The brilliant autobiography from the ‘saviour of Nike’

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.

Written in collaboration with six-time New York Times bestselling author Armen Keteyian, Legends and Soles provides truth to storylines and headlines including:

· Vaccaro’s pivotal role in the never-before-told story of the courting and signing of Michael Jordan
· How Nike, at the behest of an embittered Knight, went as far as having the Portland FBI investigate Vaccaro who was working for archival Adidas on a RICO charge of corporate espionage
· His close relationships with NBA superstars Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Kevin Garnett and Tracy McGrady and Hall of Fame coaches Jerry Tarkanian of UNLV and John Thompson of Georgetown
· The high stakes drama behind the O’Bannon lawsuit that changed the entire landscape in college sports
· Filled with in-depth stories and photos illuminating some of Sonny’s most treasured career memories, Legends and Soles is the long-awaited memoir of a giant in the story of American sports.

More than 6 years after his death David Halberstam remains one of this country's most respected journalists and revered authorities on American life and history in the years since WWII. A Pulitzer Prize-winner for his ground-breaking reporting on the Vietnam War, Halberstam wrote more than 20 books, almost all of them bestsellers. His work has stood the test of time and has become the standard by which all journalists measure themselves.
The New York Times bestseller, now with a new introduction "The Breaks of the Game" focuses on one grim season (1979-80) in the life of the Bill Walton-led Portland Trail Blazers, a team that only three years before had been NBA champions.
The tactile authenticity of Halberstam's knowledge of the basketball world is unrivaled. Yet he is writing here about far more than just basketball. This is a story about a place in our society where power, money, and talent collide and sometimes corrupt, a place where both national obsessions and naked greed are exposed. It's about the influence of big media, the fans and the hype they subsist on, the clash of ethics, the terrible physical demands of modern sports (from drugs to body size), the unreal salaries, the conflicts of race and class, and the consequences of sport converted into mass entertainment and athletes transformed into superstars--all presented in a way that puts the reader in the room and on the court, and "The Breaks of the Game" in a league of its own.

Though basketball dates back more than 120 years, it did not make its Olympic debut until 1936. The presence of basketball at the Berlin games that year was due in large part to the creation of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) in 1932 and the organization of the European Championship in 1935. In the European Championship s inaugural competition, ten teams participated; since then, as basketball has increased in popularity across the continent, the championship has expanded considerably. In the most recent European Championship popularly called Eurobasket 36 teams competed. In European Basketball Championship Results: Since 1935, Tomasz Malolepszy charts the growth and expansion of this popular sport in Europe with a complete statistical history of both the men s and women s competition. For the first time ever, basketball fans can find detailed results, rosters, medalists, and standings for the European Championships all in a single volume. In addition, this book contains a list of interesting records, many of which have never before been published. European Basketball Championship Results is a valuable resource for any basketball fan, journalist, or researcher. Companion volumes to this book include European Soccer Championship Results: Since 1958, European Ice Hockey Championship Results: Since 1910, and European Volleyball Championship Results: Since 1948."

What NBA team was the greatest ever? For basketball fans, that question can lead to widespread debate.

Sports journalist and basketball enthusiast Kyle Wright has created a new and unique computer formula to rank every team in NBA history. Coining it as the POST formula, Wright assigns ratings to all NBA teams based on how they stack up to other comparable teams during any year-from the number of wins and losses to points scored and points allowed. The result is a complete ranking that takes you from number one to number 1,153.

Wright brings to light other game-stopping details that sports lovers will appreciate, including:

The most dominant teams to ever play The teams with brilliant records but no titles The unimpressive teams that won championships The teams that lost the most through the years "The NBA from Top to Bottom" is for every diehard basketball fan. It achieves nothing but net as it comprehensively identifies and profiles the best and worst teams ever to grace the court.