's Top Centers, you'll hear about the inspirational story of basketball's star, DeMarcus Cousins. Since entering the league as the fifth overall pick in the 2010 NBA draft, DeMarcus Cousins has made quite the name for himself as a premier big man. After spending nearly seven years as the face of the Sacramento Kings franchise, DeMarcus was given a fresh start mid-way through the 2016-2017 season as he was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans to play alongside fellow star, Anthony Davis.

Learn the incredible story of the Chicago Bulls' basketball star Derrick Rose! In Derrick Rose: The Inspiring Story of One of Basketball's Most Resilient Point Guards, you will learn the inspirational story of one of basketball's premier point guards, Derrick Rose. Since joining the NBA, Derrick Rose has reinvigorated the Chicago Bulls franchise after they went through many years of rebuilding post-Jordan. Derrick Rose's story is one of great resilience and passion for the game a basketball.

In Ray Allen: The Inspiring Story of One of Basketball's Greatest Shooters, you'll hear about the inspirational story of basketball star Ray Allen. Ray Allen will go down in the history of basketball as one of the sharpest and most talented shooters to ever play the game. With an incredible ability to roll off screens and release the ball with an elite level of accuracy, Ray Allen struck fear in the eyes of hundreds of defenses throughout his NBA career.

In Jason Kidd: The Inspiring Story of One of Basketball's Greatest Point Guards, you will learn the inspirational story of one of basketball's premier point guards. Jason Kidd was easily one of the best point guards to play the game of basketball throughout the 2000s. With an extraordinary ability to pass the ball at precisely the right time, Kidd was like Steve Nash in that he made the teammates around him fundamentally better.

In David Robinson: The Inspiring Story of One of Basketball's Greatest Centers, you will learn the inspirational story of one of basketball's premier 90s centers, David Robinson. David Robinson was the face of the San Antonio Spurs franchise before Tim Duncan succeeded him. In that time period, The Admiral was a force to be reckoned with, participating in multiple All-Star appearances, while also leading the Spurs to the 1999 NBA Championship.

In Kawhi Leonard: The Inspiring Story of One of Basketball's Best All-Around Players, you will learn the inspirational story of one of basketball's premier small forwards, Kawhi Leonard. Since entering the league in the mid first-round of the 2011 NBA Draft, Kawhi Leonard has quickly emerged as one of the most promising and dominant two-way players in the league today.

In Kyle Lowry: The Inspiring Story of One of Basketball's All-Star Guards, you will learn the inspirational story of one of basketball's all-star guards, Kyle Lowry. The Toronto Raptors' rise in the NBA in recent years has been largely attributed to Kyle Lowry's leadership as he helped guide the Raptors to their first Atlantic Division title in several years.

Since entering the NBA, Pau Gasol has created a legacy for himself as one of the best international basketball players to play in the NBA. As a dominant leader of the Memphis Grizzlies, a key contributor to an LA Lakers championship team, and now a valued member of the Chicago Bulls, Pau Gasol has adapted well to the different chapters of his basketball career, maintaining relevance on the court as a respected veteran. In this book we'll explore how Pau ended up in the NBA as well as the impact he has left behind on the game.

Diagnosed with pervasive developmental disorder, a form of autism, as a toddler, Anthony Ianni wasn't expected to succeed in school or participate in sports, but he had other ideas. As a child, Ianni told anybody who would listen, including head coach Tom Izzo, that he would one day play for the Michigan State Spartans.

Paul Westhead was teaching high school in his native Philadelphia when he was named La Salle University’s men’s basketball coach in 1970. By 1980 he was a Los Angeles Lakers assistant, soon to be hired as head coach, winning an NBA title with Hall of Fame center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and rookie guard Magic Johnson.

In Max Scherzer: The Inspiring Story of One of Baseball's All-Star Pitchers, you will learn the story of one of baseball's best pitchers, Max Scherzer. Max Scherzer has been one of the best pitchers since entering the pros in 2006. At the time of this writing, Scherzer has been selected as an All-Star eight times, won three Cy Young Awards, pitched two no-hitters, and notably won the World Series with the Washington Nationals in 2019. Scherzer has carved out quite the legacy for himself, and will go down as one of the best pitchers in modern history of the game.

At the age of 15, high school sophomore and basketball player David Cooks experienced a spinal aneurism, leaving him a T-6 paraplegic. Refusing to let the wheelchair determine the man, he made the decision to persevere from the very beginning - and he never let go of his passion for life the game of basketball. In Getting Undressed, David describes his journey to independence and purpose, and how “getting undressed” for change can pose huge challenges, literally and figuratively, while creating opportunities for victories.

Set against a backdrop of social change during the 1970s, State is a compelling first-person account of what it was like to live through both traditional gender discrimination in sports and the joy of the very first days of equality - or at least the closest that one high school girls’ basketball team ever came to it.

June 19, 2016: the greatest moment in Cleveland sports history, when the Cleveland Cavaliers won the NBA Finals and broke the Cleveland Curse. It was the triumph fans had been waiting 52 years for, and it wasn't easy to get there - but thanks to LeBron James, an audacious plan to build a winning team, a couple of maverick GMs, and an incredible community of fans, it happened, and 2016 saw the birth of a new Cavaliers dynasty.

By 1970 racial tension was at a breaking point in the Southern town of Gallatin, Tennessee. Desegregation had emotions running high. The town was a powder keg ready to erupt. But it was also on the verge of something incredible. Eddie Sherlin and Bill Ligon were boys growing up on opposite sides of the tracks who shared a passion for basketball. They knew the barriers that divided them - some physical landmarks and some hidden in the heart - but those barriers melted away when the boys were on the court.

Following the 1956-57 NBA season, the Fort Wayne Pistons relocated to Detroit, and the Rochester Royals were moved to Cincinnati. The relocations of the Fort Wayne and Rochester franchises left Syracuse as the last small market team in the NBA.