Basketball (and Other Things): A Collection of Questions Asked, Answered, Illustrated

by Shea Serrano, Arturo Torres (Illustrator)

Series:And Other Things

Description

Who is the greatest dunker of all time? Which version of the Michael Jordan was the best Michael Jordan? What is allowed and absolutely not allowed in a game of pickup basketball? Basketball (and Other Things) presents readers with a whole new set of pivotal and ridiculous fan disputes from basketball history, providing arguments and answers, explained with the wit and wisdom that is unique to Shea Serrano. Serrano breaks down debates that NBA fans didn't even know they needed, from the show more classic (How many years during his career was Kobe Bryant actually the best player in the league?) to the fantastical (If you could assign different values to different shots throughout basketball history, what would they be and why?). With incredible art from Arturo Torres, this book is a must-have for anyone who has ever stayed up late into the night debating basketball's greatest moments, what-ifs, stories, and legends, or for those who are discovering the mythology of basketball for the first time. show less

Recommendations

The Book of Basketball by Bill Simmons

The Book of Basketball

Bill Simmons

Movies (And Other Things) by Shea Serrano

Movies (And Other Things)

Shea Serrano

The Joy of Basketball: An Encyclopedia of the Modern Game by Ben Detrick

The Joy of Basketball: An Encyclopedia of the Modern Game

Ben Detrick

The Breaks of the Game by David Halberstam

The Breaks of the Game

David Halberstam

The Rap Year Book: The Most Important Rap Song From Every Year Since 1979, Discussed, Debated, and Deconstructed by Shea Serrano

The Rap Year Book: The Most Important Rap Song From Every Year Since 1979, Discussed, Debated, and Deconstructed

Shea Serrano

SprawlBall: A Visual Tour of the New Era of the NBA by Kirk Goldsberry

SprawlBall: A Visual Tour of the New Era of the NBA

Kirk Goldsberry

Boys Among Men: How the Prep-to-Pro Generation Redefined the NBA and Sparked a Basketball Revolution by Jonathan Abrams

Boys Among Men: How the Prep-to-Pro Generation Redefined the NBA and Sparked a Basketball Revolution

Jonathan Abrams

FreeDarko Presents: The Undisputed Guide to Pro Basketball History by Bethlehem Shoals

FreeDarko Presents: The Undisputed Guide to Pro Basketball History

Bethlehem Shoals

Taking Shots: Tall Tales, Bizarre Battles, and the Incredible Truth About the NBA by Keith Glass

Taking Shots: Tall Tales, Bizarre Battles, and the Incredible Truth About the NBA

Keith Glass

Expensive Basketball by Shea Serrano

Expensive Basketball

Shea Serrano

Basketball: A Love Story by Jackie MacMullan

Basketball: A Love Story

Jackie MacMullan

Playing for Keeps: Michael Jordan and the World He Made by David Halberstam

Playing for Keeps: Michael Jordan and the World He Made

David Halberstam

FreeDarko presents The Macrophenomenal Pro Basketball Almanac: Styles, Stats, and Stars in Today's Game by Bethlehem Shoals

FreeDarko presents The Macrophenomenal Pro Basketball Almanac: Styles, Stats, and Stars in Today's Game

Bethlehem Shoals

Black Planet: Facing Race During an NBA Season by David Shields

Black Planet: Facing Race During an NBA Season

David Shields

Blood in the Garden: The Flagrant History of the 1990s New York Knicks by Chris Herring

Blood in the Garden: The Flagrant History of the 1990s New York Knicks

Chris Herring

Loose Balls: The Short, Wild Life of the American Basketball Association by Terry Pluto

Loose Balls: The Short, Wild Life of the American Basketball Association

Terry Pluto

Dynasties: The 10 G.O.A.T. Teams That Changed the NBA Forever by II Marcus Thompson

Dynasties: The 10 G.O.A.T. Teams That Changed the NBA Forever

II Marcus Thompson

Got to Give the People What They Want: True Stories and Flagrant Opinions from Center Court by Jalen Rose

Got to Give the People What They Want: True Stories and Flagrant Opinions from Center Court

Jalen Rose

Basketball: Great Writing About America's Game: A Library of America Special Publication by Alexander Wolff

Basketball: Great Writing About America's Game: A Library of America Special Publication

Alexander Wolff

Now I Can Die in Peace: How ESPN's Sports Guy Found Salvation, with a Little Help from Nomar, Pedro, Shawshank, and the by Bill Simmons

Now I Can Die in Peace: How ESPN's Sports Guy Found Salvation, with a Little Help from Nomar, Pedro, Shawshank, and the

Bill Simmons

Hip-Hop (And Other Things) by Shea Serrano

Hip-Hop (And Other Things)

Shea Serrano

Dream Team: How Michael, Magic, Larry, Charles, and the Greatest Team of All Time Conquered the World and Changed the Game of Basketball Forever by Jack McCallum

Dream Team: How Michael, Magic, Larry, Charles, and the Greatest Team of All Time Conquered the World and Changed the Game of Basketball Forever

Jack McCallum

When the Game Was Ours by Larry Bird

When the Game Was Ours

Larry Bird

Transition Game: How Hoosiers Went Hip-Hop by L. Jon Wertheim

Transition Game: How Hoosiers Went Hip-Hop

L. Jon Wertheim

Return of the King: LeBron James, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Greatest Comeback in NBA History by Brian Windhorst

Return of the King: LeBron James, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Greatest Comeback in NBA History

Brian Windhorst

A Season on the Brink: A Year with Bob Knight and the Indiana Hoosiers by John Feinstein

