The Best Basketball Books 2025

1. The Last Shot : City Streets, Basketball Dreams (Paperback)

It ought to be just a game, but basketball on the playgrounds of Coney Island is much more than that -- for many young men it represents their only hope of escape from a life of crime, poverty, and despair. In The Last Shot, Darcy Frey chronicles the aspirations of four of the neighborhood's most promising players. What they have going for them is athletic talent, grace, and years of dedication. But working against them are woefully inadequate schooling, family circumstances that are often desperate, and the slick, brutal world of college athletic recruitment. Incisively and compassionately written, The Last Shot introduces us to unforgettable characters and takes us into their world with an intimacy seldom seen in contemporary journalism. The result is a startling and poignant expose of inner-city life and the big business of college basketball. Darcy Frey chronicles the aspirations of four young men as they navigate the NCAA recruitment process, their only hope of escape from a life of crime, poverty, and despair. It ought to be just a game, but basketball on the playgrounds of Coney Island is much more than that. In The Last Shot, the aspirations of a few of the neighborhood's most promising players reveal that what they have going for them (athletic talent, grace, and years of dedication) may not be enough to defeat what's working against them: woefully inadequate schooling, family circumstances that are often desperate, and the slick, brutal world of college athletic recruitment. Incisively and compassionately written, The Last Shot introduces us to unforgettable characters and takes us into their world with an intimacy seldom seen in contemporary journalism. The result is a startling and poignant exposé of inner-city life and the big business of college basketball.

• Author: Darcy Frey • ISBN:9780618446711 • Format:Paperback • Publication Date:2004-03-03

2. Pre-Owned When the Game Was Ours, (Paperback)

Pre-Owned - From the moment these two players took the court on opposing sides, they engaged in a fierce physical and psychological battle. Their uncommonly competitive relationship came to symbolize the most compelling rivalry in the NBA. These were the basketball epics of the 1980s -- Celtics vs Lakers, East vs West, physical vs finesse, Old School vs Showtime, even white vs black. Each pushed the other to greatness -- together Bird and Johnson collected eight NBA Championships, six MVP awards and helped save the floundering NBA at its most critical time. When it started they were bitter rivals, but along the way they became lifelong friends. With intimate, fly-on-the-wall detail, When the Game Was Ours transports readers to this electric era of basketball and reveals for the first time the inner workings of two players dead set on besting one another. From the heady days of trading championships to the darker days of injury and illness, we come to understand Larry's obsessive devotion to winning and how his demons drove him on the court. We hear him talk with candor about playing through chronic pain and its truly exacting toll. In Magic we see a young, invincible star struggle with the sting of defeat, not just as a player but as a team leader. We are there the moment he learns he's contracted HIV and hear in his own words how that devastating news impacted his relationships in basketball and beyond. But always, in both cases, we see them prevail. A compelling, up-close-and-personal portrait of basketball's most inimitable duo, When the Game Was Ours is a reevaluation of three decades in counterpoint. It is also a rollicking ride through professional basketball's best times.

ISBN13: 9780547394589 ISBN10: 0547394586 Format: Paperback Author: Larry Bird Earvin Johnson Jr. Jackie MacMullan Publisher: Mariner Books Publication Date: 2010-10-01T00:00:00.000Z Pages: 368

3. Play Their Hearts Out: A Coach, His Star Recruit, and the Youth Basketball Machine, Pre-Owned (Paperback)

Pre-Owned - Winner of the PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sportswriting Winner of the Award for Excellence in the Coverage of Youth Sports Eight years of unfettered access and a keen sense of a story's deepest truths allow Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist George Dohrmann to take readers inside the machine that produces America's basketball stars. Play Their Hearts Out reveals a cutthroat world where boys as young as eight or nine are subjected to a dizzying torrent of scrutiny and exploitation. At the book's heart are the personal stories of two compelling figures: Joe Keller, an ambitious coach with a master plan to find and promote the next LeBron, and Demetrius Walker, a fatherless latchkey kid who falls under Keller's sway and struggles to live up to unrealistic expectations. Complete with a new where-are-they-now Epilogue by the author, this thoroughly compelling narrative exposes the gritty reality that lies beneath so many dreams of fame and glory. NAMED ONE OF THE BEST SPORTS BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE LOS ANGELES TIMES - THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR - KIRKUS REVIEWS Look for the exclusive conversation between George Dohrmann and bestselling author Seth Davis in the back of the book.

