The three-point shot has been an NBA institution for more than 40 years, with the first long-distance bombs fired on October 12, 1979. The game has since changed dramatically. Critics today contend that three-pointers have gotten out of hand. Attempts rose from 2.8 per game in the 1979-1980 season to 18.4 in 2011-2012 to 32 in 2018-2019. Charting this development, this volume focuses on examples of 12 performances by 12 exceptional shooters-with mention of many more. Starting with Chris Ford and ending with Steph Curry, the author shows how these athletes have changed the NBA one shot at a time.

Who comprised the most productive pairs in the history of professional team sports? Joe Montana and Jerry Rice of the San Francisco 49ers? Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen of the Chicago Bulls? What about the prolific hockey tandem of Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier? And that all-time great New York Yankees twosome of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig can certainly not be excluded. Using various selection criteria-including longevity, level of statistical compilation, impact on one's team, and overall place in history-The 50 Most Dynamic Duos in Sports History attempts to ascertain which twosome truly established itself as the most dominant tandem in the history of the four major professional team sports: baseball, basketball, football, and hockey. Arranged and ranked by sport, this work takes an in-depth look at the careers of these 100 men, including statistics, quotes from opposing players and former teammates, and career highlights. Finally, all 50 duos are placed in an overall ranking. Covering every decade since the 1890s, this book will find widespread appeal among sports fans of all generations.And with photographs of many of the tandems, The 50 Most Dynamic Duos in Sports History is a wonderful addition to any sports historian's collection.

The Washington metro area has always supported its professional sports teams, from the Redskins to the Capitals, from the Senators to the Nationals. The nation's capital has also been home to a rich basketball tradition that began more than 80 years ago with a start-up league in the 1920s and continues today with the Washington Wizards. The city was a charter member of the NBA, and under Hall of Fame coach and general manager Red Auerbach the team reached the finals once in the first three years. Renowned players such as Wes Unseld, Chris Webber, and even Michael Jordan have all played for a Washington, DC area team. In The Bullets, the Wizards, and Washington, DC, Basketball, Brett L. Abrams and Raphael Mazzone chronicle the area's history of professional basketball, from the sport's origins as a regional game up through the present day as a multi-billion dollar business. This book captures the high and low times of the Bullets, the Wizards, and all the other basketball teams in Washington's history.The authors meticulously researched newspaper and magazine articles, as well as archival material from the Basketball Hall of Fame, to give a complete and comprehensive history of the DC teams. Their findings illuminate the owners, players, and rivalries, while also providing insight into the events, trades, and most significant games that occurred throughout the history of professional basketball in the DC area. A fascinating look at the history of professional basketball in our nation's capital, The Bullets, the Wizards, and Washington, DC, Basketball will appeal to all fans of the sport.

This book analyzes career narratives of selected prominent NBA players after the Michael Jordan era, understood as the time after his second retirement in January 1999. It was a pivotal time for the league, as Jordan became synonymous with NBA basketball and the face of its global expansion. The players discussed in the book have been selected because of the significance of their career narratives, as all of them correspond with certain archetypes, prevalent in the world not only of professional basketball, but of professional sports in general. The private and public personas of eight players as well as their depiction by the media are analyzed not only regarding their success on the basketball court, but also in light of what they have come to represent for the modern NBA. The players discussed in this book are Shaquille O'Neal, Alonzo Mourning, Vin Baker, Allen Iverson, Antoine Walker, Steve Nash, Tim Duncan, and Kobe Bryant. Collectively, these eight players embody the distinguishing character profiles and career arcs of sports superstars with dominance, individualism, and athleticism being as much parts of sports star culture as egotism, injuries, boredom, addiction, and bankruptcy.

On June 2nd, 1947, the Basketball Association of America (BAA) and the National Basketball League (NBL) held the first college basketball draft in the history of the sport. The two leagues selected a combined 100 college seniors, including future Hall of Famers Harry Gallatin, Andy Phillips, and Jim Pollard. Since then, over 9,000 draft choices have been made by the major professional basketball leagues. The Basketball Draft Fact Book is the first detailed and comprehensive listing of all professional basketball drafts in the history of the sport, from the first draft in 1947 to the present. In The Basketball Draft Fact Book, each season's draft is summarized, noting significant events and circumstances pertinent to that year and providing insight into the unique conditions and notable players involved. Following the summary is a complete list of all players drafted that season. This book includes not only the NBA, but the American Basketball League, American Basketball Association, and the Women's National Basketball Association, as well.Additional sections cover expansion and dispersal drafts, international players selected in the draft, the processes used to determine the order of the drafts, the impact of trades, and more. The Basketball Draft Fact Book provides an authoritative history of basketball drafts in the U.S., with more complete and accurate information than any other source. Containing corrections to hundreds of errors in the draft information currently available, this volume is a valuable resource for basketball fans, historians, writers, and researchers.

