Books in the Genre Sports

List of recommended books of the genre sports, with author and brief synopsis of each book.

(arranged alphabetically)

Featured books for the genre Sports

32 Ways to Be a Champion in Business

Book: 32 Ways to Be a Champion in Business

Author: Magic Johnson

Description: As a young man, Earvin “Magic” Johnson admired his father and other small-town entrepreneurs who created jobs and served as leaders in his Midwestern community. He worked for them, watched them, and his interest in building communities through economic development grew even while his basketball career flourished. His fame as an NBA star gave him access to some of the most successful business leaders in the country. It was Earvin’s own entrepreneurial spirit that inspired them to serve as his mentors.

... (keep reading...)

A Season On The Brink: A Year with Bobby Knight...

Book: A Season On The Brink: A Year with Bobby Knight...

Author: John Feinstein

Description: This classic of the genre is the inside story of one of college basketball's storied coaches and teams recounting the 1985-1986 season at Indiana University, describing the complex personality of coach Bob Knight, and examining the coaching methods which make him one of the best of all time.

A Season on the Brink not only captures the drama and pressure of big-time college basketball but paints a vivid portrait of a brilliant coach walking a fine line between genius and madness.

The book chronicles the... (keep reading...)

Basketball Multiple Offense And Defense

Book: Basketball Multiple Offense And Defense

Author: Dean Smith

Description: This book contains the coaching blueprint and philosophy of the man who won more college-level games than any other basketball coach in history: Dean Smith. He led the Tar Heels of the University of North Carolina to 879 wins over 30 years of coaching.

It features the secrets, strategies, and techniques that produced the greatest winning tradition in college basketball and will produce results and successes for coaches and players at all levels.

This book is a brilliant distillation of the game. The reader... (keep reading...)

Basketball Offenses And Plays

Book: Basketball Offenses And Plays

Author: Ken Atkins

Description: Make the most of every possession with the help of Basketball Offenses & Plays. Inside you'll find

  • · 22 man-to-man offenses,
  • · 15 zone offenses,
  • · 51 quick-scoring and delay offenses,
  • · 26 special situational plays, and
  • · 62 inbounds plays.

Each section contains a variety of sets and plays, all clearly explained and... (keep reading...)

Blackboard Strategies: Over 200 Favorite Plays From Successful Coaches For Nearly Every Possible Situation

Book: Blackboard Strategies: Over 200 Favorite Plays From Successful Coaches For Nearly Every Possible Situation

Author: Eric Sacharski

Description: This book features over 200 plays for nearly every possible situation, from winning coaches at every level of competition!

Winning plays in this book include:

  • Sideline out-of-bounds plays
  • Baseline out-of-bounds plays for 3-point shots
  • Plays vs. zones and plays vs. man-to-man
  • Quick hitters that really work
  • Plays for overcoming zones
  • ... (keep reading...)

Blood on the Horns: The Long Strange Ride of Michael Jordan

Book: Blood on the Horns: The Long Strange Ride of Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls

Author: Roland Lazenby

Description: This is a fascinating inside look at the life behind the scenes of the Jordan's Bulls...

Blood on the Horns by veteran sportswriter Roland Lazenby details the infighting and conflict between Jordan, coach Phil Jackson, teammate Scottie Pippen and the team's general manager, Jerry Krause, and managing partner, Jerry Reinsdorf.

Through the use of exclusive on-the-record interviews with a variety of Bulls players and staff members, Lazenby recreates the drama over 1997 and 1998 as the Bulls... (keep reading...)

Coach Tex Winter: Triangle Basketball

Book: Coach Tex Winter: Triangle Basketball

Author: Ann Parr

Description: What does it take to be a team player?

Could your life use a dose of harmony and cooperation? Tex Winter's belief in coordinated efforts awakened at age ten when his father died. What resulted was a trust in each family member's worth to make a fully functioning team. Applied to basketball, this idea became his famous Triangle Offense used by Phil Jackson to win multiple NBA championships with his Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers teams. With a little practice, you can apply Tex's Triangle ideas to your own... (keep reading...)

Drive: The Story of My Life

Book: Drive: The Story of My Life

Author: Larry Bird y Bob Ryan

Description: In this book the Boston Celtic legend and one of the best basketball players ever addresses his troubled past -- from his father's alcoholism and suicide to his own failed marriage -- discussing his teammates and telling basketball anecdotes in the process...

