Download or read book The Soul of Basketball written by Ian Thomsen and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. This book was released on 2018-04-17 with total page 478 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “A fascinating, thorough look at pro basketball’s continuing evolution to becoming the ‘sport of the American Dream.’”—Publishers Weekly The Soul of Basketball tells the story of an NBA prodigy, his league, and their sport in the throes of crisis during the pivotal 2010-11 season. It began with The Decision, that infamous televised moment when uber-star LeBron James revealed that he was leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers—thereby distancing himself from his role model Michael Jordan—to pursue his first championship with his former opponents on the Miami Heat. To the great fortune of LeBron, the NBA, and basketball itself, the mission didn’t work out as planned. In this book, veteran NBA writer Ian Thomsen portrays the NBA as a self-correcting society in which young LeBron is forced to absorb hard truths inflicted by his rivals Kobe Bryant, Doc Rivers, and Dirk Nowitzki, in addition to lessons set forth by Pat Riley, Gregg Popovich, Larry Bird, David Stern, Joey Crawford, and many more. Brimming with inside access, The Soul of Basketball tells the inspiring story of LeBron’s loneliest year, insecure and uncertain, when his ultimate foe was an unlikely immigrant who renewed the American game’s ideals. From Miami to Boston, Los Angeles to Dallas, Germany to the NBA’s Manhattan headquarters, the biggest names in basketball are driven by something more valuable than money and fame—a quest that would pave the way for Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, and future generations to thrive. “Ian Thomsen provides an antidote to the fast-food, twitter feed of instant information consumption…deft prose and snappy anecdotes…Great, great stuff.”—Leigh Montville, New York Times-bestselling author of Sting Like a Bee “A fine work of sports journalism.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Download or read book Soul of the Game written by John C. Jay and published by Workman Publishing. This book was released on 1997 with total page 152 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Offers anecdotes and poetry about basketball playgrounds and players.
Download or read book Eleven Rings written by Phil Jackson and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2013-05-21 with total page 390 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Through candor and comprehensiveness, Jackson writes a convincing revisionist take, in which he emerges as an excellent coach . . . highly readable . . . reflects Jackson’s polymathy." —The New York Times Book Review "Part sports memoir, part New Age spirit quest, part pseudo-management tract . . . But the primary thing with Jackson—as with all the old bards, who were also known for repeating themselves—is the voice." —Sam Anderson, The New York Times Magazine A New York Times Bestseller The inside story of one of basketball's most legendary and game-changing figures During his storied career as head coach of the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers, Phil Jackson won more championships than any coach in the history of professional sports. Even more important, he succeeded in never wavering from coaching his way, from a place of deep values. Jackson was tagged as the “Zen master” half in jest by sportswriters, but the nickname speaks to an important truth: this is a coach who inspired, not goaded; who led by awakening and challenging the better angels of his players’ nature, not their egos, fear, or greed. This is the story of a preacher’s kid from North Dakota who grew up to be one of the most innovative leaders of our time. In his quest to reinvent himself, Jackson explored everything from humanistic psychology and Native American philosophy to Zen meditation. In the process, he developed a new approach to leadership based on freedom, authenticity, and selfless teamwork that turned the hypercompetitive world of professional sports on its head. In Eleven Rings, Jackson candidly describes how he: • Learned the secrets of mindfulness and team chemistry while playing for the champion New York Knicks in the 1970s • Managed Michael Jordan, the greatest player in the world, and got him to embrace selflessness, even if it meant losing a scoring title • Forged successful teams out of players of varying abilities by getting them to trust one another and perform in sync • Inspired Dennis Rodman and other “uncoachable” personalities to devote themselves to something larger than themselves • Transformed Kobe Bryant from a rebellious teenager into a mature leader of a championship team. Eleven times, Jackson led his teams to the ultimate goal: the NBA championship—six times with the Chicago Bulls and five times with the Los Angeles Lakers. We all know the legendary stars on those teams, or think we do. What Eleven Rings shows us, however, is that when it comes to the most important lessons, we don’t know very much at all. This book is full of revelations: about fascinating personalities and their drive to win; about the wellsprings of motivation and competition at the highest levels; and about what it takes to bring out the best in ourselves and others.
