Roland Lazenby

Heavy Paperback (2 to 4 lbs)

Delaware

The Life of Kobe Bryant

The definitive portrait of Kobe Bryant, from the author of Michael Jordan. "Lazenby's detailed research and fantastic writing paint a complex, engaging picture of one of the NBA's greats" (Kurt Helin, NBC Sports).

Eighteen-time All-Star, scorer of 81 points in a single game, MVP, and one of the best shooting guards in NBA league history: Kobe Bryant is among basketball's absolute greatest players, and his importance to the sport is undeniable. Third on the NBA career scoring list and owner of five championship rings, he is an undisputed all-time great, one deserving of this deep and definitive biography.

Even within the flashiest franchise in all of sports -- the Los Angeles Lakers, where he played his entire career -- Bryant always took center stage, and his final game captivated the basketball world, indeed the country. Roland Lazenby delves deep to look behind this public image, using classic basketball reporting and dozens of new interviews to reveal the whole picture, from Bryant's childhood through his playing years.

Showboatis filled with large personalities and provocative stories, including details of Bryant's complicated personal life and explosive relationships on the court, and is a riveting and essential read for every hoops fan.

Showboat

7025e613-6fe0-425c-9a2b-b4a105ca6d1f-1

Paperback (1 to 2 lbs)

Massachusetts

Heavy Hardcover (2 to 4 lbs)

Texas

The Life

The definitive biography of a legendary athlete.

The Shrug. The Shot. The Flu Game. Michael Jordan is responsible for sublime moments so ingrained in sports history that they have their own names. When most people think of him, they think of his beautiful shots with the game on the line, his body totally in sync with the ball -- hitting nothing but net.

But for all his greatness, this scion of a complex family from North Carolina's Coastal Plain has a darker side: he's a ruthless competitor and a lover of high stakes. There's never been a biography that encompassed the dual nature of his character and looked so deeply at Jordan on and off the court -- until now.

Basketball journalist Roland Lazenby spent almost thirty years covering Michael Jordan's career in college and the pros. He witnessed Jordan's growth from a skinny rookie to the instantly recognizable global ambassador for basketball whose business savvy and success have millions of kids still wanting to be just like Mike. Yet Lazenby also witnessed the Michael Jordan whose drive and appetite are more fearsome and more insatiable than any of his fans could begin to know.

Michael Jordan: The Life explores both sides of his personality to reveal the fullest, most compelling story of the man who is Michael Jordan. Lazenby draws on his personal relationships with Jordan's coaches; countless interviews with Jordan's friends, teammates, and family members; and interviews with Jordan himself to provide the first truly definitive study of Michael Jordan: the player, the icon, and the man.

Michael Jordan

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Paperback from 2016. Some wear on back cover but otherwise good condition. 

Arizona

Maine

The definitive biography of the basketball legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson, from the highly respected, career sportswriter and author of Michael Jordan: The Life. Magic Johnson is one of the most beloved, and at times controversial, athletes in history. His iconic smile lifted the dowdy sport of American professional basketball from a second-tier sport with low ratings into the global spotlight—a transformation driven by Magic’s ability to eviscerate opponents with a playing style that featured his grand sense of fun. He was a master entertainer who directed the Los Angeles “Showtime” Lakers to the heights of both glory and epic excess, all of it driven by his mind-blowing no-look passes and personal charm. Then, in 1991, at the height of his charismatic power, Johnson shocked the world with a startling cautionary tale about sexually transmitted disease that pushed public awareness of the HIV/AIDS crisis. Then out came his confession of unprotected sex with hundreds of women each year, followed by his retirement, an attempted return, and a proper farewell on the iconic 1992 Olympic Dream Team. Longtime biographer Roland Lazenby spent years tracking the unlikely ascension of Johnson—an immensely popular public figure who was instantly scandalized but who then turned to his legendary will to rise again as a successful entrepreneur with another level of hard-won success. In Lazenby’s portrayal, Johnson’s tale becomes bigger than that of one man. It is a generational saga spanning parts of three centuries that reveals a great deal, not just about his unique basketball journey but about America itself. Through hundreds of interviews with Johnson’s coaches, representatives past and present, teammates, opponents, friends, and loved ones, as well as key conversations with Johnson himself over the years, Lazenby has produced the first truly definitive study, both dark and light, of Earvin “Magic” Johnson, Jr.—the revolutionary player, the icon, the man.

Magic: the Life of Earvin Magic Johnson

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#hardcover #michaeljordan #basketball 🏀 📚 

Hardcover (1 to 2 lbs)

Kentucky

The Long Strange Ride of Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls

Not since The Jordan Rules has a book captured such a poignant inside look at the most intriguing team in pro basketball history. Blood on the Horns by veteran sportswriter Roland Lazenby details the infighting and conflict between Jordan, coach Phil Jackson, teammate Scottie Pippen, 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 struggled to remain cohesive. This book captures the harsh, dark side of Jordan's competitive nature.

The book will at last explain to the millions of Bulls fans why the team's management and ownership seemed so eager for Jackson, Jordan and company to move on, despite their overwhelming success.

Blood on the Horns

c7330a37-5378-4dd0-a22e-e73239f077f9-1

Louisiana

Phil Jackson's Long Strange Journey

Mindgames follows the journey of Phil Jackson to the top of basketball's coaching hierarchy, a rise that took him from obscurity in the Continental Basketball Association to nine 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 to 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 bestselling Blood on the Horns, reveals the fascinating story of Jackson's life, from his years with the New York Knicks under the legendary Red Holzman to his remarkable nine championships coaching first the Chicago Bulls and then the Los Angeles Lakers. In Mindgames Lazenby compellingly portrays a man with a unique determination to control the competitive environment he inhabits. A clear picture of the Jackson mystique emerges: philosopher, teacher, manipulator, counselor, psychologist, shaman, champion, master of mind games. Book jacket.

Mindgames #27

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Light Hardcover (1 lb or less)

Illinois

The Story of the 1995-96 Chicaco Bulls, The Greatest Team in Basketball History

Bull Run

bd46cf1c-b1b6-4bf9-90ae-f186ca8df5dc-1

Light Paperback (1 lb or less)

New York

Mindgames is the story of Phil Jackson's remarkable rise to the top of the NBA coaching hierarchy. In it, author Roland Lazenby reveals the fascinating elements of Jackson's life and mental approach to coaching that have made followers of his players but also have made him-perhaps not surprisingly-unpredictable and sometimes unpopular to outsiders. It is also a detailed basketball story, with entertaining accounts from Jackson's years with the New York Knicks under the legendary Red Holzman to the remarkable six championships as coach of the Chicago Bulls and now a seventh title with the Los Angeles Lakers. His success lies in his intensely psychological approach to building championship teams-maintaining authority without dictating to his players, building friendships with them without pandering to them, and earning their respect. But Jackson's approach is not for everyone. His battles with Bulls management spilled over into an ugly display in 1998 in the midst of their last championship run, and his relationships with a few NBA coaches have turned contentious. Yet even those who don't like him marvel at his mastery, at what he can do with a basketball team that no one else can.

Mindgames

Nevada

The NBA’s Greatest Teams

John Wooden

Jack Tobin

Ohio

Autobiography of John Wooden, basketball coach at UCLA between 1948 and 1975, in which he reveals details of his personal life and discusses various aspects of his lengthy, record-breaking career.

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They Call Me Coach

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