The Perfect Team


Book Description

If you could select the greatest basketball team in history, who'd make your roster? How do you even build a team--with pure talent alone or with a combination of talent and role players? In this book, the NBA tapped into top basketball experts, rounded up the greatest players, coach, and GM from different eras of the game, and now presents its argument for basketball's most unbeatable lineup. Each member of the team has been picked as the embodiment of a particular trait such as leadership or competitive drive, rather than simply for being best at his position. And each player tells his story, shares his ideas about "the perfect team," and talks about what makes great basketball. Not just an argument for the best team of all time, this is an anatomy of the game presented by those who love it most and play it best.--From publisher description.




Creating the Ultimate Basketball Player


Book Description

Creating the Ultimate Basketball Player To reach your true potential you need to be at your optimal physical and mental condition and in order to do this you need to start an organized plan that will help you develop your strength, mobility, nutrition, and mental toughness. This book will do that. Eating right and training hard are two of the pieces of the puzzle but you need the third piece to make it all happen. The third piece is mental toughness and that can be obtained through meditation and visualization techniques taught in this book. This book will provide you with the following: -Normal and advanced training calendars -Dynamic warm-up exercises -High performance training exercises -Active recovery exercises -Nutrition calendar to increase muscle -Nutrition calendar to burn fat -Muscle building recipes -Fat burning recipes -Advanced breathing techniques to enhance performance -Meditation techniques -Visualization techniques -Visualization sessions to improve performance Physical conditioning and strength training, smart nutrition, and advanced meditation/visualization techniques are the three keys to achieve optimal performance. Most athletes are missing one or two of these fundamental ingredients but by making the decision to change you will have the potential to achieve a new "ULTIMATE" you.




Make Me the Best Basketball Player


Book Description

Learn more about basketball's top stars and what it takes to be the best of the best. The title features historical sidebars, how-to fact boxes, tips and drills, and a glossary. SportsZone is an imprint of Abdo Publishing Company.




Basketball's Greatest Players


Book Description

Whose hands were so big he held the basketball like a grapefruit? Which center singlehandedly changed the way defense was played? From Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Larry Bird and Michael Jordan, young hoops fans can read about eleven legendary players in this exciting look at basketball's greatest slam-dunking, hoop-hanging superstars.




Driven from Within


Book Description

'A part of all those people who helped me along the way can be found in everything I have done and continue to do. I had some great teachers - and I listened to what they had to say.' - Michael Jordan A global icon in sports, style and business, Michael Jordan is famous for his unrivalled athletic ability, his fierce determination, and his grace under pressure. In DRIVEN FROM WITHIN, he makes it clear that his phenomenal success is thanks in large part to the teachers, mentors and friends who have guided him throughout his life. Here is a book about the power of collaboration and teamwork, the energy that is released when people share their gifts and hard-won knowledge. With almost two million copies of his three previous books in print, Michael Jordan has proven himself to be as strong a performer in bookstores as he is on the court. Lavishly illustrated and beautifully designed, this is Michael Jordan's most intimate book to date. Organized around the qualities that Jordan demonstrates in his own life and that he looks for in others - qualities like authenticity, integrity, passion and commitment - DRIVEN FROM WITHIN is an inspiring record of an extraordinary life.




Thinking Basketball


Book Description

Are top scorers really the most valuable players? Are games decided in the final few minutes? Does the team with the best player usually win?Thinking Basketball challenges a number of common beliefs about the game by taking a deep dive into the patterns and history of the NBA. Explore how certain myths arose while using our own cognition as a window into the game's popular narratives. New basketball concepts are introduced, such as power plays, portability and why the best player shouldn't always shoot. Discover how the box score can be misleading, why "closers" are overrated and how the outcome of a game fundamentally alters our memory. Behavioral economics, traffic paradoxes and other metaphors highlight this thought-provoking insight into the NBA and our own thinking. A must-read for any basketball fan -- you'll never view the sport, and maybe the world, the same again.




Dream Team


Book Description

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Acclaimed sports journalist Jack McCallum delivers the untold story of the greatest team ever assembled: the 1992 U.S. Olympic Men’s Basketball Team. As a writer for Sports Illustrated, McCallum enjoyed a courtside seat for the most exciting basketball spectacle on earth, covering the Dream Team from its inception to the gold medal ceremony in Barcelona. Drawing on fresh interviews with the players, McCallum provides the definitive account of the Dream Team phenomenon. He offers a behind-the-scenes look at the controversial selection process. He takes us inside the team’s Olympic suites for late-night card games and bull sessions where superstars like Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and Larry Bird debated the finer points of basketball. And he narrates a riveting account of the legendary intrasquad scrimmage that pitted the Dream Teamers against one another in what may have been the greatest pickup game in history. In the twenty years since the Dream Team first captivated the world, its mystique has only grown. Dream Team vividly re-creates the moment when a once-in-a-millennium group of athletes came together and changed the future of sports—one perfectly executed fast break at a time. With a new Afterword by the author. “The absolute definitive work on the subject, a perfectly wonderful once-you-pick-it-up-you-won’t-be-able-to-put-it-down book.”—The Boston Globe “An Olympic hoops dream.”—Newsday “What makes this volume a must-read for nostalgic hoopsters are the robust portraits of the outsize personalities of the participants, all of whom were remarkably open with McCallum, both then and now.”—Booklist (starred review)




The Hoops Whisperer


Book Description

Basketball’s most unlikely—and most sought-after—training guru offers an inside look at his career, his methods, and the all-star players whose games he’s helped transform. Where do the best basketball players in the world turn when they want to improve their game? Whom does a future NBA Hall of Famer thank at his press conference when he’s named Rookie of the Year? Who is it that Sports Illustrated, The Wall Street Journal, and Men’s Journal all call the "Hoops Whisperer" because of his ability to engage, inspire, and challenge the players he trains? The answer to all of these questions is Idan Ravin. Ravin never played or coached in college or the pros, yet a virtual NBA All-Star team relies on him to better their game and reach their full potential. A soft-spoken former lawyer, Ravin has become professional basketball’s hottest trainer. In The Hoops Whisperer, Ravin shares the fascinating story of how he transformed a passion for the game into working with iconic basketball stars such as Chris Paul, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony, Stephen Curry, Blake Griffin, James Harden, Dwight Howard, and many more. He offers a rare unguarded glimpse inside the lives of these great athletes, drawn from his intimate connection with them that is the basis of his success. Showcasing his unorthodox drills and improvisational techniques in action, Ravin reveals how faith, effort, dedication, and passion can make a player into a superstar—and anyone into a success. Combined with his own inspiring journey, Ravin’s insights make The Hoops Whisperer a must-read for anyone who loves the game.




Developing Basketball Intelligence


Book Description

Through drills, situations, instruction and questioning, Developing Basketball Intelligence demonstrates how to teach game awareness and basketball intelligence.DBI explains the basic tactical skills of every offense - from pick-and-rolls to 3v2 fast breaks - but moves beyond the skill execution to the all important perceptual, anticipatory and decision-making skills which separate the expert performers. Developing Basketball Intelligence teaches tactical skills, but also develops the characteristics of a high basketball IQ player, players who: * choose the best option in less time; * adapt to ever-changing situations; * possess good spatial awareness; * know the right play at any moment relative to the time and score; * and more.Developing Basketball Intelligence is a tool to develop your offensive system as a coach, and to create a learning environment which enhances your players' understanding so they can read and react and adjust and adapt on the court.




Basketball's Great Players


Book Description

Compares and contrasts some of basketball's most popular players from past to present through charts, graphs, and fun text.