Koncocoo

Best Professional Basketball

The Book of Basketball: The NBA According to The Sports Guy
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. Simmons summarizes the history of the league, discusses his personal fandom, includes a great “what if?” chapter (what if Michael Jordan had been drafted second by Portland instead of third by Chicago? The true NBA fan will dive into this hefty volume and won’t resurface for about a week, emerging from the man cave unshaven, smelling of beer and pizza, grinning, and armed with NBA history, insight, anecdotes, statistics, and a dozen new examples of Simmons’ Unintentional Comedy Scale.
Reviews
"It's a great mix of stats and "I just feel" analysis that forms the basis of all great sport's debates."
"The focus here beyond his dad's Celtics season tickets sealing his fate as a kid fan, is on pyramid pantheon best ever debates, what ifs, secret knowledge, team comparison compendiums and various other scenario incidentals. Simmons, master of the between the lines scoop, says what's on his mind, is quick to offend and may be off the cuff with tactless fan boy antics, but he thinks like a genius GM and really should be considered as part of an NBA team brain trust someday. Via a coach sharp humanist link tying cults of personality to levels of performance, we learn that selfish players hit a ceiling and greats must share the ball to be transcendent. Twas ironically originated by an adult cinema historian who mixed pop, news and sports trivia intros with his movie reviews in an erotic film bible from the early 1980s. With so much info on elite players and teams, this needed a tongue-in-cheek chapter on footnote characters of the game like Darryl Dawkins, aka Chocolate Thunder, a rushed high school prospect who never reached his full potential but was memorable for destroying backboards on slam dunks."
"Last year I purchased Bill Simmons' The Book of Basketball for my birthday. If you aren't a fan who loves reading about the past in great detail this book may not be for you. And while it may make you wrinkle your nose at some of his thoughts he is still pretty centered and doesn't go too far left. His perspective is a great easy read and he loves having fun with his words. My brother-in-law Curtis got me into playing an NBA board game (Statis Pro Basketball) in the 70's and I was hooked. I wish there had been a little more love for my favorite Dominique Wilkins and the Atlanta Hawks but I was still very happy with his thoughts on both. To quote Paul Harvey this book gave me "the rest of the story". Nowadays every move is over analyzed instantly on TV and on the web allowing us to make a better informed analysis of what we are seeing in a game and around the league. Again it may be a bit much for the casual fan but if you think there is any possibility you might like this book I suggest you spend the $11.11 on Amazon or at some other retailer and I don't think you'll be disappointed."
"The passion yields some diversion that I think even the most NBA wonk might get a bit overwhelmed by."
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The Official NBA Basketball Encyclopedia (3rd Edition)
At each end of the floor, Dr. James A. Naismith, who had invented the game, had peach baskets nailed below a walkway that happened to be 10-feet high. Or Bob Cousy throwing a mind-boggling no-look, behind-the-back pass; Jerry West hitting a 60-foot shot with no time left in a crucial playoff game; Larry Bird's three-point prowess and Michael Jordan rising to heights - literally and figuratively - never before seen by any athlete? Who could have ever predicted talent like Magic Johnson, Charles Barkley, Walt Frazier, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Grant Hill, Vince Carter, Jason Kidd, Allen Iverson, and Kobe Bryant? An extraordinary 32-page color photo essay that captures the spirit of the game since Naismith conceived it opens this encyclopedia in an unprecedented and spectacular manner. Last revised in 1994, this hefty volume reviews every NBA season and provides stats for every player who has ever played in the league.
Reviews
"©® Bowden's Masonry/Another Day Music/Designing By Grace."
"High quality coffee table book, brought it for a 12 year old who aspires to the NBA."
"This book is a treasure of information for any NBA fan!"
"Great book, some interesting texts at the beginning floowed by previews of every NBA season in this period, a lot of statistics and redocrs."
"I gave this to a friend for his birthday because he absolutely loves sports."
"GREAT HISTORY OF THE N.B.A !!!!"
"Well taken care of!"
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The Jordan Rules
Provides a provocative study of the image of Michael Jordan, revealing his stormy relationships with his coaches and teammates, his obsession with becoming the leading scorer, and his petty feuds with other NBA stars. Fred Barnes (The McLaughlin Group) The American Spectator A riveting account...what you want in a sports book: the behind-the-scenes stuff, a peek at the private side of the players, their hobbies and politics and religion, the way they get along or don't...It's fair to compare The Jordan Rules with the campaign books that appear after every presidential race....The difference is not only that The Jordan Rules explains more persuasively than most of the campaign chronicles how the winner was decided -- it's that it does so more interestingly and with more understanding of the human heart.
Reviews
"The alternative title could have been, "Why, Yes, Michael Jordan Really Was An Unpleasant Teammate.""
"People will be more drawn to this because of Jordan, but do yourself a favor if you read this to go back and read Breaks of the Game."
"I have been reading the book Jordan Rules."
"It is very interesting to read the doubtful and slow transformation that Jordan has - or tries to have - from an individual to a team player, and the role that Phil Jackson had on it."
"The writing is not exactly Hemingway (as most sports books are written by sportswriters, including this one) but the story told and the incredible level of access that Sam Smith was granted is unparalled."
"If MJ played in today's game he may not be viewed in the same light he was back during his first run with the Bulls."
"The only non 5 star part of the book is the amount of details it puts to describe the ongoing games."
"I read this book despite all the negative feedback about the Jordan bashing."
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Best Professional Basketball

