The Soul of Basketball: The Epic Showdown Between LeBron, Kobe, Doc, and Dirk That Saved the NBA“A fascinating, thorough look at pro basketball’s continuing evolution to becoming the ‘sport of the American Dream.’”—Publishers Weekly The Soul of Basketball tells the story of an NBA prodigy, his league, and their sport in the throes of crisis during the pivotal 2010-11 season. It began with The Decision, that infamous televised moment when uber-star LeBron James revealed that he was leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers—thereby distancing himself from his role model Michael Jordan—to pursue his first championship with his former opponents on the Miami Heat. To the great fortune of LeBron, the NBA, and basketball itself, the mission didn’t work out as planned. In this book, veteran NBA writer Ian Thomsen portrays the NBA as a self-correcting society in which young LeBron is forced to absorb hard truths inflicted by his rivals Kobe Bryant, Doc Rivers, and Dirk Nowitzki, in addition to lessons set forth by Pat Riley, Gregg Popovich, Larry Bird, David Stern, Joey Crawford, and many more. Brimming with inside access, The Soul of Basketball tells the inspiring story of LeBron’s loneliest year, insecure and uncertain, when his ultimate foe was an unlikely immigrant who renewed the American game’s ideals. From Miami to Boston, Los Angeles to Dallas, Germany to the NBA’s Manhattan headquarters, the biggest names in basketball are driven by something more valuable than money and fame—a quest that would pave the way for Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, and future generations to thrive. “Ian Thomsen provides an antidote to the fast-food, twitter feed of instant information consumption…deft prose and snappy anecdotes…Great, great stuff.”—Leigh Montville, New York Times-bestselling author of Sting Like a Bee “A fine work of sports journalism.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review) |
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The Soul of Basketball: The Epic Showdown Between Lebron, Kobe, Doc, and Dirk That Saved the NBA
User Review - Publishers WeeklyThrough an array of profiles, NBA.com contributor Thomsen insightfully examines the 2010–2011 NBA season, which saw players and coaches negotiating the league’s rise in popularity, massive financial ... Read full review
Contents
The Decision | |
The Tradition | |
The Entrepreneur | |
The AllStar | |
The Trade | |
The Odyssey | |
The Higher Calling | |
The Conflict | |
The Twelfth Star | |
The Finals | |
The Sheriff | |
The Triumph | |
The Way Forward | |
Acknowledgments | |
The Immigrant | |
Other editions - View all
The Soul of Basketball: The Epic Showdown Between LeBron, Kobe, Doc, and ... Ian Thomsen No preview available - 2018 |
Common terms and phrases
Ainge All-Star American asked ball basket basketball become believed bench Bird Bosh Boston called Cardinal career Celtics championship Cleveland coach coming court Crawford Cuban Dallas Decision defense didn’t Dirk Dirk’s earlier everything fans feel Finals five four franchise give going guard hands happened hard head Heat Holger Jordan kind knew Kobe Lakers later lead league LeBron locker room looked losing loss manager Mavericks Miami Michael million minutes months move NBA Finals NBA’s never night opening owner pass pick Pierce play players playoffs points quarter Riley Rondo scored season shooting shot sport stars Stern talk teammates tell thing Thomas thought told took trade trying turned Wade walked watched young
Bibliographic information
| Title | The Soul of Basketball: The Epic Showdown Between LeBron, Kobe, Doc, and Dirk That Saved the NBA |
| Author | Ian Thomsen |
| Publisher | Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2018 |
| ISBN | 054774689X, 9780547746890 |
| Length | 357 pages |
| Subjects | › Biography & Autobiography / Sports Sports & Recreation / Business Aspects Sports & Recreation / History |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |