Basketball Memoir

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.

On the night of March 2, 1962, in Hershey, Pennsylvania, right up the street from the chocolate factory, Wilt Chamberlain, a young and striking athlete celebrated as the Big Dipper, scored 100 points in a game against the New York Knickerbockers.

Steve James has made a lifetime study of Michael Jordan’s rise from repeated failure to NBA legend. And now he’s here to share the secrets behind Michael Jordan’s winning record so you can follow in his footsteps. Michael Jordan: A Unique Insight into the Career and Mindset of Michael Jordan is an incredible account of the many trials and tribulations the legendary baller overcame so he could dominate the courts.

In Shaquille O'Neal: The Inspiring Story of One of Basketball's Greatest Centers, you will learn the inspirational story of one of basketball's greatest centers, Shaquille O'Neal. Often nicknamed "Shaq" or "The Diesel", O'Neal left an indelible mark on the center position. His incredible power and athleticism made him a practically unstoppable presence on both the offensive and defensive ends of the basketball court. It's no surprise O'Neal concluded his career a four-time NBA Champion.

By 1970 racial tension was at a breaking point in the Southern town of Gallatin, Tennessee. Desegregation had emotions running high. The town was a powder keg ready to erupt. But it was also on the verge of something incredible. Eddie Sherlin and Bill Ligon were boys growing up on opposite sides of the tracks who shared a passion for basketball. They knew the barriers that divided them - some physical landmarks and some hidden in the heart - but those barriers melted away when the boys were on the court.

In Jayson Tatum: The Inspiring Story of One of Basketball’s Rising Stars, you will learn the incredible story of one of basketball's emerging stars, Jayson Tatum. Since being drafted by the Boston Celtics in 2017, Tatum has quickly established himself as a versatile and formidable guard to play against. At the time of this writing, Tatum is just 21 years old, with his prime years ahead of him.

Evoking days gone by when coaches were respected as much for their off-court performances as for their success on the court, Wooden presents the timeless wisdom of legendary basketball coach John Wooden. In honest and telling passages about virtually every aspect of life, Coach shares his personal philosophy on family, achievement, success, and excellence. Raised on a small farm in South-Central Indiana, he offers lessons and wisdom learned throughout his career at UCLA and life as a dedicated husband, father, and teacher.

If you’re a sneaker head, you know him as the Savior of Nike. If you’ve watched Air you saw Matt Damon’s portrayal of the man who discovered Michael Jordan and how he revolutionized the payment structure of endorsements for athletes. Legends and Soles tells Sonny’s story – his blind-sided firing by Nike Chairman Phil Knight, the landmark 2021 Supreme Court decision that upended big-time college sports, the countless days and nights of watching athletes compete, and so much more that only Sonny can retell.

From the smallest kid on every team to the game-changing, record-breaking NBA All-Star he is today, Steph Curry’s journey to stardom is a master class in excellence. Bolstered by what he calls his irrational confidence, the “baby-faced assassin” shattered expectations and accrued millions of fans as he led the Golden State Warriors to championship after championship, garnered multiple MVP awards, and emerged as the greatest three-point shooter of all time. Steph Curry: Life Lessons from a Legend gives you courtside seats to the incredible highs and lows of his phenomenal career.

Two-time All-Star and 13-year NBA veteran Caron Butler has an impressive basketball record. He was Big East Co-Player of the Year at UConn, the 10th overall pick of the 2002 NBA Draft and a key player for the Dallas Mavericks in their championship-winning season in 2011. But before Butler had a chance to prove himself on the court, he spent his time trying to prove himself on the streets, as a gang member and drug dealer in his hometown of Racine, Wisconsin. He saw friends gunned down in the bloody street wars near his home....

Kendrick “Perk” Perkins is known for his blunt, opinionated, “carry the hell on” commentary on ESPN’s most popular shows. As a fourteen-year NBA player and starting center for the 2008 NBA champion Boston Celtics, Perk earned a reputation as an enforcer, a fierce defender, and a great teammate. Now, In The Education of Kendrick Perkins, he opens a different side of himself: a powerful and intimate memoir that goes beyond basketball to discuss the reality of being Black in America.

This is the year of the Bubble, a vacated Disney World, and the nearly one hundred days that 350 players and personnel from twenty-two NBA teams isolated from their friends and family, testing their patience for a dorm-style solution to America’s lost pandemic sports season - but also inspiring them. In a country violently divided by more than COVID-19, the Lakers rise to the occasion. From initial quarantine to the best basketball ever played by LeBron James and Anthony Davis to transitioning again to the real world, Jared Dudley shares his winning memories....

The basketball rivalry between Duke and North Carolina is the fiercest and longest-running blood feud in college athletics, and perhaps in all of sports. To legions of otherwise reasonable adults, it is a conflict that surpasses athletics; it is rich against poor, locals against outsiders, even good against evil. In North Carolina, where both schools reside, it is a way of aligning oneself with larger philosophic ideals—of choosing teams in life—a tradition of partisanship that reveals the pleasures and even the necessities of hatred.

When LeBron James signed with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2018, the match looked like one made in heaven. Here was a living legend, the preeminent athlete of his generation, joining forces with one of the most iconic teams in all of sports. The Lakers, in the midst of their worst stretch in franchise history and reeling from the death of their legendary owner Dr. Jerry Buss, needed a savior. LeBron, fresh off ending Cleveland’s 50-year title drought, needed a new challenge to help further burnish his legacy. The script wrote itself.

On the night of March 2, 1962, in Hershey, Pennsylvania, right up the street from the chocolate factory, Wilt Chamberlain, a young and striking athlete celebrated as the Big Dipper, scored 100 points in a game against the New York Knickerbockers. As historic and revolutionary as the achievement was, it remains shrouded in myth. The game was not televised; no New York sportswriters showed up; and a 14-year-old local boy ran onto the court when Chamberlain scored his hundredth point, shook his hand, and then ran off with the basketball.

"All die Stunden in der Halle, die Niederlagen und Siege, all die Geschichten und Gedanken - es braucht einen Autor wie Thomas Pletzinger, um die richtigen Worte für meine Welt und mein Spiel zu finden. Ich hätte mir keinen besseren wünschen können." Dirk Nowitzki. Wenn man über Dirk Nowitzki spricht, kommt man an Superlativen nicht vorbei. Er gehört zu den Legenden seiner Sportart, ist ein globaler Superstar - und als Mensch zugleich nahbar und schwer zu fassen. Thomas Pletzinger hat den Ausnahmesportler über viele Jahre begleitet, er wurde Teil von dessen Kosmos.

In Red Auerbach: The Inspiring Life and Leadership Lessons of One of Basketball's Greatest Coaches, you will learn the inspirational story of one of the greatest basketball coaches and executives of the 20th century, Red Auerbach. Few have left as indelible of a mark on a single franchise as what Red achieved in his time with the Boston Celtics. As a coach, he led the team to nine championships and as an executive, another seven. Needless to say, Red Auerbach will always be remembered for the substantial impact he left on the game.

Linspired reveals the remarkable journey of the ultimate underdog, Jeremy Lin, superstar of the New York Knicks and the first American-born player of Chinese/Taiwanese descent to play in the NBA.

Story of Green tells how entrepreneur Alan Foster disrupted the basketball world by creating a unique brand and multi-million-dollar company for the Ball family, centered around the three sons Lonzo, LaMelo, and LiAngelo being signed for the NBA. It's a story of betrayal and a cautionary tale about financial management and the forces arrayed against anyone who tries to make sure that athletes control their brand.

An inspirational journey from a shattered dream to the Cincinnati Bearcats.