Book Blog

Universally recognized as the greatest basketball team ever assembled, the 1992 United States men's Olympic team genuinely earned the nickname "The Dream Team" by their performance on and off the court.  Amazingly, it wasn't until 2012's "Dream Team" by Jack McCallum that the full story of that experience was told. 

McCallum is a long-time sportswriter and author who has long been recognized as one of the greats in his field. This book is an instant classic offering everything a basketball junkie like me can appreciate - from little personal anecdotes to the broad historic perspective on the impact that team had on the popularity of basketball worldwide. 

What makes this book special is the fact that McCallum himself traveled with this team every step of the way and later was able to procure interviews with everyone - from the players and coaches to the FIBA organizers who originally thought of allowing NBA players in the Olympics. 

McCallum is an enjoyable read and he works through the selection process, preparatory practices, qualifying tournaments, and finally the Olympic games themselves. He skillfully blends in biographical sketches of each of the players too, capturing their personalities and what made them individually great. 

My favorite part of the book is his minute-by-minute breakdown of what's now become a famous inter-squad scrimmage right before the Olympics in Monte Carlo. The scrimmage, like all practices, was video recorded, but copies of the game are extremely rare. McCallum had the connections to get his hand on a copy and he details the ultra-competitive pick-up game that pitted Michael against Magic, Ewing against Robinson, and Barkley versus Malone.

My memories as an 11-12 year old kid are crystal clear. I remember initially desperately hoping that my hero, Larry Bird, would be selected even though his health was deteriorating. I remember them demolishing every opponent but doing so in such a poetic and beautiful way. This team had plenty of egos but never played selfishly. Reading this books account confirms what had stuck in my memory. It was the greatest game being played at the greatest level.

The way we remember things and the way they actually happened are not always in line. Thankfully in this case, it was as spectacular as I thought it was.

Book Blog

My Week 2 book that's made a great impact on my life is "The Pursuit of God" by A.W. Tozer. 

I can't remember exactly when first read it, high school or early on in college probably. But from it's first few pages, I knew it was going to powerfully speak to my heart. 

Tozer's been called a modern-day prophet. And he certainly was. Not in the fortune-telling sense but in the conviction and encouragement sense. Prophets in the Bible criticized and energized their people (cc. Walter Bruggemann). Tozer does exactly that as he offers us biblical perspective on what it means to know God. Not just know of Him, but know him closely and intimately and to enjoy the beauty of that fellowship. 

Whenever I feel like my spiritual life has grown stagnant or stale, I go back to Tozer's writings and usually to this book first. It will challenge the hardest of hearts and will inspire the thirsty soul. 

Book Blog

I saw a trend on Twitter a week or so ago that had people tweeting pics of their favorite books without comment and challenging their friends to do the same. I got challenged and accepted because it seemed kind of fun.

So, I'll be setting aside my long-running "Music Mondays" to feature this "Book Blog" (I'm great at titles aren't I?). Here, unlike the Tweets, I will be providing commentary on the books and why I recommend them. I'll try to go with the order of my Tweet Challenge and maybe go from there.

First up, The Book of Basketball by Bill Simmons. Ever since he became a featured writer on Espn.com, I've enjoyed reading Simmons' sports takes. It didn't hurt that he was a big Celtics fan like me and that he loved the movie Hoosiers. Published in 2009, my wife got it for me as a Christmas gift and I immediately immersed myself in it. 

I'm not sure, but I've read it a total of 6-8 times I'd guess. I normally do it piecemeal as the different chapters and sections make it perfect for reading in spurts. 

My favorite parts are hard to choose. I love the whole thing. But his fundamental premise is one element that shines. His theory is that greatness in basketball is not about basketball, it's more about making others better. This is a team game and individual talent only matters to an extent. The history of the NBA has shown that things like skill, selflessness, and sacrifice are as important as athletic ability. As a former player, this resonated with me as being absolutely true. 

I also loved his breakdown of the classic Wilt vs. Russell argument. Basketball junkies have long debated these two rivals and many experts consider Wilt as the singular greatest player ever before Jordan. Simmons destroys this revisionist history with facts comparing the two. It's a detailed and sound argument that undermines all the assertions of the "Wilt was better" crowd.

Simmons' greatest contribution is his Hall-of-Fame pyramid, ranking the best 96 players of all time. But the ranking is done in tiers. The thinking is, not all Hall of Famers are equal. What if there was a way to put each player into proper context. So he goes about the painstaking work of ranking the greatest players of all time via these levels. Each player has his career accomplishments listed as well as specific commentary about his game and career. Simmons has done the video and statistical research and his rankings are well-supported, even if one may not agree with them. In the past ten years, he has publicly mentioned how his rankings have changed, so my edition is a little dated. But it is still good fodder for guys who love the history of this sport. For my top 13 players, see the end of this entry.

This is a basketball masterpiece, though I imagine if his writing style doesn't connect with you it may not resonate as much - there is plenty of off-color language, bad jokes, and more pop culture references than you can shake a stick at. I highly recommend this book if you like professional basketball and honestly can't give your basketball opinions any credit if you haven't read this book.

Now, for my top players of all-time (with short explanations) These rankings take eras into account plus their grasp of The Secret - which is how Simmons evaluates the players too:

13. Shaq - dominant at his best, but didn't always max out his potential.
12. Hakeem Olajuwon - immense skills plus astounding all-around stats, 2 rings.
11. Oscar Robertson - great individual talent, I was convinced by Simmons' write up that he has been a little over-rated historically.
10. Kobe - killer scorer who learned The Secret through Phil Jackson.
9. Jerry West - the biggest victim of the great Celtics' dynasties, he was a phenomenal player even when falling short.
8. Wilt - his lack of winning was on him more than it was due to Russell. Reading the accounts of his day plus Simmons' analysis knocks him down my list.
7. Tim Duncan - the most under-appreciated star of the last 25 years. Always made his team contenders and won a bunch of rings in competitive eras.
6. Larry Bird - A great scorer and all-time great rebounder, he let his passing be his signature weapon.
5. Magic - Gets the nod over Bird due to a little longer career and more Rings.
4. Bill Russell - the greatest winner of all-time, his stats are phenomenal as well.
3. Kareem - the definition of greatness over decades. Is underrated because of his longevity.
2. LeBron - has an outside shot at #1 because his peak greatness has been lengthy. He drug mediocre teams to the Finals and I don't knock him for not winning it all more because of it.
1. Jordan - I lived through his prime and it always seemed inevitable that his teams would come out on top. His all-around greatness was only matched by his competitiveness.