Dream Team by Jack McCallum
The 1992 U.S. team that won the Olympic gold medal is considered by virtually all knowledgeable observers to be the greatest basketball team ever assembled. Consider the roster: Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, and Karl Malone are all Hall-of-Famers. Virtually all their teammates are, too. What makes this volume a must-read for nostalgic hoopsters are the robust portraits of the outsize personalities of the participants, all of whom were remarkably open with McCallum. (Booklist *Starred Review* )
Brave Dragons by Jim Yardley
When the Shanxi Brave Dragons, one of China’s worst professional basketball teams, hired former NBA coach Bob Weiss, the team’s owner, Boss Wang, promised that Weiss would be allowed to Americanize his players by teaching them “advanced basketball culture.” That promise would be broken from the moment Weiss landed in China. Desperate for his team to play like Americans, Wang—a peasant turned steel tycoon—nevertheless refused to allow his players the freedom and individual expression necessary to truly change their games. (Publisher Summary)
True Fans by Dan Austin
Three friends bike across America to bestow on the NBA Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass., a basketball inscribed by everyday heroes. Based on Austin's documentary which won the People's Choice Award at the Banff Film Festival, the book begins with a sketch of the three pilgrims. Austin and his best friend, Clint, were consumed by basketball; Austin's younger brother Jared was more interested in biking, but willing to go along on their cross country pilgrimage to the "jock shrine". Their journey took them to a number of unusual basketball venues, from a hoop nailed to a barn to a small-town court lit up at night. The story pivots around basketball, but is essentially about the journey and about the kindness of strangers. (Kirkus Reviews)
The Hoops Whisperer by Idan Ravin
As a trainer, Ravin has helped hone the skills of some of pro basketball's biggest names. His arrival at this starry occupation was hardly glamorous. The product of a Conservative Jewish household, Ravin fell in love with basketball as a child and devised his own training regimen. Using that and his experience coaching youth basketball, he began training players while he pursued an unsatisfying law career. Year by year, despite no ties to the NBA hierarchy and a playing career that ended in high school, he attracted high-profile clients willing to pay for his personal, unorthodox training. (Publishers Weekly Reviews)
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