Twenty-four million people wager nearly $3 billion on college basketball pools each year, but few are aware that winning strategies have been developed by researchers at Harvard, Yale, and other universities over the past two decades. Bad advice from media sources and even our own psychological inclinations are often a bigger obstacle to winning than our pool opponents. Profit opportunities are missed and most brackets submitted to pools don't have a breakeven chance to win money before the tournament begins. Improving Your NCAA (R) Bracket with Statistics is both an easy-to-use tip sheet to improve your winning odds and an intellectual history of how statistical reasoning has been applied to the bracket pool using standard and innovative methods. It covers bracket improvement methods ranging from those that require only the information in the seeded bracket to sophisticated estimation techniques available via online simulations. Included are: Prominently displayed bracket improvement tips based on the published research A history of the origins of the bracket pool A history of bracket improvement methods and their results in play Historical sketches and background information on the mathematical and statistical methods that have been used in bracket analysis A source list of good bracket pool advice available each year that seeks to be comprehensive Warnings about common bad advice that will hurt your chances Tom Adams' work presenting bracket improvement methods has been featured in the New York Times, Sports Illustrated, and SmartMoney magazine.

The Only Resource You Need for a Standout Season

All basketball coaches can use some fresh ideas for practice drills, game plays and strategies. Whether you are coaching beginners who need a place to start, or a successful team that just needs polish, "Basketball Drills, Plays, and Strategies" is a resource you can trust to produce positive results on the court.

With over 160 drills and plays, this book covers every aspect of your season. It will help you run efficient and effective practices and improve your game in live competition. Step-by-step instructions, accompanied by diagrams and illustrations walk you and your players through every step of the way. Areas of the game that are covered in detail include:

• Fundamental skills like dribbling, shooting, passing, and rebounding
• Offense and defense
• Inbound and tip-off plays
• Presses and press breaks
• Conditioning drills

One of the most successful Black businessmen in the country, who has led Nike's Jordan Brand from a $200M sneaker company to a $4B global apparel juggernaut, tells the remarkable story of his rise from gangland violence to the pinnacles of international business. Jump tells Larry Miller's journey from the violent streets of West Philly in the 1960s to the highest echelons of American sports and industry. Miller wound up in jail more than once, especially as a teenager. But he immersed himself in the educational opportunities, eventually took advantage of a Pennsylvania state education-release program offered to incarcerated people, and was able to graduate with honors from Temple University. When revealing his gangland past caused him to lose his first major job opportunity, Miller vowed to keep it a secret. He climbed the corporate ladder with a number of companies such as Kraft Foods, Campbell's Soup, and Jantzen, until Nike hired him to run its domestic apparel operations. Around the time of Michael Jordan's basketball retirement, Nike Chairman Phil Knight made Larry Miller president of the newly formed Jordan Brand. In 2007 Paul Allen convinced Miller to jump to the NBA to become president of the Portland Trailblazers, one of the first African-Americans to lead a professional sports team, before returning to Jordan Brand in 2012. All along, Miller lived two lives: the secret of his violent past haunted him, invading his days with migraines and his sleep with nightmares of getting hauled back to jail. More than a rags-to-riches story, Jump is also a passionate appeal for criminal justice reform and expanded educational opportunities for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people across the United States. Drawing on his powerful personal story, as well as his vast and well-connected network, Miller plans to use Jump as a launching point to help expand such opportunities and to provide an aspirational journey for those who need hope.

Iceland is a tiny Nordic nation with a population of just 330,000 and no professional sports leagues, and yet its soccer, basketball and handball teams have all qualified for major international tournaments in recent years. This fascinating study argues that team sport success is culturally produced and that in order to understand collective achievement we have to consider the socio-cultural context. Based on unparalleled access to key personnel, including top coaches, athletes and administrators, the book explores Icelandic cultural capital as a factor in sporting success, from traditions of workmanship, competitive play and teamwork to international labour migration and knowledge transfer. The first book to focus specifically on the socio-cultural aspects of a small nation's international sporting success, this is an original and illuminating contribution to the study of the sociology of sport. Sport in Iceland: How small nations achieve international success is fascinating reading for team sport enthusiasts, coaches, managers and organisers, as well as for any student or scholar with an interest in the sociology of sport, strategic sports development, sports policy or sports administration.