Download or read book The Book of Basketball written by Bill Simmons and published by ESPN. This book was released on 2010-12-07 with total page 754 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The wildly opinionated, thoroughly entertaining, and arguably definitive book on the past, present, and future of the NBA—from the founder of The Ringer and host of The Bill Simmons Podcast “Enough provocative arguments to fuel barstool arguments far into the future.”—The Wall Street Journal In The Book of Basketball, Bill Simmons opens—and then closes, once and for all—every major NBA debate, from the age-old question of who actually won the rivalry between Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain to the one about which team was truly the best of all time. Then he takes it further by completely reevaluating not only how NBA Hall of Fame inductees should be chosen but how the institution must be reshaped from the ground up, the result being the Pyramid: Simmons’s one-of-a-kind five-level shrine to the ninety-six greatest players in the history of pro basketball. And ultimately he takes fans to the heart of it all, as he uses a conversation with one NBA great to uncover that coveted thing: The Secret of Basketball. Comprehensive, authoritative, controversial, hilarious, and impossible to put down (even for Celtic-haters), The Book of Basketball offers every hardwood fan a courtside seat beside the game’s finest, funniest, and fiercest chronicler.
Download or read book The Last Season written by Phil Jackson and published by Penguin Books. This book was released on 2005-10-04 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An inside look at the season that proved to be the final ride of a truly great dynasty—Kobe Bryant, Shaq, and the LA Lakers 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 final ride of a truly great dynasty. From the signing of future Hall-of-Famers Karl Malone and Gary Payton to the Kobe Bryant rape case/media circus, this is a riveting tale of clashing egos, public feuds, contract disputes, and team meltdowns that only a coach, and a writer, of Jackson’s candor, experience, and ability could tell. Full of tremendous human drama and offering lessons on coaching and on life, this is a book that no sports fan can possibly pass up.
Download or read book Basketball and Philosophy written by Jerry Walls and published by University Press of Kentucky. This book was released on 2007-03-09 with total page 302 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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 women’s basketball “better” basketball? How, ethically, should one deal with a strategic cheater in pickup basketball? With NBA and NCAA team rosters constantly changing, what does it mean to play for the “same team”? What can coaching legends Dean Smith, Rick Pitino, Pat Summitt, and Mike Krzyzewski teach us about character, achievement, and competition? What makes basketball such a beautiful game to watch and play? Basketball is now the most popular team sport in the United States; each year, more than 50 million Americans attend college and pro basketball games. When Dr. James Naismith, the inventor of basketball, first nailed two peach baskets at the opposite ends of a Springfield, Massachusetts, gym in 1891, he had little idea of how thoroughly the game would shape American—and international—culture. Hoops superstars such as Michael Jordan, LeBron James, and Yao Ming are now instantly recognized celebrities all across the planet. So what can a group of philosophers add to the understanding of basketball? It is a relatively simple game, but as Kant and Dennis Rodman liked to say, appearances can be deceiving. Coach Phil Jackson actively uses philosophy to improve player performance and to motivate and inspire his team and his fellow coaches, both on and off the court. Jackson has integrated philosophy into his coaching and his personal life so thoroughly that it is often difficult to distinguish his role as a basketball coach from his role as a philosophical guide and mentor to his players. In Basketball and Philosophy, a Dream Team of twenty-six basketball fans, most of whom also happen to be philosophers, proves that basketball is the thinking person’s sport. They look at what happens when the Tao meets the hardwood as they explore the teamwork, patience, selflessness, and balanced and harmonious action that make up the art of playing basketball.
Download or read book Elevating the Game written by Nelson George and published by U of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 1999-01-01 with total page 310 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Links the history of race relations to the history of basketball by reviewing the era of the first Black teams, the first integration of teams, and the innovations that Black players have brought to the game
Download or read book Before March Madness written by Kurt Edward Kemper and published by University of Illinois Press. This book was released on 2020-08-10 with total page 429 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Big money NCAA basketball had its origins in a many-sided conflict of visions and agendas. On one side stood large schools focused on a commercialized game that privileged wins and profits. Opposing them was a tenuous alliance of liberal arts colleges, historically black colleges, and regional state universities, and the competing interests of the NAIA, each with distinct interests of their own. Kurt Edward Kemper tells the dramatic story of the clashes that shook college basketball at mid-century—and how the repercussions continue to influence college sports to the present day. Taking readers inside the competing factions, he details why historically black colleges and regional schools came to embrace commercialization. As he shows, the NCAA's strategy of co-opting its opponents gave each group just enough just enough to play along—while the victory of the big-time athletics model handed the organization the power to seize control of college sports. An innovative history of an overlooked era, Before March Madness looks at how promises, power, and money laid the groundwork for an American sports institution.