The heart and soul of a champion: his life, his career, his game. To understand basketball, you have to understand Larry Bird. Arguably the greatest all-around player the game has ever known, he led the Boston Celtics from the basement to three world... (keep reading...)

Driven From Within

Book: Driven From Within

Author: Michael Jordan y Mark Vancil

Description: The sports icon pays tribute to the mentors, teachers, and role models who shaped his life and career, sharing the intimate lessons he has learned about the power of collaboration and teamwork...

"It all started with an appetite to prove. Whether it was competing with my siblings or trying to get attention from my parents, I wanted to show what I could do, what I was capable of accomplishing. I wanted results, and I was driven to find out the best way to get them."

Everyone knows the results. In Driven... (keep reading...)

Eleven RIngs

Book: Eleven RIngs

Author: Phil Jackson

Description: During his storied career as head coach of the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers, Phil Jackson won more championships than any coach in the history of professional sports. Even more important, he succeeded in never wavering from coaching his way, from a place of deep values. Jackson was tagged as the “Zen master” half in jest by sportswriters, but the nickname speaks to an important truth: this is a coach who inspired, not goaded; who led by awakening and challenging the better angels of his players’... (keep reading...)

How To Be Like Mike: Life Lessons About Basketball

Book: How To Be Like Mike: Life Lessons About Basketball's Best

Author: Pat Williams

Description: How to be Like Mike offers anecdotes from Jordan's friends and associates about his focus, hard work, perseverance, and responsibility in an effort to inspire and motivate readers to achieve their full potential...

Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time. But his pre-eminence is more than just extraordinary athletic ability: the lessons of his life-such as focus, passion, hard work, perseverance and accountability-have shaped him into one of the most revered celebrities of the... (keep reading...)

I Can

Book: I Can't Accept Not Trying: Michael Jordan on the Pursuit of Excellence

Author: Michael Jordan

Description: In this book the former basketball superstar shares his views on achieving excellence, including goals, fears, commitment, teamwork, learning the fundamentals, and leadership...

The most extraordinary athlete of our time shares the rules he lives--and succeeds--by in an inspirational classic sure to be treasured by his fans. Jordan shows how to set goals and overcome obstacles, confront fear and self-doubt, be a leader and a team player, stay focused and fight distraction...

In I Can't Accept Not... (keep reading...)

I May Be Wrong, But I Doubt It

Book: I May Be Wrong, But I Doubt It

Author: Charles Barkley

Description: Former NBA star Barkley -- the only NBA basketball player other than Wilt Chamberlain to total more than 23,000 points, 12,000 rebounds and 4,000 assists -- has became "the most entertaining talking head in sports broadcasting" (Times Magazine) and now in this book Sir Charles presents his thoughts about basketball, popular culture, personal relationships, celebrity and fame, politics, money, and life...

Charles Barkley has never been shy about expressing his opinions. Michael Jordan once said that we all want... (keep reading...)

Leading With The Heart: Coach K

Book: Leading With The Heart: Coach K's Successful Strategies for Basketball, Business and Life

Author: Mike Krzyzewski y Donald Phillips

Description: Now, in the book Leading with the Heart, Coach K talks about leadership -- how you earn it, how you practice it, and how you use it to move your organization to the top.

From the importance of trust, communication and pride, to the commitment a leader must make to his team, this inspiring book is a must-read for anyone who loves college basketball -- or who simply wants to win in any competitive environment today.

"On the court and off, Krzyzewski is a family man first, a teacher second, a basketball coach... (keep reading...)

Lebron James: The Rise of a Star

Book: Lebron James: The Rise of a Star

Author: David Lee Morgan Jr.

Description: In this book, Morgan gives an inside look at the rise of basketball’s hottest prospect, poised at the brink of superstardom. It’s a story for any fan who wants to get to know LeBron better, and for anyone curious about how a high-school basketball phenom is made...

He has been called the best high school basketball player ever.

He made the cover of Sports Illustrated as a junior, was featured on national television, and signed more than $100 million in promotional contracts before the end of his senior... (keep reading...)

Let Me Tell You A Story, A Lifetime in the Game

Book: Let Me Tell You A Story, A Lifetime in the Game

Author: John Feinstein y Red Auerbach

Description: This book documents the life story of the professional basketball coach, his seventeen-year tenure with the Boston Celtics, during which the team achieved nine NBA championships; his relationships with such players as Larry Bird, Wilt Chamberlain, and Michael Jordan; and his post-retirement consultation work with top coaches and players...

In Let Me Tell You a Story, Red Auerbach's unique experiences in sports and John Feinstein's unparalleled skills as a storyteller combine to produce one of the most richly... (keep reading...)