A Season on the Brink: A Year with Bob Knight and the Indiana Hoosiers

John Feinstein

Eating the Dinosaur by Chuck Klosterman

Eating the Dinosaur

Chuck Klosterman

Looking to Get Lost: Adventures in Music and Writing by Peter Guralnick

Looking to Get Lost: Adventures in Music and Writing

Peter Guralnick

The Jordan Rules by Sam Smith

The Jordan Rules

Sam Smith

Tall Tales: The Glory Years of the NBA, in the Words of the Men Who Played, Coached, and Built Pro Basketball by Terry Pluto

Tall Tales: The Glory Years of the NBA, in the Words of the Men Who Played, Coached, and Built Pro Basketball

Terry Pluto

Thinking Basketball by Ben Taylor

Thinking Basketball

Ben Taylor

Top of the World: The Inside Story of the Boston Celtics' Amazing One-Year Turnaround to Become NBA Champions by Peter May

Top of the World: The Inside Story of the Boston Celtics' Amazing One-Year Turnaround to Become NBA Champions

Peter May

The Mamba Mentality: How I Play by Kobe Bryant

The Mamba Mentality: How I Play

Kobe Bryant

Who's Better, Who's Best in Basketball?: Mr Stats Sets the Record Straight on the Top 50 NBA Players of All Time by Elliott Kalb

Who's Better, Who's Best in Basketball?: Mr Stats Sets the Record Straight on the Top 50 NBA Players of All Time

Elliott Kalb

They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us by Hanif Abdurraqib

They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us

Hanif Abdurraqib

Seven Seconds or Less: My Season on the Bench with the Runnin' and Gunnin' Phoenix Suns by Jack McCallum

Seven Seconds or Less: My Season on the Bench with the Runnin' and Gunnin' Phoenix Suns

Jack McCallum

How to Watch Basketball Like a Genius: What Game Designers, Economists, Ballet Choreographers, and Theoretical Astrophysicists Reveal About the Greatest Game on Earth by Nick Greene

How to Watch Basketball Like a Genius: What Game Designers, Economists, Ballet Choreographers, and Theoretical Astrophysicists Reveal About the Greatest Game on Earth

Nick Greene

Drive: The Story of My Life by Larry Bird

Drive: The Story of My Life

Larry Bird

Hang Time: My Life in Basketball by Elgin Baylor

Hang Time: My Life in Basketball

Elgin Baylor

Big Game, Small World: A Basketball Adventure by Alexander Wolff

Big Game, Small World: A Basketball Adventure

Alexander Wolff

Basketball and Philosophy: Thinking Outside the Paint (The Philosophy of Popular Culture) by Jerry L. Walls

Basketball and Philosophy: Thinking Outside the Paint (The Philosophy of Popular Culture)

Jerry L. Walls

The Last Shot: City Streets, Basketball Dreams by Darcy Frey

The Last Shot: City Streets, Basketball Dreams

Darcy Frey

Michael Jordan: The Life by Roland Lazenby

Michael Jordan: The Life

Roland Lazenby

Those Guys Have All the Fun: Inside the World of ESPN by James Andrew Miller

Those Guys Have All the Fun: Inside the World of ESPN

James Andrew Miller

Tall Men, Short Shorts: The 1969 NBA Finals: Wilt, Russ, Lakers, Celtics, and a Very Young Sports Reporter by Leigh Montville

Tall Men, Short Shorts: The 1969 NBA Finals: Wilt, Russ, Lakers, Celtics, and a Very Young Sports Reporter

Leigh Montville

The Fab Five: Basketball Trash Talk the American Dream by Mitch Albom

The Fab Five: Basketball Trash Talk the American Dream

Mitch Albom

I Wear the Black Hat: Grappling with Villains (Real and Imagined) by Chuck Klosterman

I Wear the Black Hat: Grappling with Villains (Real and Imagined)

Chuck Klosterman

Three-Ring Circus: Kobe, Shaq, Phil, and the Crazy Years of the Lakers Dynasty by Jeff Pearlman

Three-Ring Circus: Kobe, Shaq, Phil, and the Crazy Years of the Lakers Dynasty

Jeff Pearlman

This Book Has Balls: Sports Rants from the MVP of Talking Trash by Michael Rapaport

This Book Has Balls: Sports Rants from the MVP of Talking Trash

Michael Rapaport

Inside the Cage: A Season at West 4th Street's Legendary Tournament by Wight Martindale Jr.

Inside the Cage: A Season at West 4th Street's Legendary Tournament

Wight Martindale Jr.

Complete Recommendations

Member Reviews

Featured Recent Thumbs

All Ratings
13
½1
12
5
½2
4

3 reviews

hadriansdad 18 reviews

3.5 stars. Well written, but varying in terms of chapter quality. Most of these are think pieces/“what ifs” regarding NBA history vs possible alternate histories, but some are more thoughtful and interesting compared to others, and some (like the one which contains script excerpts from a pretend blaxploitation film staring James Harden) are nonsensical or ridiculous.

In short, a very entertaining read, but when I was through it just felt too “light”—I was disappointed it didn’t feel as substantial regarding what was being written about vs the quality of the writing.

Feb 12, 2026

Robert_Musil 117 reviews

Good fun. Great stories and creative "greatest X of all time" rankings, which I enjoy; some fat, which I skipped. Serious fans (I'm not) likely to give it 5 stars.

Dec 15, 2019

nrfaris 73 reviews

I love basketball and I love other things so this was right up my alley. Shea Serrano is my hero and anyone who doesn't agree... FOH. The plot of John Harder 2 messed me up though.

Dec 23, 2021

Ratings

Aaron.Cohen 44 reviews

deannachapman 56 reviews

Sep 15, 2021