From the time conference play began in 1905, the Big Ten was the Western force in collegiate basketball. Minnesota, Wisconsin and Purdue were the first powers in the league, with a combined 23 titles by 1930. Purdue was dominant in the '30s, with seven titles under Coach Piggy Lambert, including a national title in 1935 led by player of the year John Wooden. The creation of a national tournament in 1939 showed the league's early dominance, as a different Big Ten team went to the Final Four in each of the first three years, with two wins. Over the next 30 years, the league produced some of the top teams in the country, led by Hall of Fame coaches like Branch McCracken, Walter Meanwell, Dutch Lonborg, Harold Olsen and Fred Taylor. Top players emerged from the conference, like Jerry Lucas, Cazzie Russell, John Havlicek, Terry Dischinger, Walt Bellamy, Johnny Green, Lou Hudson, Archie Clark and a host of others. This book provides the first-ever basketball history of the Big Ten.

With the possible exceptions of boxer Muhammad Ali and baseball player Babe Ruth, no athlete has made a greater impact on American society-or in the world-than Michael Jordan. Follow the life of one of the most recognizable athletes and living brands inside this engaging and balanced biography. He is among the best-known and wealthiest athletes in the history of organized sports. With the possible exceptions of boxer Muhammad Ali and baseball player Babe Ruth, no athlete has made a greater impact on American society-or in the world-than Michael Jordan. Follow the life of one of the most recognizable athletes and living brands inside this engaging and balanced biography. When basketball stars Larry Bird and Magic Johnson retired in the early 1990s, Michael almost single-handedly propelled the NBA to stratospheric levels of success and international visibility. As a player for the Chicago Bulls, he generated instant crowd thrills with his record-setting drives and dunks, selling countless books, newspapers, videotapes, NBA game tickets, and hours of television time. The NBA promoted Michael, basing its popularity on his image as the greatest showman in sports history. Yet his sports hero status extends beyond NBA records. Michael changed the game by becoming the most effectively marketed athlete of his generation. Nike and many other companies rode-and continue to ride-on the coattails of Air Jordan's legend. Author David Porter highlights Jordan's on and off the court accomplishments and examines his relationship with Chicago Bulls' coaches, his commercial endorsements, and his current role as part-owner of the Charlotte Bobcats. A chronology, photos, career stats, and a bibliography of print and electronic resources round out this biography of one of the most influential athletes of the twentieth century.

Sharpe captures the pulse and passion of North Carolina basketball: the great players, teams, magical moments, riveting rivals, the all-time best Tar Heels team, the rosters of all five national championship squads, and more. All is told by UNC players, managers, coaches, opponents, fans, and the media.

When future NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was still an 18-year-old high school basketball prospect from New York City named Lew Alcindor, he accepted a scholarship from UCLA largely on the strength of Coach John Wooden's reputation as a winner. It turned out to be the right choice, as Alcindor and his teammates won an unprecedented three NCAA championship titles. But it also marked the beginning of one of the most extraordinary and enduring friendships in the history of sports. In COACH WOODEN AND ME, Abdul-Jabbar reveals the inspirational story of how his bond with John Wooden evolved from a history-making coach-player mentorship into a deep and genuine friendship that transcended sports, shaped the course of both men's lives, and lasted for half a century. COACH WOODEN AND ME is a stirring tribute to the subtle but profound influence that Wooden had on Kareem as a player, and then as a person, as they began to share their cultural, religious, and family values while facing some of life's biggest obstacles. From his first day of practice, when the players were taught the importance of putting on their athletic socks properly, to gradually absorbing the sublime wisdom of Coach Wooden's now famous "Pyramid of Success"; to learning to cope with the ugly racism that confronted black athletes during the turbulent Civil Rights era as well as losing loved ones, Abdul-Jabbar fondly recalls how Coach Wooden's fatherly guidance not only paved the way for his unmatched professional success but also made possible a lifetime of personal fulfillment. Full of intimate, never-before-published details and delivered with the warmth and erudition of a grateful student who has learned his lessons well, COACH WOODEN AND ME is at once a celebration of the unique philosophical outlook of college basketball's most storied coach and a moving testament to the all-conquering power of friendship.

