I have talked about the following books on this blog so far:
- David Halberstam – The Breaks of the Game – Great book about the Portland Trail Blazers’ 1979-80 NBA season, but also about the history of the Blazers franchise and the entire league in general.
- Bill Simmons – The Book of Basketball – Sometimes called the “bible of NBA books”. Lots of information about the history of the NBA and its best players.
- Larry Bird – Drive – Bird and Bob Ryan wrote this biography during the 1988-89 NBA season, when Bird missed a lot of time due to injury. Some good information on Bird’s development.
- Jack McCallum – 7 Seconds or Less – McCallum spent the entire 2005-06 season with the Phoenix Suns and provides a lot of insight into one of the most fun teams in NBA history.
- Bill Bradley – Life on the Run – Former New York Knicks player Bill Bradley describes life as a professional basketball player in the ’70s. The book gives a good insight into how much has changed since then.
- Ben Taylor – Thinking Basketball – Great read for basketball and analytics nerds. Taylor questions a lot of things that the common basketball fan takes at face value.
- David Halberstam – Playing for Keeps – Michael Jordan biography from the same author as “The Breaks of the Game”. Some very good information on Jordan’s early years.
- Jack McCallum – Dream Team – Fun story about the Dream Team, that represented the USA in the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. Lots of information about the individual players and how the team came together.
- Roland Lazenby – Showboat: The Life of Kobe Bryant – Good biography about Kobe Bryant. It focuses primarily on Kobe’s development before he became a superstar. A good insight into “how Kobe became Kobe”.
- Ian Thomsen – The Soul of Basketball – This book covers the 2010-11 season, starting with “The Decision” and ending with the first championship of the Dallas Mavericks. Many big names were interviewed for this book.
- Jackie McMullan – When the Game was Ours – A book about the relationship between Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. Covers their upringings, careers and relationship on and off the court.
- Sam Smith – The Jordan Rules – Controversial and exciting book about the 1990-91 championship season of the Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan.
- Jerry West – West by West – Very honest, personal and well written biography by NBA legend Jerry West. He talks about his hard childhood and successful NBA career as both a player and General Manager, although the losses against the Celtics in the NBA Finals haunt him to this day.
- Terry Pluto – Loose Balls – This book about the history of the ABA is not just informative but also has some really funny and great stories. The stories are told by the protagonists of the ABA themselves
- Thomas Pletzinger – The Great Nowitzki – Really good book about Dirk Nowitzki. The author used to be a basketball player himself and loves the game.
- Andre Iguodala – The Sixth Man – Autobiography by Andre Iguodala. Some interesting insides into the life of a (fairly) modern NBA player.
- Filip Bondy – Tip Off – Good book about the 1984 NBA Draft. With a focus on the six players Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, Charles Barkley, John Stockton, Sam Bowie and Sam Perkins.
- Jeff Pearlman – Showtime – Book about the rise and fall of the Los Angeles Lakers dynasty of the 1980s. The book quotes a lot of Lakers players and team employees from that time.
If your are interested in how I rank these books, you can take a look at Top 10 NBA Books.
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