Download or read book My Losing Season written by Pat Conroy and published by Bantam. This book was released on 2003-08-26 with total page 418 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A deeply affecting coming-of-age memoir about family, love, loss, basketball—and life itself—by the beloved author of The Prince of Tides and The Great Santini 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. With all the drama and incandescence of his bestselling fiction, Conroy re-creates his pivotal senior year as captain of the Citadel Bulldogs. He chronicles the highs and lows of that fateful 1966–67 season, his tough disciplinarian coach, the joys of winning, and the hard-won lessons of losing. Most of all, he recounts how a group of boys came together as a team, playing a sport that would become a metaphor for a man whose spirit could never be defeated. Praise for My Losing Season “A superb accomplishment, maybe the finest book Pat Conroy has written.”—The Washington Post Book World “A wonderfully rich memoir that you don’t have to be a sports fan to love.”—Houston Chronicle “A memoir with all the Conroy trademarks . . . Here’s ample proof that losers always tell the best stories.”—Newsweek “In My Losing Season, Conroy opens his arms wide to embrace his difficult past and almost everyone in it.”—New York Daily News “Haunting, bittersweet and as compelling as his bestselling fiction.”—Boston Herald
Download or read book Crashing the Borders written by Harvey Araton and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2007-11-01 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Unflinching, timely, and authoritative, Crashing the Borders is the beginning of a much-needed conversation about sport and American culture. For those who care about both, this book will be the must-read work of the season. The game of basketball has gone global and is now the world’s fastest-growing sport. Talented players from Europe, Asia, South America, and Africa are literally crashing the borders as the level of their game now often equals that of the American pros, who no longer are sure winners in international competition and who must compete with foreign players for coveted spots on NBA rosters. Yet that refreshing world outlook stands in stark contrast to the game’s troubled image here at home. The concept of team play in the NBA has declined as the league’s marketers and television promoters have placed a premium on hyping individual stars instead of teams, and the players have come to see that big-buck contracts and endorsements come to those who selfishly demand the spotlight for themselves. In this taut, simmering book, Harvey Araton points his finger at the greed and exploitation that has weakened the American game and opens a discussion on the volatile, undiscussed subject that lies at the heart of basketball’s crisis: race. It begins, he argues, at the college level, where, too often, undereducated, inner-city talents are expected to perform for the benefit of affluent white crowds and to fill the coffers of their respective schools in what Araton calls a kind of “modern-day minstrel show.” Harvey Araton knows the players well enough to see beyond the stereotypes, and by combining passion and knowledge he calls on the NBA to heal itself and, with a hopeful sense of the possible, he points the way to a better future.
Download or read book The Hoops Whisperer written by Idan Ravin and published by Avery. This book was released on 2015-05-05 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Basketball’s most unlikely—and most sought-after—training guru offers an inside look at his career, his methods, and the all-star players whose games he’s helped transform. Where do the best basketball players in the world turn when they want to improve their game? Whom does a future NBA Hall of Famer thank at his press conference when he’s named Rookie of the Year? Who is it that Sports Illustrated, The Wall Street Journal, and Men’s Journal all call the "Hoops Whisperer" because of his ability to engage, inspire, and challenge the players he trains? The answer to all of these questions is Idan Ravin. Ravin never played or coached in college or the pros, yet a virtual NBA All-Star team relies on him to better their game and reach their full potential. A soft-spoken former lawyer, Ravin has become professional basketball’s hottest trainer. In The Hoops Whisperer, Ravin shares the fascinating story of how he transformed a passion for the game into working with iconic basketball stars such as Chris Paul, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony, Stephen Curry, Blake Griffin, James Harden, Dwight Howard, and many more. He offers a rare unguarded glimpse inside the lives of these great athletes, drawn from his intimate connection with them that is the basis of his success. Showcasing his unorthodox drills and improvisational techniques in action, Ravin reveals how faith, effort, dedication, and passion can make a player into a superstar—and anyone into a success. Combined with his own inspiring journey, Ravin’s insights make The Hoops Whisperer a must-read for anyone who loves the game.