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

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

Author: Terry Pluto

Description: What do Julius Erving, Larry Brown, Moses Malone, Bob Costas, the Indiana Pacers, the San Antonio Spurs and the Slam Dunk Contest have in common? They all got their professional starts in the American Basketball Association.

The NBA may have won the financial battle, but the ABA won the artistic war. With its stress on wide-open individual play, the adoption of the 3-point shot and pressing defense, and the encouragement of flashy moves and flying dunks, today's NBA is still -- decades later -- just the ABA... (keep reading...)

Mad Game: The NBA Education of Kobe Bryant

Book: Mad Game: The NBA Education of Kobe Bryant

Author: Roland Lazenby

Description: The behind-the-scenes story of Kobe Bryant's meteoric rise: In Mad Game, Roland Lazenby explores the world of Kobe Bryant, who, at 23, is already a seasoned NBA veteran and the owner of two championship rings with the Los Angeles Lakers. Yet the road to glory has not been an easy one for Bryant. It has taken his iron will and enormous self-assurance to battle elements both within the NBA and on his own team that could force him to reshape his dreams of being number one, of being "The Man."

When the... (keep reading...)

Mindgames: Phil Jackson

Book: Mindgames: Phil Jackson's Long Strange Journey

Author: Roland Lazenby

Description: Mindgames follows the journey of Phil Jackson to the top of basketball's coaching hierarchy, a rise that took him from failure and obscurity in the CBA to eight championship rings in the NBA. Along the way he turned multimillionaire players on to meditation, transformed the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls from a one-man show into a five-man team of domination, and, after battling with Bulls management, ended one dynasty to start another on the West Coast.

Sportswriter Roland Lazenby, author of the... (keep reading...)

More Than a Game

Book: More Than a Game

Author: Phil Jackson y Charley Rosen

Description: Phil Jackson, One of the great coaches on NBA history reveals how he turned the Lakers around, teaching discipline to a seemingly undisciplined team and leading the Lakers to a world championship, and examines the key role of the Triangle offense... (Note this book talks about the Michael Jordan Bulls and Jackson's first years with the Lakers, it does not include the post Shaq Lakers)

Phil Jackson is the most celebrated coach in basketball today, earning that respect by guiding his teams in Chicago and... (keep reading...)

My Life: Earvin Magic Johnson

Book: My Life: Earvin Magic Johnson

Author: Magic Johnson y William Novak

Description: This book is an inspiring national bestseller by a true American hero, on and off the court. In this dramatic and exciting autobiography, National Basketball Association legend Magic Johnson allows us into his life, and into his triumphs and tragedies...

He's faced challenges all of his life, but now Magic Johnson faces the biggest challenge of all, his own brave battle with HIV. In this dramatic, exciting, and inspirational autobiography, Magic Johnson allows readers into his life, into his tirumphs and... (keep reading...)

NBA Coaches Playbook: Techniques, Tactics and Teaching Points

Book: NBA Coaches Playbook: Techniques, Tactics and Teaching Points

Author: NBA NBA y Giorgio Gandolfi

Description: The Phoenix Suns' Steve Nash shines in running the break, but how do his teammates know where to go to get open to receive his passes? Orlando's Dwight Howard is a tremendous talent in the post, but how has he improved and added new dimensions? And how is it that Utah's Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer run the screen-and-roll as smoothly as Jazz legends John Stockton and Karl Malone did years before?

Coaching. Yes, even in a league loaded with superior athletic talent, the teaching, tactical maneuvers, and... (keep reading...)

Only The Strong Survive: The Odyssey of Allen Iverson

Book: Only The Strong Survive: The Odyssey of Allen Iverson

Author: Larry Platt

Description: The book is the first full-length biography of iconic basketball superstar and 2001 NBA MVP Allen Iverson... Filled with exclusive interview material and unprecedented access to many of Iverson's inner circle, Only the Strong Survive provides the first in-depth look at the truth behind this newly minted legend...

There are few figures among America's media-saturated landscape that loom larger than the National Basketball Association's undeniable superstar Allen Iverson. He was the first overall pick of... (keep reading...)

Pistol: The Life of Pete Maravich

Book: Pistol: The Life of Pete Maravich

Author: Mark Kriegel

Description: This book presents an account of the personal life and professional achievements of the troubled 1970s basketball sta and goes from his relationship with his obsessive father and unbroken college scoring record to the personal demons that challenged his life and his evangelical Christian faith...

Pistol is more than the biography of a ballplayer. It's the stuff of classic novels: the story of a boy transformed by his father's dream--and the cost of that dream. Even as Pete Maravich became Pistol ... (keep reading...)

Russell Rules: 11 Lessons on Leadership from the 20th Century

Book: Russell Rules: 11 Lessons on Leadership from the 20th Century's Greatest Winner

Author: Bill Russell, Alan Hilburg y David Falkner

Description: Bill Russell shares the insights, the memories, and most important, the essential 'rules of success' that influenced him in every aspect of his life, from raising a daughter as a single father to becoming a successful coach and mentor to others...

He epitomizes innovation, teamwork, and leadership. Now, Bill Russell, winner of eleven championships as a player and coach of the Boston Celtics and five-time NBA Most Valuable Player, reveals the eleven lessons that helped him achieve his goals and can help... (keep reading...)

Salt in His Shoes: Michael Jordan in Pursuit of a Dream

Book: Salt in His Shoes: Michael Jordan in Pursuit of a Dream

Author: Deloris Jordan y Roslyn Jordan

Description: Deloris Jordan, mother of the basketball phenomenon, teams up with his sister Roslyn to tell this heartwarming and inspirational story that only the members of the Jordan family could tell. It's a tale about faith and hope and how any family working together can help a child make his or her dreams come true.

Young Michael Jordan is smaller than the other players but he learns that determination and hard work are more important than size when playing the game of basketball...

The mere mention of the name... (keep reading...)

Sole Provider: 30 Years of Nike Basketball

Book: Sole Provider: 30 Years of Nike Basketball

Author: Robert Scoop Jackson

Description: Take a look at Nike's most memorable shoes, campaigns, athletes, moments, and relationship with basketball throughout the years...

Designed with Nike's trademark visually gripping graphics, Sole Provider: Thirty Years of NIKE Basketball is a collection of Nike hoop shoes and the subculture that surrounds them.

With text by Slam magazine editor-at-large Robert "Scoop" Jackson, this book gives the inside story of NIKE Basketball - from its inception in 1972 to its incredible success as the basketball... (keep reading...)

The First Tip-off: The Incredible Story of the Birth of the NBA

Book: The First Tip-off: The Incredible Story of the Birth of the NBA

Author: Charley Rosen

Description: "Charley Rosen has undertaken the challenge of documenting the latest and greatest history of the game professionally--and has done so to great success. . . . . When I finished the book it seemed as if I had gone through another season, injuries and all. . . . Rosen skillfully leads readers through the NBA's first steps along its journey toward what it has become today.” --Phil Jackson, from the Foreword

Return to basketball's salad days, when the boys were green and the money didn't matter...

On... (keep reading...)

The Jordan Rules

Book: The Jordan Rules

Author: Sam Smith

Description: A provocative eyewitness account, The Jordan Rules delivers all the nonstop excitement, tension, and thrills of a championship season -- and an intense, fascinating portrait of the incomparable Michael Jordan...

A super team... a superstar.. a super ego.

The most gifted athlete ever to play the game, Michael Jordan rose to heights no basketball player had ever reached before. What drove Michael Jordan? The pursuit of team success...or of his own personal glory? The pursuit of excellence...or of his... (keep reading...)

The Last Season: A Team In Search Of Its Soul

Book: The Last Season: A Team In Search Of Its Soul

Author: Phil Jackson

Description: One of the most successful coaches in the history of professional basketball offers his own take on his turbulent 2003-2004 season with the Los Angeles Lakers, chronicling the difficulties faced by the team--difficult relationships, public feuds, the Kobe Bryant trial, contract disputes, and injuries--and their successful journey to the NBA finals...

For the countless basketball fans who were spellbound by the Los Angeles Lakers’ 2003– 2004 high-wire act, this book is a rare and phenomenal treat.

In... (keep reading...)

The Pivotal Season: How THe 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers Changed The NBA

Book: The Pivotal Season: How THe 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers Changed The NBA

Author: Charley Rosen

Description: This book is an in-depth look at the most influential Lakers championship team-the coach, the players, the season that changed the NBA.

The 1971-72 basketball season was one to go down in history. For the Los Angeles Lakers it was a season of records, an incredible championship, and many personal victories-by a team featuring several players bound for the NBA Hall of Fame. For the sport of basketball it was a season of transition, when West Coast style overcame East Coast sophistication. And for the fans,... (keep reading...)

