The Book of Basketball: The NBA According to The Sports Guy

A must read for any true NBA or Bill Simmons fan! Not only full of info but written as a fan with opinions. Will make you think about the best players and teams of history and even start arguments in your head about who was the better scorer, rebounder, etc. Overall a really fun read and I eagerly await the next installment in 2016! ( )

"The only NBA player who routinely shut down {Larry} Bird was teammate Rick Robey, a backup center who doubled as Bird's drinking buddy and fellow troublemaker. When the Celtics swapped Robey for Dennis Johnson before the '84 season, Bird immediately rolled off the best five-year stretch in the history of the forward position. This wasn't a coincidence. As soon as we master time machine technology, let's travel back in time and frame Robey for murder right before the '82 season. I just want to see what happens."

The Book of Basketball: The NBA According to the Sports Guy by Bill Simmons is fork in the path kind of book. If you are not a fan of men's professional basketball and the National Basketball Association, you won't be interested. If you are a fan, and since you're reading this, you probably are, then you'll want to read this book. He's funny, insightful, and the vast majority of the time, right on the money. Why did Bill Russell have so much success against Wilt Chamberlain? What is the Secret (capital S) to winning a championship? Why is Jordan the best player of all time? All the answers ring true. You can quibble with some of his conclusions - e.g. rating Isaiah Thomas above do-everything player Scottie Pippen - really?! But overall he knows his stuff like nobody else I've read, and he's a hoot at the same time.

As in the Bartimaeus books, a lot of the fun is in the absurd footnotes. After describing a Clippers player acquisition during the drug-addled 70s (when the NBA almost sunk) as being for "two first round picks, four kilos of cocaine, and {Denver's} best drug connection as compensation", the footnote to it says, "Be honest: part of you wanted to believe this." After leaving Isaiah Thomas off the all-time team headed up by Michael Jordan that would fight the aliens (you have to read it), he explains why, but also footnotes another reason why Isaiah couldn't be on the team: "Considering MJ hated him enough to keep him off the Dream Team, wouldn't he have said, 'Look, I'd rather see Earth blow up over being teammates with that guy?' I feel like the answer is yes."

There's 700 pages of this, so only NBA basketball wonks need apply. But if you fit that category, you'll have a blast with it. ( )

A wonderful, thorough compilation of the well researched thoughts and opinions of a serious fan. Simmons convinced me with his detailed analysis and amused me with (most of) his pop-culture references. He's got too big a crush on Michael Jordan, but otherwise his ideas are quite sound and engagingly presented. ( )

i loved the book one of the best basketballl books i ever read i dont read alout of books well if i read a book its a sports book most of the time but i have actully read this big book ( )

extremely sexist. unfortunately fun to read. ( )