Sports Biographies Basketball

In Players First, John Calipari relates for the first time anywhere his experiences over his first four years coaching the Kentucky Wildcats, college basketball's most fabled program, from the doldrums to a national championship, drawing lessons about leadership, character, and the path to personal and collective victory. At its core, Calipari's coaching philosophy centers on keeping his focus on the players - what they need to get the best out of themselves and one another.

Out of the greatest dynasty in American professional sports history, an intimate story of race, mortality, and regret. About to turn 90, Bob Cousy, the Hall of Fame Boston Celtics captain who led the team to its first six championships on an unparalleled run, has much to look back on in contentment. But he has one last piece of unfinished business. The last pass he hopes to throw is to close the circle with his great partner on those Celtic teams, fellow Hall of Famer Bill Russell, now 84.

By 1977 the University of Evansville’s Purple Aces basketball team had won five small-college national championships. With a charismatic young coach and a freshman phenom, this small Indiana city hoped to see its team shine in the national spotlight. Then, on a foggy night, after just four games, the plane carrying the team and its coach crashed after takeoff, killing everyone on board.

From the East Baltimore playground courts where he earned his nickname by muggin' opponents for possession of the ball to Dunbar High School where he excelled alongside future NBA players, Muggsy Bogues set the tone in his early years for the great heights he'd reach professionally. In this new autobiography, Bogues delves deep into his life and career, reflecting on legendary battles with Michael Jordan, John Stockton, and other generational stars of ’80s and ’90s hoops.

Candace Parker is a standout basketball star. Learn about her childhood and her rise to becoming a WNBA superstar.

In Candace Parker: The Inspiring Story of One of Basketball’s Greatest Forwards, you'll learn the inspirational story of one of women's basketball's greatest forwards, Candace Parker.

Through her four-year high school journey, and together with her teammates, Jamie experiences the exhilaration of winning, the agony of defeat, and the complicated layers of love, friendship, and grief. She learns what it really takes to set and achieve goals, all while navigating adolescence and high school with its inevitable confusion, heartbreak, and the highs and lows that produce powerful life lessons.

i>Red and Me is an extraordinary book: an homage to a peerless coach, showing how he produced results unlike any other; an inspiring story of mutual success, in which each man gave his all, and gained back even more; above all, it may be the best depiction of male friendship ever put on the page. Who would have guessed that such different men could have become such a tightly bonded pair? Few did guess it. Now Russell tells it.

During one unforgettable season as a Citadel cadet, Pat Conroy becomes part of a basketball team that is ultimately destined to fail. And yet for a military kid who grew up on the move, the Bulldogs provide a sanctuary from the cold, abrasive father who dominates his life- and a crucible for becoming his own man.

The first of "The Big Three" was Paul Pierce. As Boston Celtics fans watched the team retire Pierce's jersey in a ceremony on February 11, 2018, they remembered again the incredible performances Pierce put on in the city for fifteen years, helping the Celtics escape the bottom of their conference to become champions and perennial championship contenders. But Pierce's time in the city wasn't always so smooth. In 2000, he was stabbed in a downtown nightclub eleven times in a seemingly random attack.

LeBron James is a standout forward in the NBA. Learn about his childhood and his rise to becoming a basketball superstar.

Steve Nash has had a storied career playing in the National Basketball Association. In this short audiobook, we will learn about how Steve became the storied point guard that he is today. Starting first with his childhood and early life, we'll learn about Steve prior to entering the NBA, his time in the NBA, along with his impact on the communities of the Phoenix Suns and the Los Angeles Lakers.

In Jimmy Butler: The Inspiring Story of One of Basketball's Best All-Around Shooting Guards, you will learn the inspirational story of one of basketball's premier shooting guards, Jimmy Butler. Since quickly emerging as one of the key leaders of the Chicago Bulls franchise, Jimmy Butler has established himself as one of the best two-way players to play in today's game.

Learn the incredible story of Devin Booker, one of basketball's most exciting young shooting guards. As the 13th overall pick in the 2015 draft, Devin Booker become a prominent piece of the Suns franchise, as they continue rebuilding post-the-Steve-Nash-and-Mike-D'antoni era.

The number one sports series for kids takes listeners on the court and behind the scenes with beloved NBA icon Kobe Bryant in this inspiring biography.

Golden State Warriors insider and best-selling author Marcus Thompson delivers the definitive biography of one of the most extraordinary basketball players in NBA history - Kevin Durant.

At one time Lew Alcindor was just another kid from New York City with all the usual problems: He struggled with fitting in, with pleasing a strict father, and with overcoming shyness that made him feel socially awkward. But with a talent for basketball and an unmatched team of supporters, Lew Alcindor was able to transform and to become Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Got a young basketball fan who’s hungry for some slam-dunk inspiration and fun? You’ve come to the right place! This book is a must-have for young hoop dreamers who want to dive into the world of basketball greatness. It will inspire your child or teen with stories of legendary players, but it’ll also keep them entertained with awesome facts and challenging games—all while promoting mental toughness, resilience, teamwork, and perseverance.

A man of deep passion and intensity, George Karl earned his bad boy reputation while playing at the University of North Carolina, a rap that continued through the five years he spent with the San Antonio Spurs - and long after he stopped playing. Karl's beery nights, fistfights, and barking followed him into a 35-year coaching career. In a game defined by big stakes and bigger egos, rabid fans and an unforgiving media, Karl was hired and fired a dozen times.

To become the most revered basketball player in America, it wasn’t enough for Michael Jordan to merely excel on the court. He also had to become something he never intended: a hero. Reconstructing the defining moment of Jordan’s career—winning his first NBA championship during the 1990-1991 season—sports historian Johnny Smith examines Jordan’s ubiquitous rise in American culture and the burden he carried as a national symbol of racial progress. Jumpman reveals how Jordan maintained a “mystique” that allowed him to seem more likable to Americans who wanted to believe race no longer mattered.