Download or read book Big Game Small World written by Alexander Wolff and published by Grand Central Publishing. This book was released on 2010-05-30 with total page 349 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Alex Wolff canvasses the globe and travels to 16 different countries (and 10 states in the U.S.) to find out exactly why basketball has become a worldwide phenomenon. Whether it's in a pick-up game on the Royal court in Bhutan, in the heart of a former female college player of the year turned cloistered nun, in the tragedy of the legendary junior national team in war torn Yugoslavia, or in the life's work of one of the greatest players to ever play in the NBA, Alex Wolff discovers that basketball can define an individual, a race, a culture, and in some instances even a country. Fusing John Feinstein's talent for finding the human drama behind sport with Bill Bryson's travelogue style, Wolff shows how the power and love of basketball extends to the four corners of the earth and engages people of all cultures, races, genders, and generations.
Download or read book Chicken Soup for the Soul Inside Basketball written by Jack Canfield and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2011-02-15 with total page 431 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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 all possible – the fans. 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 all possible – the fans. Pat will work his magic on marketing this book, as well, with signings at the NBA store and other appearances.
Download or read book The Joy of Basketball written by Ben Detrick and published by Abrams. This book was released on 2021-11-09 with total page 753 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A vibrant, unconventional, highly opinionated guide to the triumphs, joys, struggles, and heartbreaks of the modern era of the game, for every obsessive basketball fan who loves to hate hot takes The Joy of Basketball celebrates the meteoric rise of basketball over the last quarter century by ignoring the bland, traditionalist binary of wins or losses. Instead, the book's focus is on everything else. Using text, charts, and illustrations that upend conventional jock wisdom, the book details the most incredible players in history, draft flops, long-limbed oddballs, superteams, the international talent wave, brawls, scandals, the rapid evolution of contemporary gameplay, coaching, fashion, crime, positional erosion, tragic tales, memes, and the sacred Kardashian Blessing. Bouncing between witty graphics and keen sociopolitical observations, The Joy of Basketball is a subversive sports manifesto camouflaged as a colorful reference book for your coffee table.
Download or read book The Whore of Akron written by Scott Raab and published by Harper Perennial. This book was released on 2012-04-24 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A native son of Akron, Ohio, LeBron James seemed like a miracle heaven-sent by God to transform Cleveland's losing ways when he was drafted by the Cavaliers in 2003. But after seven years—and still no parade down Euclid Avenue—he left, announcing his move to South Beach on a nationally televised ESPN production with a sly title that echoed fifty years of misery. The Catch, The Drive, The Shot . . . The Decision. Out of James's treachery grew a monster. Scott Raab, a fifty-nine-year-old, 350-pound Jewish Santa Claus with a Chief Wahoo tattoo, would bear witness to LeBron's every move, and in so doing would act as the eyes and ears of Cleveland itself. Crude but warmhearted, poetic but raving, hilarious, profane (and profound), The Whore of Akron is both a rabid fan's indictment of a traitorous athlete and the story of Raab's obsessive quest to reveal the "wee jewel-box" of LeBron James's soul.
Download or read book Sports Illustrated Basketball s Greatest written by The Editors of Sports Illustrated and published by Sports Illustrated. This book was released on 2014-10-21 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Who's the greatest center of all time, Wilt Chamberlain or Kareem Abdul-Jabbar? Where does Shaquille O'Neal land in the rankings? Would you pick Tim Duncan or Charles Barkley as the better power forward? Who's your best Sixth Man? Where does LeBron James rank among small forwards? Sports Illustrated has polled its basketball experts, including Jack McCallum, Chris Ballard, Alexander Wolff, Lee Jenkins, Ian Thomsen, Chris Mannix, and Mark Bechtel, to determine the Top 10 in more than 20 categories. The rankings appear alongside stunning photography and classic stories from SI's archives. This is the best of the best in the NBA, or, more simply, Basketball's Greatest.
Download or read book On the Devil s Court written by Carl Deuker and published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. This book was released on 2008-09-01 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What would you give to be your school's superstar? After reading Dr. Faustus, Joe considers the merits of selling his soul to the devil. Suddenly, he finds himself changing from a lousy basketball player and a C student to the star athlete he always dreamed he could be. Even though he isn't sure if he actually made a deal with the devil, he can't help but enjoy the benefits that come with his newfound abilities. But is achieving his dreams worth what he may have given up? In this coming of age sports novel, Joe learns the power of belief and that the only goals worth attaining are the ones that you earn -- on your own.