Even today, 29 years after retiring from coaching basketball at UCLA, John Wooden remains America's Coach. John Wooden: An American Treasure is the definitive book on his extraordinary life, from his early years as a small-town legend from Martinsville, Indiana, and an All-American guard at Purdue to his legendary years at UCLA and the fruitful years following his retirement. Here is the story of his relationship with his late wife, Nell: their love affair for the ages, his deep depression after her death in 1985, and how his faith and his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren provided him with the reason to embrace life again. The events that led to his decision to walk away from coaching at the pinnacle of success in 1975 are explained in detail, as well as the carefully planned words he used to tell his shocked players in the locker room that he would be retiring after the NCAA Finals game in San Diego. Here are the behind-the-scenes stories of how Wooden was offered the chance to manage the Pittsburgh Pirates, how he developed his famous Pyramid of Success, and the real secret behind why his UCLA teams were able to win more consistently than any other collegiate team ever. Here are up-close, personal moments that reveal what his life is now. On the year of the 40th anniversary of his first national championship at UCLA, and more than 30 years after his autobiography, John Wooden: An American Treasure reveals why this kind, endearing, unbelievably intelligent coaching legend, even at age 94, remains one of the more fascinating, extraordinary, yet humble men of this, or any, generation. Ultimately he has become America's Teacher as much as its most celebrated coach.

As a member of the 1992 world-champion Chicago Bulls, a dashiki-clad Hodges delivered a handwritten letter to President George H. W. Bush demanding that he do more to address racism and economic inequality. Hodges was also a vocal union activist, initiated a boycott against Nike, and spoke out forcefully against police brutality in the wake of the Rodney King beating. But his outspokenness cost him dearly. In the prime of his career, after ten NBA seasons, Hodges was blackballed from the NBA for using his platform as a professional athlete to stand up for justice. In this powerful, passionate, and captivating memoir, Hodges shares the stories-including encounters with Nelson Mandela, Coretta Scott King, Jim Brown, R. Kelly, Michael Jordan, and others-from his lifelong fight for equality for African Americans.

The late 1960s and early 1970s, in New York City and America at large, were years marked by political tumult, social unrest . . . and the best professional basketball ever played. Paradise, for better or worse, was a hardwood court in midtown Manhattan.

Harvey Araton has followed the Knicks, old and new, for decades--first as a teenage fan, then as a young sports reporter with the New York Post, and now as a writer and columnist for the New York Times. When the Garden Was Eden is the definitive account of the New York Knicks in their vintage pomp. With measured prose and shoe-leather reporting, Araton relives their most glorious triumphs and bitter rivalries, and casts light on a team all but forgotten outside of pregame highlight reels and nostalgic reunions at the Garden.

"Ducking and Diving" delves into the fall of British basketball popularity by looking at the history of basketball, or Brunel University, and Britain in the 1980s. Basketball is the world's second most popular sport. So why did it never take off in Britain? It could have been so different. Thirty years ago basketball was the flagship sport of Channel Four television - awash with marketing, millionaires and even Manchester United. Within five years, it had all gone wrong. Amidst the chaos, British basketball acquired its strangest ever national champions. How this happened is part of the history of basketball, of Brunel University, and the Britain of the 1980's - a country where attitudes towards work and money were revolutionised, confused and ultimately discarded. Just like basketball itself.

This book examines the American Basketball League and its short-lived history, beginning with its conception in 1959-60 and its two seasons of play, 1961-1963. The league was the first to use a trapezoidal, wider lane and a 30-second shot clock, as well as the 3-point shot. With a team in Hawaii, the league created an adjusted schedule to accommodate the outsize distance. Many players such as Connie Hawkins and Bill Bridges and coaches such as Jack McMahon and Bill Sharman later found their way to the NBA after the collapse of the league, but it took more than 15 years for wide acceptance of the 3-point shot. John McLendon and Ermer Robinson were the first two African American coaches in a major professional league as they both debuted in the ABL.

"It's not every day that I'm blown away by a book about a sports figure. But MICHAEL JORDAN: THE LIFE, by Roland Lazenby, ranks up there with the very best: "The Boys of Summer" by Roger Kahn, "Friday Night Lights" by Buzz Bissinger, and "Joe DiMaggio" by Richard Ben Cramer. The depth of reporting, his frequent ascent into poetry, and his intelligent analysis of the life of this complicated, fascinating American icon deserve Pulitzer Prize consideration. For the first time I understand what makes Michael Jordan tick. I was captivated, fascinated and beguiled from beginning to end." -- Peter Golenbock, "New York Times"-bestselling author of "George" and "In the Country of Brooklyn"
The definitive biography of a legendary athlete
The Shrug. The Shot. The Flu Game.Michael Jordan is responsible for sublime moments so ingrained in sports history that they have their own names. When most people think of him, they think of his beautiful shots with the game on the line, his body totally in sync with the ball -- hitting nothing but net.
But for all his greatness, this scion of a complex family from North Carolina's Coastal Plain has a darker side: he's a ruthless competitor and a lover of high stakes. There's never been a biography that encompassed the dual nature of his character and looked so deeply at Jordan on and off the court -- until now.
Basketball journalist Roland Lazenby spent almost thirty years covering Michael Jordan's career in college and the pros. He witnessed Jordan's growth from a skinny rookie to the instantly recognizable global ambassador for basketball whose business savvy and success have millions of kids still wanting to be just like Mike. Yet Lazenby also witnessed the Michael Jordan whose drive and appetite are more fearsome and more insatiable than any of his fans could begin to know. "Michael Jordan: The Life" explores both sides of his personality to reveal the fullest, most compelling story of the man who is Michael Jordan.
Lazenby draws on his personal relationships with Jordan's coaches; countless interviews with Jordan's friends, teammates, and family members; and interviews with Jordan himself to provide the first truly definitive study of Michael Jordan: the player, the icon, and the man.