Play Their Hearts Out: A Coach, His Star Recruit, and the Youth Basketball Machine, Pre-Owned (Paperback)

4. Michael Jordan Scrapbook [Hardcover - Used]

CONDITION - USED - Pages can include limited notes and highlighting, and the copy can include "From the library of" labels or previous owner inscriptions. Accessories such as CD, codes, toys, may not be included. BRAND NEW BOOK - NBA collector's item, perfect gift

Michael Jordan Scrapbook, Used [Hardcover]

5. Pickup Artists: Street Basketball in America [Paperback - Used]

CONDITION - USED - Pages can include limited notes and highlighting, and the copy can include "From the library of" labels or previous owner inscriptions. Accessories such as CD, codes, toys, may not be included. Profiling basketball on the blacktops, at its most basic level, this book chronicles the unusual lives of some of the nation's best players--figures both forgotten and never heard of--in fast-paced words and pictures. 16 photos.

Pickup Artists : Street Basketball in America, Used [Paperback]

6. laker glory/ the 2000 NBA champions [Paperback - Used]

CONDITION - USED - Pages can include limited notes and highlighting, and the copy can include "From the library of" labels or previous owner inscriptions. Accessories such as CD, codes, toys, may not be included. The Los Angeles Times will publish a book celebrating the Los Angeles Lakers' winning of the NBA championship within two weeks of the final game, a date that could be anywhere from June 14 to June 21 depending on how long the final series runs.The book features a month-by-month rundown of the 1999-2000 season beginning with the hiring of Phil Jackson through the regular season. Then it shifts to a game-by-game coverage of each of the four rounds of the playoffs. There will be scores of color action photos, many of them full page, along with crowd, celebrity fan and player portrait shots. We envision it as a high-quality keepsake of this fabulous season.

Laker Glory : The 2000 NBA Champions, Used [Paperback]

7. Miracle on 33rd Street;: The New York Knickerbockers' championship season [Hardcover - Used]

CONDITION - USED - Pages can include limited notes and highlighting, and the copy can include "From the library of" labels or previous owner inscriptions. Accessories such as CD, codes, toys, may not be included. . A fine reporter offers unusual insight into the ups and downs of the New York Knicks 1969-70 National Basketball Association Championship Season.

Miracle on 33rd Street;: The New York Knickerbockers' championship season, Used [Hardcover]

8. Catch a Star: Shining through Adversity to Become a Champion [Paperback - Used]

CONDITION - USED - Pages can include limited notes and highlighting, and the copy can include "From the library of" labels or previous owner inscriptions. Accessories such as CD, codes, toys, may not be included. When all she wanted was to fit in, Tamika Catchings stood out and felt left out, never knowing one day she'd stand out--as a basketball superstar and an inspiration. She faced being set apart by her hearing loss, separated from family, living up to high expectations, and the pain and discouragement of debilitating physical injury. Yet she reached for the stars with hard work, perseverance, and her faith in God. Through the silence, she found the way to shine. Catch a Star tells Tamika's story of overcoming: of leading the Indiana Fever to its first championship, being named one of the WNBA's top fifteen players in history, earning four Olympic gold medals, and founding the Catch the Stars Foundation to help young people achieve their dreams. Her story will inspire readers to face their doubts and fears, encouraging them to reach for their own stars, no matter what challenges come their way.

Catch a Star : Shining Through Adversity to Become a Champion, Used [Hardcover]

9. Official Rules of Basketball Ncaa, Used [Paperback]

Basketball fans, players, and coaches all use the Official Rules of Basketball as an important reference to better play -- and enjoy -- the game. With easy-to-follow diagrams and text, this 2000 edition covers rules and regulations in detail, including: -- Court and equipment-- Officials-- Scoring and timing-- Live ball and dead ball-- Violations and penalties-- Definitions-- Diagrams and illustrations-- Complete index

Official Rules of Basketball Ncaa, Used [Paperback]

10. The Complete Handbook of Pro Basketball 1988: 1988 Edition [Mass Market Paperback - Used]

CONDITION - USED - Pages can include limited notes and highlighting, and the copy can include "From the library of" labels or previous owner inscriptions. Accessories such as CD, codes, toys, may not be included. The Complete Handbook of Pro Basketball 1988: 1988 Edition by Hollander, Zander

The Complete Handbook of Pro Basketball 1988: 1988 Edition, Used [Mass Market Paperback]