Basketball Memoir

In More Than a Game, Hall of Fame coach Jim Calhoun, with journalist Dom Amore, reflects on a career that transcended the basketball court and shaped countless lives. From humble beginnings in Braintree, Massachusetts, to building the UConn men's basketball dynasty, Calhoun shares the inspiring stories of players, coaches, and colleagues who embodied his philosophy: relationships and perseverance are the keys to greatness. Through the highs of national championships and the quiet moments of mentorship, this book reveals the essence of Calhoun's legacy: a commitment to being there for others.

The life and legacy of pioneering international basketball superstar Hakeem Olajuwon, a two‑time NBA champion whose Hall of Fame career forever changed the game, both in the United States and around the globe—from the New York Times bestselling author of Giannis, Mirin Fader. It’s now the...

The first memoir for young readers by sports legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. 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...

The celebrated memoir from LeBron James - a poignant, thrilling tale of the power of teamwork to transform young lives, including his own "A book that will incredibly move and inspire you.” —Jay-Z "A heartwarming story of boys who became men, teammates who became brothers, players who...

The gripping and eye-opening memoir from the “Savior of Nike” and the man who discovered Michael Jordan, Sonny Vaccaro. Written in collaboration with six-time New York Times bestselling author Armen Keteyian, Legends and Soles provides context and truth to the sensational media stories and...

Since the beginning of her career as Lady Vol head coach at twenty-two years old, Pat Head Summitt effectively established the University of Tennessee Lady Vols as the top women's athletics program in the nation. The winningest coach in the history of NCAA basketball, Summitt overcame one obstacle after another on the road to every victory, but it is the lives she has impacted along the way that tell the story of her true legacy.

Legendary University of North Carolina basketball coach Dean Smith tells the full story of his fabled career, and shares the life lessons taught and learned over forty years of unparalleled success as a coach and mentor. For almost forty years, Dean Smith coached the University of North Carolina...

He was the Sultan of Swat. The Caliph of Clout. The Wizard of Whack. The Bambino. And simply, to his teammates, the Big Bam. From the award-winning author of the New York Times bestseller Ted Williams comes the thoroughly original, definitively ambitious, and exhilaratingly colorful biography of...

From Andre Agassi, one of the most beloved athletes in history and one of the most gifted men ever to step onto a tennis court, a beautiful, haunting autobiography. A Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction Book of the Century Agassi’s incredibly rigorous training begins when he is just a child. By the...

Enter the City of Brotherly Love and see how the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers trusted The Process–using a bold plan to get to first by becoming the worst. When a group of private equity bigwigs purchased the Philadelphia 76ers in 2011, the team was both bad and boring. Attendance was down. So...

Have you ever wanted to know what makes Lebron James such a successful player? From the high school courts in Akron, Ohio, to the height of his career in the NBA, LeBron James has consistently dazzled and amazed opponents and spectators with his own playing style. There are some great athletes in the NBA, but LeBron is on another level: How did he achieve so much?

Back in print for the first time in decades, Go Up for Glory is the classic 1968 basketball memoir by NBA legend Bill Russell, with a new foreword from the author. From NBA legend Bill Russell, Go Up for Glory is a basketball memoir that transcends time. First published in 1965, this narrative...

When Kevin Garnett shocked the world by announcing that he would not be attending college - as young basketball prodigies were expected to do - but instead would enter the 1995 NBA draft directly from high school, he blazed a trail for a generation of teenage basketball players to head straight for the pros. That trend would continue until the NBA instituted an age limit in 2005, requiring all players to attend college or another developmental program for at least one year.

Picking up where he left off in his acclaimed memoir Sting-Ray Afternoons, Steve Rushin brilliantly captures a bygone era, and the thrills of new adulthood in the early 80s. It begins in Bloomington, Minnesota, with a 13-year-old kid staging his own author photo that he hopes will someday grace...

Willie McCovey, known as “Stretch,” played Major League Baseball from 1959 to 1980, most notably as a member of the San Francisco Giants for nineteen seasons. A fearsome left-handed power hitter, McCovey ranked second only to Babe Ruth in career home runs among left-handed batters and tied for eighth overall with Ted Williams at the time of his retirement. He was a six-time All-Star, three-time National League home run champion, and 1969 league MVP, and he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1986 in his first year of eligibility.

The OKC Thunder's big man shares the unlikely story behind his indomitable sense of determination and his journey from Rotorua, New Zealand to stardom in the NBA. Steven Adams overcame extreme odds to become a first-round prospect in the 2013 NBA draft. From there he signed a major contract with...

Doc Rivers: The Inspiring Life and Leadership Lessons of One of Basketball's Greatest Coaches, you will learn the story of one of basketball's premier coaches, Doc Rivers. Doc Rivers is often lauded as one of the top coaches in the NBA, and with good reason. In his first season as the head coach of the Orlando Magic in 1999, Rivers took a team that was projected to finish last in the league to a near playoff birth. That "Heart and Hustle" Orlando Magic team would put Doc Rivers on the map.

A sweeping look back at the protest movements that changed America from activist and NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, with personal and historical insights into lessons they can teach us today “A compelling case for standing up for justice at a time when everything, it seems, is on the line...

In Oscar Robertson: The Inspiring Story of One of Basketball’s Greatest Point Guards, you'll learn the inspirational story of one of basketball's point guard legends, Oscar Robertson. Known as “The Big O”, Oscar Robertson played for the Cincinnati Royals and Milwaukee Bucks back in the early '60s and '70s. Robertson is a 12-time All-Star, 11-time All-NBA team selection, and a one-time winner of the Most Valuable Player award.

It seems unlikely that James Naismith, who grew up playing "Duck on the Rock" in the rural community of Almonte, Canada, would invent one of America's most popular sports. But Rob Rains and Hellen Carpenter's fascinating, in-depth biography James Naismith: The Man Who Invented Basketball shows how this young man - who wanted to be a medical doctor, or if not that, a minister (in fact, he was both) - came to create a game that has endured for over a century.