More Than a Game
More than a Game is the odyssey of Jackson's journey—from New York Knick and world champion, to CBA coach, to six-time Chicago Bulls world champion, to this year's L.A. Lakers world champion—and the lessons in leadership he learned each step of the way. Even though Jackson is the star here, he gives little attention to his years with the Bulls (covered in his earlier book Sacred Hoops). It seems a somewhat perfunctory treatment of a surprising season, until the book's true (and higher) purpose slowly becomes clear: it is a magnificent tribute to Tex Winter's triangle offense, the perfect scheme. Maverick (1975), also written with Rosen (Scandals of '51), covered his offbeat life as a player with the two-time champion New York Knicks, while Sacred Hoops (1999) focused on how he used his Triangle offense and personal "Zen Christian" beliefs in coaching the Chicago Bulls to six NBA championships during the 1990s. The primary voice is Jackson's, however, and the major interest to most readers will be his behind-the-scenes account of the Lakers' successful season and the tenuous teaming of stars Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant.
Reviews
"FANTASTIC BOOK - the story of LIFE and COACHING WAY of PHIL JACKSON and His best FRIEND Charley ROSEN."
"***MET PHIL JACKSON IN CHICAGO & MET MICHAEL JORDON ON THE SAME NIGHT***MY HEART WAS BEATING SO FAST, I COULD BARELY BREATHE***IT WAS MORE THAN A GAME THAT NIGHT***IT WAS A FANTASY NIGHT***IT WAS ON MY DAUGHTER'S LIST OF THINGS SHE WANTED TO DO BEFORE SHE DIED WAS TO SEE THE CHICAGO BULLS PLAY***WE HAD NO IDEA WERE GOING TO HAVE 4th ROW SEATS & BE ABLE TO READ DENNIS RODMAN'S TATOOS***AFTER THE GAME, WE GOT TO THEIR SWEATY HANDS& GET THEIR AUTOGRAPHS****(YES, THEY BEAT WASHINGTON)***PHIL JACKSON IS ONE MAN WHO WAS BORN TO BE A COACH****."
"The book meanders around several themes - Phil's youth in the game, the Triangle Offense, Phil's coaching career prior to the Bulls, his Lakers first coaching season, and Charley's experiences throughout."
"The kids coming from college don't know how to play basketball and are tremendously self centered (not their fault)."
"I found Roland Lazenby's Mindgames much more readable and entertaining, even though I got tired of reading about the conflicts Bulls' VP Jerry Krause had with Jackson, Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen (scattered throughout 100 pages of the 400 page book)."
"Gives a great insight into the mind of Phil Jackson and also how to become a great leader."
"THIS BOOK SHARES MANY INSIGHTS INTO THE LAKERS CHAMPIONSHIP RUN,AND ALSO THE CHAMPION CHICAGO BULLS, AND PHIL'S VIEW OF MANY OF THE PLAYERS, TEAMS AND COACHES IN THE NBA."
"The book alternates chapters (written by) Rosen and Jackson- which is jarring. You read a chapter, you get into the flow of the writing style, then, once you finish the chapter: BOOM."
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Best Basketball Coaching