The Rivalry: Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain and the Golden Age of Basketball

Book: The Rivalry: Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain and the Golden Age of Basketball

Author: John Taylor

Description: A brilliantly written account of the NBA’s glory days and the rivalry that dominated the era.

In the mid-1950s, the NBA was a mere barnstorming circuit, with outposts in such cities as Rochester, New York, and Fort Wayne, Indiana. Most of the best players were white; the set shot and layup were the sport’s chief offensive weapons. But by the 1970s, the league ruled America’s biggest media markets; contests attracted capacity crowds and national prime-time television audiences. The game was played... (keep reading...)

The Yankee Years

Book: The Yankee Years

Author: Joe Torre y Tom Verducci

Description: Twelve straight playoff appearances. Six American League pennants. Four World Series titles. This is the definitive story of a dynasty: the Yankee years.

When Joe Torre took over as manager of the New York Yankees in 1996, the most storied franchise in sports had not won a World Series title in eighteen years. The famously tough and mercurial owner, George Steinbrenner, had fired seventeen managers during that span. Torre’s appointment was greeted with Bronx cheers from the notoriously brutal New... (keep reading...)

They Call Me Coach

Book: They Call Me Coach

Author: John Wooden y Jack Tobin

Description: For 27 years, John Wooden led the UCLA basketball team to unsurpassed victories and records. His dedication and inspiration made him America's "winningest" coach. In this classic bestselling autobiography--updated with a new foreword by Hall-of-Famer Bill Walton--the college basketball legend reflects on his record-breaking career, his life behind the scenes, and how his top players went on to shape and change the NBA.

From the everyday basics to important life lessons ("It's not how tall you are, but how... (keep reading...)

Who

Book: Who's Afraid of a Large Black Man

Author: Charles Barkley

Description: From the inimitable Charles Barkley, author of The New York Times bestselling I May Be Wrong But I Doubt It, comes a frank, fearless, funny, and explosive look at the reality of race and racism in America today. Citing the obstacles standing in the way of harmonious race relations in the United States, a cautionary analysis of the nation's growing racial segregation describes the author's experiences of talking about race with interviewees ranging from students to KKK members, addressing such... (keep reading...)

Wilt, 1962: The Night of 100 Points and the Dawn of a New Era

Book: Wilt, 1962: The Night of 100 Points and the Dawn of a New Era

Author: Gary Pomerantz

Description: A portrait of Wilt Chamberlain and his stunning 1962 achievement when he scored one hundred points in a single game examines the meaning of the event in terms of professional basketball, American sports, and a nation on the verge of social and cultural revolution...

On the night of March 2, 1962, in Hershey, Pennsylvania, right up the street from the chocolate factory, Wilt Chamberlain, a young and striking athlete celebrated as the Big Dipper, scored one hundred points in a game against the New York... (keep reading...)

Wilt: Larger Than Life

Book: Wilt: Larger Than Life

Author: Robert Cherry

Description: This book is an authoritative and entertaining biography of Wilt Chamberlain, one of the twentieth century's most controversial athletes, examines his extraordinary athletic achievements, as well as his unique and sometimes turbulent lifestyle...

There are celebrities and so-called legends. And then there is Wilton Norman Chamberlain, unique and unforgettable, and one of the 20th century’s greatest and most controversial athletes.

Wilt Larger Than Life examines Chamberlain’s fascinating story,... (keep reading...)

Wooden On Leadership

Book: Wooden On Leadership

Author: John Wooden y Steve Jamison

Description: Wooden on Leadership reveals the leadership wisdom of John Wooden. It presents the core concepts, methods, and beliefs that Wooden used to teach his teams how to attain Competitive Greatness, and true personal success.

John Wooden’s goal in 41 years of coaching never changed; namely, to get maximum effort and peak performance from each of his players in the manner that best served the team. Wooden on Leadership explains step-by-step how he pursued and accomplished this goal. Focusing on Wooden’s 12 Lessons... (keep reading...)

You Haven

Book: You Haven't Taught Until They Have Learned

Author: Swen Nater y Ronald Gallimore

Description: Not only was John Wooden a great basketball coach, he was a master teacher. In fact, he was a great coach because he was a master teacher.

What Wooden has learned from others in the classroom and perfected on the practice court are fundamental principles of effective teaching, which are conveyed in You Haven't Taught Until They Have Learned: John Wooden's Teaching Principles and Practices.

Co-author Swen Nater, one of Wooden's former players at UCLA, provides insightful first-hand accounts on the many life... (keep reading...)