Basketball is one of the most followed sports in the world and has been told in numerous publications. Many books, essays, and biographies have tried to explain the moments, situations, and everything that has helped increase interest in basketball around the world. We tried to put together ten to try to grasp the essence of this sport.
To understand the greatness of basketball, I always tell kids in schools: “Look at your hand. The five fingers are like the five players on the pitch. Each finger is different from the other because if they were all the same you would not be able to do anything. Think of the difference between thumb and little finger: they look like two different families but the thumb is opposed because it allows you to grasp things.
Individually, your fingers are fragile, but if they close together they can have the power of a fist: this is the team’s secret, putting together the talents of each one and with a common spirit going to win the game. Nothing depends on luck; Basketball is not like a live roulette game! This game depends on individual skill, team spirit and coach strategy.
To understand how this sport has captured the hearts of fans, we have put together ten book titles that tell stories and that could help the most sceptical approach basketball.
1. The mamba mentality. My basketball (Kobe Bryant)
“The Mamba Mentality – My basketball” is a journey through the secrets of Kobe Bryant. The former NBA star, who passed away in late January due to a helicopter crash, shared his understanding of basketball and how his obsessions and desire to be perfect at any time helped him become one of the strongest players in history. Kobe Bryant tells in the pages of the book of all the hardest challenges launched to himself and his teammates in each training session, he lays bare the rites to find the charge or concentration and refers to some background of the preparation for the match. A story about twenty years of career in the same team between images and texts make us understand how important attention to detail was for Bryant in any situation. In addition to the work on himself, there was the maniacal study of the opponents to steal their secrets and to always improve. The photos by Andrew Bernsterin and the introduction by coach Phil Jackson make this publication truly important to a basketball fan and a fan of that great player that was Kobe.
2. Black Jesus. The anthology (Federico Buffa)
“Black Jesus. The anthology” by Federico Buffa is one of those essential books for anyone who loves stars and stripes basketball. It is a very pleasant read for those interested in delving into certain aspects of American culture and the “lawyer” is one who knows the United States well. Buffa makes the reader enter the stories and makes it clear how basketball in the USA is not a simple sport but is a real lifestyle with its well-defined rules, which are partly linked to the highway code despite being the most important league. important in the world. The most important thing is to keep your reputation high to try to stay afloat in a world where personality and ego are as important as technical qualities.
3. Coach Wooden and me (Kareem Adbul-Jabbar)
“Coach Wooden and me. 50 years of friendship on and off the pitch” tells a story of friendship and a relationship of trust that has lasted over time and this book is inspired by two photos: the first shows 18-year-old Lew Alcindor right away after his arrival in Los Angeles, in UCLA, at the court of John Wooden while in the second there is the same coach, almost a hundred years old, who relies on that boy, now a man and known by the name of Kareem Adbul-Jabbar. The book was born when the coach from the Midwest died and the former basketball player decided that the time has come to let the world know their story among anecdotes, memories, difficult moments, and struggles against prejudices and against racism. We talk about the Lakers, the youth riots of the sixties, the conversion of Jabbar, Muhammad Ali and Bruce Lee and many other episodes. Truly an unmissable read, one of those books that you do not regret having bought.
4. Eleven rings. The soul of success (Phil Jackson)
“Eleven rings. The soul of success” is the book about the victories of Phil Jackson, who as coach of the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers has won more championships than any other coach in the history of professional sport.
This gentleman born in Deer Lodge is called” the master Zen “and this nickname is not entirely different from what really happened in Jackson’s career: the son of a North Dakota preacher worked hard to become one of the most innovative leaders of our time and as a coach he was always a guide for his boys, touching the intimate chords of his players. Phil Jackson was able to create a new approach to leadership based on freedom, authenticity and selfless teamwork by showcasing another way of working in one of the sports in which the ego is highly developed.
5. Eleven rings. The soul of success
“The shot in basketball. Shooting philosophy and techniques. Free throw, jump shot, the 3-point shot, your shooting style and much more.”
By David Hopla is a guide through the game patterns and strategies that have made him one of the most sought after experts in the world. This publication refers to the different shooting techniques: from the free one to the suspended one up to the three-person one, a journey through the author’s coaching experiences to be prepared and master every aspect that characterizes one of the fundamentals of basketball. More than twenty models are offered to learn, practice and perfect the skills necessary to shoot effectively for the field in any situation. Shooting in basketball is crucial and Michael Jordan said that “you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take”.