Coach Wooden and Me: Our 50-Year Friendship On and Off the Court
When future NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was still an 18-year-old high school basketball prospect from New York City named Lew Alcindor, he accepted a scholarship from UCLA largely on the strength of Coach John Wooden's reputation as a winner. From his first day of practice, when the players were taught the importance of putting on their athletic socks properly, to gradually absorbing the sublime wisdom of Coach Wooden's now famous "Pyramid of Success"; to learning to cope with the ugly racism that confronted black athletes during the turbulent Civil Rights era as well as losing loved ones, Abdul-Jabbar fondly recalls how Coach Wooden's fatherly guidance not only paved the way for his unmatched professional success but also made possible a lifetime of personal fulfillment. He is also one of a handful of influential and respected black men in America who has a national platform as a regular contributing columnist for the Washington Post and TIME , where he shares his thoughts on some of the most socially relevant and politically controversial topics facing our nation today. Currently he serves as the chairman of his Skyhook Foundation whose mission is to "Give Kids a Shot That Can't be Blocked" by bringing educational opportunities to under-served communities through innovative outdoor environmental learning.
Reviews
"Hearing all the personal stories that Kareem shared with the greatest coach in sports history was such an enjoyable read."
"this is a gift for my dad."
"I love reading about Kareem and Wooden's friendship."
"Great story of a friendship over a long career."
"A touching look at the special relationship Kareem had with his "surrogate father,' John Wooden."
"Basketball is in middle of the theme but the relationship between."
"When there is so much negativity and conflict in the news, it’s very refreshing to read about two people who cared deeply about hard work, honesty, and integrity."
"A very inspirational book about the relationship between two legends."
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Best College & University Basketball

The Fab Five: Basketball Trash Talk the American Dream
Recounts the remarkable story of University of Michigan basketball players Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Juan Howard, Jimmy King, and Ray Jackson, and chronicles their success in the NCAA tournaments of 1992 and 1993. An award-winning journalist and radio host, Albom wrote the screenplay for The Five People You Meet in Heaven, and is an established playwright, having authored numerous pieces for the theater, including the off-Broadway version of Tuesdays With Morrie (co-written with Jeffrey Hatcher) which has seen more than 40 productions nationwide, and several recent comedies which have been produced and performed in venues across the country. "A Time To Help," founded in 1998, brings volunteers together once a month to tackle various projects in Detroit, including staffing shelters, building homes with Habitat for Humanity, and operating meals on wheels programs for the elderly.
Reviews
"It did not come with the cover as you see in this picture."
"Excellent book."
"When read right before and after watching the documentary, it makes it even better."
"A fantastic insight into the group that changed basketball to what it is today (for good or bad according to some)."
"One of the best books I've ever read, check out the ESPN 30 for 30 about the Fab Five, this goes more in depth but the documentary is very good as well and features Mitch Albom."
"Great book-----and I'm not a basketball fan!!!"
"As a man who went to college during the fab five era, it was a cool read, and walk down memory lane of a time when I couldn't trade in my basketball short shorts, for a pair of the fab five long baggy shorts fast enough, these 5 kids really did touch and change the worlds of so many people!!!"
"Any fan of college hoops will love this book."
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