Best Basketball Article/Book you've read

[Don Draper]

Basketball on Paper by Dean Oliver.

Must read for die hard fans.

[Point forward]

"Wilt: Larger Than Life" by Robert Cherry. Gives fascinating insight on Wilt, bball in the 1960s, and the Celtics under Auerbach and Russell.

[Basti]

Loose Balls

the book about the ABA. I don't know the author but the book is quite interesting. not particuarly because of the author and/or his skills. it is rather the ABA that made the book so interesting.

[FlashTheKilla]

I haven't read many, but an interesting one I read was "The Punch" by John Feinstein. It basically goes through everything leading up to, the event itself, and after the infamous Kermit Washington - Rudy Tomjanovich incident.

[Cevap]

I try to cram as many Celtics books as I can this summer.

[greenbeans]

"Let Me Tell You A Story" By Red Auerbach and John Feinstein.

[greenbeans]

I try to cram as many Celtics books as I can this summer.

hopefully for your sake Lebron has as well. learn how to close some of these opportunities hes put himself in so far

[10scott10]

I haven't read many, but an interesting one I read was "The Punch" by John Feinstein. It basically goes through everything leading up to, the event itself, and after the infamous Kermit Washington - Rudy Tomjanovich incident.

that one was great.

my two favorites
"the show" by ronald lazenby. history of the lakers. from their year in detroit to 2003.

also, "Let Me Tell You A Story" by red auerbach and John Feinstein. amazing storyies

[rsavaj]

Totally biased, but 7 Seconds Or Less is my bible.

[suckfish]

Not sure about the best, but most recently for me it's 'Pistol-The Life Of Pete Maravich' by Mark Kriegal.

There's loads though, thats just the most recent.

[Sedale Threatt]

Loose Balls

the book about the ABA. I don't know the author but the book is quite interesting. not particuarly because of the author and/or his skills. it is rather the ABA that made the book so interesting.

Terry Pluto was the author. That book is unbelievable. I've read it five or six times over the years. The chapter on the St. Louis Spirits is worth the price of purchase.

Other favorites:

John Taylor's "The Rivalry" -- fascinating look at the dynamics of the relationship/rivalry between Wilt and Bill Russell.

David Halberstam's "Breaks of the Game" -- great in-depth read about the inner workings of the NBA via the Blazers as they attempt to defend their 77 title.

David Halberstam's "Playing for Keeps" -- easily the best Jordan book ever written.

[Jugoplastika89-90-91]

Dennis "The Menace" Rodman - Walk On The Wild Side

[wilt]

I haven't read many, but an interesting one I read was "The Punch" by John Feinstein. It basically goes through everything leading up to, the event itself, and after the infamous Kermit Washington - Rudy Tomjanovich incident.

yeah, it´s a great read and project, especially because it is telling everything from both POVs and is focussing on both men´s story before and after the incident.


I also really like "let me tell you a story", just a compelling piece of story-collecting.

Another type of book : Big Game, Small World by Alexander Wolff. Especially with todays newfound fascination with international ball it´s a great recommendation. Telling stories of Basketball from around the world, whether it´s Girl Tournaments in the US, Basketball in the Phillipines, the crown-prince of Bhutan, Poland or retelling the story of the legendary 1987 Yugoslavian World Junior Championship team (Divac, Kokuc, Radja among others) that was then shattered apart with the balcan war and how they dealt with that.

about that last story also an article by Wolff : http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/events ... hoops.html

[walchy]

Sacred Hoops : Spiritual Lessons of a hardwood warrior - Phil Jackson.
Really good read.

[suckfish]

David Halberstam's "Playing for Keeps" -- easily the best Jordan book ever written.

Agreed. It's a great read.

I've also been wanting to get my hands on a copy of 'Loose Balls' for a while now.

[Sedale Threatt]

By all means do. It's an oral history, in which the author uses quotes verbatim from about 40 or 50 different sources, so it's a super easy read. You'll get sucked in and blow through it in a matter of days. The Spirits of St. Louis stuff has to be read to believed; it is absolutely hilarious. Remember the name Marvin "Bad News" Barnes.

[tsherkin]

Sacred Hoops, More Than a Game, The Last Season... Phil Jackson's books are all especially interesting and More Than a Game actually has some fairly neat stuff from Charley Rosen, too.

:07 Seconds or Less is a really entertaining read.

My latest acquisition is Tex Winters' book from his Chicago days on the Triangle offense, so it's crammed full of drills and such to teach the offense in its various parts.

What else... the few volumes of Hollinger's Pro Basketball Forecast, Basketball on Paper, anything by Bob Huggins (mostly stuff on Motion Offenses), I've got a book by Swen Nater and John Wooden on the UCLA High Post Offense which is a spectacular read with some neat anecdotes from the UCLA powerhouse days with various legends like Walt Hazzard, Kareem and Bill Walton...

[BFO]

John Feinstein is a terrific basketball writer. He has written a couple of really good books on the NCAA such as March to Madness and also The Last of the Amateurs about the smaller-time basketball schools which was fascinating.

I too enjoyed Playing for Keeps....a really honest depiction of MJ that was tough for a fan such as me to read as I actually found out he isn't flawless lol.

I would certainly recommend Winner Within by Pat Riley and I coudln't count the times I have read "I Can't Accept Not Trying" by MJ.

I enjoyed the Tex Winter biog, really enjoyed My Life on a Napkin about Rick Majerus.

The next basketball book I want to read is one written by an agent about all the behind-the-scenes stuff of the NBA....I have been told it is excellent, just can't think of the name.

[Optimism Prime]

Can I Keep My Jersey?

Have wanted to read :07 seconds or less since it came out, but no bookstore here carries it.

I'll get it off Amazon soon...

[kooldude]

David Halberstam's "Playing for Keeps" -- easily the best Jordan book ever written.

Agreed. It's a great read.

I've also been wanting to get my hands on Loose Balls for a while now.