Sports Basketball

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.

Have you ever gotten bored when the weather is too bad to go outside for recess? Bored students and bad weather inspired James Naismith to invent the game of basketball in the late 19th century. Using a soccer ball and peach baskets, Professor Naismith worked out the rules of the new sport at the local YMCA.

Today the salary cap is an NBA institution, something fans take for granted as part of the fabric of the league or an obstacle to their favorite team’s chances to win a championship. In the early 1980s, however, a salary cap was not only novel but nonexistent. The Cap tells the fascinating, behind-the-scenes story of the deal between the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association that created the salary cap in 1983, the first in all of sports, against the backdrop of a looming players’ strike on one side and threatened economic collapse on the other.

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.

In Scorecasting, University of Chicago behavioral economist Tobias Moskowitz teams up with veteran Sports Illustrated writer L. Jon Wertheim to overturn some of the most cherished truisms of sports, and reveal the hidden forces that shape how basketball, baseball, football, and hockey games are...

Are you a beginner coach looking for drills for your next practice? Or a time-strapped volunteer parent coach? Coaching from the Base Up consults experts, such as Dell Curry, Brian McCormick, Bob Bigelow, and more to share paradigm-shifting ideas, drills, and practice plans.

Nikki wants to be a basketball star . . . but between school stress, friend drama, and babysitting woes, will she be able to make it on her new team? Judy Blume meets Mike Lupica in this pitch-perfect, action-packed, and funny novel. Thirteen-year-old Nikki Doyle's dreams of becoming a...

In this New York Times bestseller, get the inside scoop into LeBron James's return -- and ultimate triumph -- in Cleveland. What really happened when LeBron James stunned the NBA by leaving a potential dynasty in Miami to come home to play with the Cleveland Cavaliers? How did the Cavs use...

Award-winning creator Kadir Nelson delivers the perfect gift for basketball fans of any age—a beautifully illustrated history of the game and its key players over the years—in this companion to his bestselling We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball. Basketball has evolved by...

In Five Banners, Feinstein tells the inside history of Coach K’s forty-two-year career at Duke and its five NCAA championships, from the first, against Kansas in 1991, to the most recent, in 2015 against Wisconsin. With unparalleled access to Coach K, the team, and its staff, Feinstein takes listeners on a mesmerizing ride into the locker room and onto the court. Full of intimate details, personal memories, and previously untold on- and off-court stories, it is a book that only Feinstein could write.

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...

“A deeply insightful and introspective look at arguably the best basketball player in the world.”—Jemele Hill “This is a fantastic book. Mike Singer, through moments large and small, captures the unlikely journey of Nikola Jokic with detail and texture, and with a style that holds the...

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?

You gotta know the rules to play the game. Ball is life. Take it to the hoop. Soar. What can we imagine for ourselves? What if we were the star players, moving and grooving through the game of life? What if we had our own rules of the game to help us get what we want, what we aspire to, what will enrich our lives? The Playbook is intended to provide inspiration for kids ages 10 and up to help them succeed on and off the court.

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...

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.

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...

In Dream Team, acclaimed sports journalist Jack McCallum delivers the untold story of the greatest team ever assembled: the 1992 U.S. Olympic men's basketball team that captivated the world, kindled the hoop dreams of countless children around the planet, and remade the NBA into a global sensation. As a senior staff writer for Sports Illustrated, McCallum enjoyed a courtside seat for the most exciting basketball spectacle on earth, covering the Dream Team from its inception to the gold medal ceremony in Barcelona.

In the same vein as major bestsellers as Tony Dungy's Quiet Strength, Coach K's Leading with the Heart, and Bo'sLasting Lessons by Bo Schembechler, Coach Ken Carter brings us a highly personal motivational and inspirational book of dedicated life lessons. Accountability . . . Overcoming...