Now in paperback! More than half a century after the Boston Celtics' legendary first championship, here is a riveting inside account of one of sports' greatest franchises-between 1957 and 1969, winners of eleven titles, including a record eight in a row starting in 1959. Lew Freedman, who grew up attending Celtics games and eventually befriended the players and team management, chronicles the team's glory years under coach Red Auerbach, star player Bill Russell, and a legendary lineup of other talents. Revealing how he was swept up in dramatic moments both on and off the court, Dynasty is a great book about a vibrant sports town, the greatest players in basketball, and an unprecedented run of championships rarely challenged before or since in team sports.

The National Basketball Association (NBA) is widely recognized as an entertaining and innovative league whose teams play regular season and postseason games in packed arenas at home and away sites in the United States and Canada. This book discusses the development, growth, and success of the 61-year-old NBA from a business perspective. Covering the late 1940s to 2009, it focuses on the league's expansions and mergers, team territories and relocations, franchise organizations and operations, basketball arenas and markets, and NBA domestic and international affairs. Readers will gain an insight into when, how, and why the NBA emerged, reformed, and gradually matured to become one of the world's most dominant, prosperous, and popular professional sports organizations today.

The wisdom of a king of sport, business and charity. Dedicated to a legend of basketball, this is a pocket-sized compendium of the inspirational thoughts of one of the game's all-time greats. From the earliest years of his life through to the heartfelt tributes that poured in after his untimely death, this is a timely portrait of one of sport's most remarkable, accomplished and influential figures. From his high school years, through his meteoric rise on the court, Bryant always had lots to say. His words on sport, business, charity and life will delight, inspire and amuse the reader. He was almost as famed for his memorable words as for his sporting achievements, so this is a carefully crafted collection of motivational, insightful and amusing quotes from one of basketball's most respected stars. 'My brain... it cannot process failure. It will not process failure. Because if I sit there and have to face myself and tell myself, 'You're a failure'... I think that's almost worse than death' (On his winning mentality, as seen on NYPost.com, January 27, 2020, by Hannah Frishberg) Kobe is the only NBA player in history to have two separate numbers retired by one team, as he wore both No. 8 and No. 24 with the Los Angeles Lakers.

The NBA has gained worldwide popularity with its high-flying stars and slam-dunking giants, but the early professional hoops game was played below the rim. This book provides the first history of the National Basketball League, which held court from the mid - 1930s until its merger with the Basketball Association of America in 1949. Originally formed in Akron and Indianapolis, the league operated mainly in the Midwest but extended as far east as Rochester and Syracuse and west to Denver, building major franchises with hometown loyalties. Most of its stars were college graduates, a major change from previous professional leagues, and it was the first modern major professional league to integrate. Features include photographs, maps of league franchises, and tables of team standings, MVPs, and scoring leaders.

Hoop Dreams on Wheels is a life-history study of wheelchair athletes associated with a premier collegiate wheelchair basketball program. The book, which grapples with the intersection of biography and history in society, situates the study in broader context with background on the history and sociology of disability and disability sports. It documents the development and evolution of the basketball program and tells the individual life stories of the athletes, highlighting the formative interpersonal and institutional experiences that influenced their agentive actions and that helped them achieve success in wheelchair sports. It also examines divisions within the disability community that reveal both empowering and disempowering aspects of competitive wheelchair athletics, and it explores some of the complexities and dilemmas of disability identity in contemporary society. The book is intended to be read by a general audience as well as by students in college courses on disability, sports, social problems, deviance, medical sociology and anthropology, and introductory sociology. It also will be of interest to scholars in the sociology of disability, sociology of sports, and medical humanities, as well as life-history researchers and professionals in the fields of physical education, therapeutic recreation, and rehabilitative counseling.