#hardcover #inauguralballers #andrewmaraniss #basketball #womensbasketball #olympics #nonficition

Hardcover (1 to 2 lbs)

Georgia

The True Story of the First US Women's Olympic Basketball Team

From the New York Times bestselling author of Strong Inside comes the inspirational true story of the birth of women's Olympic basketball at the 1976 Summer Games and the ragtag team that put US women's basketball on the map. Perfect for fans of Steve Sheinkin and Daniel James Brown.

A League of Their Own meets Miracle in the inspirational true story of the first US Women's Olympic Basketball team and their unlikely rise to the top.
 
Twenty years before women's soccer became an Olympic sport and two decades before the formation of the WNBA, the '76 US women's basketball team laid the foundation for the incredible rise of women's sports in America at the youth, collegiate, Olympic, and professional levels.
 
Though they were unknowns from small schools such as Delta State, the University of Tennessee at Martin and John F. Kennedy College of Wahoo, Nebraska, at the time of the '76 Olympics, the American team included a roster of players who would go on to become some of the most legendary figures in the history of basketball. From Pat Head, Nancy Lieberman, Ann Meyers, Lusia Harris, coach Billie Moore, and beyond--these women took on the world and proved everyone wrong.  
 
Packed with black-and-white photos and thoroughly researched details about the beginnings of US women's basketball, Inaugural Ballers is the fascinating story of the women who paved the way for girls everywhere.

Inaugural Ballers

69b9d37b-53f0-4d03-981e-42669dee4e98-1

#hardcover #nonfiction #sports #basketball #alleniverson

Florida

The Incredible Rise and Unthinkable Fall of Allen Iverson

Former NBA superstar Allen Iverson was once one of America’s most famous athletes: a trendsetter who transcended race, celebrity, and pop culture, and emerged from a troubled past to become one of the most successful and highly compensated athletes in the world. Now, his life and career comes vividly to light in this hard-hitting biography that examines what drove his successes and failures. Through extensive research and interviews with those closest to Iverson, acclaimed Washington Post sportswriter Kent Babb gets behind the familiar, sanitized, and heroic version of Iverson—the hard-charging, hard-partying athlete who played every game as if it were his last. Babb brings to life a private, loyal, and often generous Allen Iverson who rarely made the headlines, revealing the back story behind some of Iverson’s most memorable moments, such as his infamous “Practice” rant, delving even deeper to discover where Iverson’s demons lurked. He drank too much, stayed out too late, spent more money than most people could spend in a dozen lifetimes—blowing more than $150 million of his NBA earnings alone. His then wife Tawanna, seen often as the mild-mannered woman who tamed the bad boy, tried to keep her husband and family on the rails. But she was no match, as so many others learned on basketball courts, for the force of nature that Iverson was—jealousy, meanness, and a restlessness eventually wearing down even his biggest fan, teammate, and, eventually, his most formidable opponent. Over time, Iverson himself had come to believe his own hype: that he lived in a world where celebrity is eternal and riches are everlasting. He was about that life even when he was no longer the fastest man on the court, as endorsement deals and long-term contracts became a thing of the past. Some in his inner circle saw the writing on the wall and encouraged Iverson to embrace life beyond basketball. But instead, he remained in denial. Not a Game is an impeccably researched, sometimes uncomfortable look at the factors that led to the rise and fall of a basketball superstar. In doing so, it illuminates the dark side of our modern day, multi-billion dollar sports and entertainment culture in which talented players are disposable and all too often success and tragedy wear the same number.

Not a Game

d17c7bd4-437d-4e2a-a923-e39162715465-1

Light Hardcover (1 lb or less)

New York

From the moment these two players took the court on opposing sides, they engaged in a fierce physical and psychological battle. Their uncommonly competitive relationship came to symbolize the most compelling rivalry in the NBA. These were the basketball epics of the 1980s -- Celtics vs Lakers, East vs West, physical vs finesse, Old School vs Showtime, even white vs black. Each pushed the other to greatness -- together Bird and Johnson collected eight NBA Championships, six MVPawards and helped save the floundering NBA at its most critical time. When it started they were bitter rivals, but along the way they became lifelong friends.  

With intimate, fly-on-the-wall detail,When the Game Was Ours transports readers to this electric era of basketball and reveals for the first time the inner workings of two players dead set on besting one another. From the heady days of trading championships to the darker days of injury and illness, we come to understand Larry's obsessive devotion to winning and how his demons drove him on the court. We hear him talk with candor about playing through chronic pain and its truly exacting toll. In Magic we see a young, invincible star struggle with the sting of defeat, not just as a player but as a team leader.  We are there the moment he learns he's contracted HIV and hear in his own words how that devastating news impacted his relationships in basketball and beyond. But always, in both cases, we see them prevail.

A compelling, up-close-and-personal portrait of basketball's most inimitable duo,When the Game Was Ours is a reevaluation of three decades in counterpoint. It is also a rollicking ride through professional basketball's best times.

When the Game Was Ours

d2abb8a3-0910-4c97-8ab0-8a8c58033f58-1

#hardcover #fiction #basketball #nba #sports #motherhood

Nevada

A Novel

Ruth Devon starred for Georgetown Basketball back in college--until she injured her knee, married her coach, and found a new career calling games on the radio. Twenty years later, Ruth and her now-ex-husband, Lester, are two of the most famous faces in sports media. When Lester decides to retire from the announcers' booth, Ruth goes after his job. If she gets it, she will be the first woman to call NBA games on national television. For now, Ruth is reporting from the sideline of the NBA finals, immersed in the high-pressure spectacle of the post-season. But in a deserted locker room at halftime, Ruth makes a discovery that shatters her vision of her future. Instantly, she is torn between the two things she has always wanted most: the game and motherhood. With warmth and incisive observation, Adrian brings to life the obsessions, emotions, and drama of fandom. The Second Season asks why, how, and whom we watch, while offering a rich and complicated account of motherhood, marriage, and ambition. Adrian's character study of Ruth Devon illuminates a beautiful basketball mind--and the struggle of a woman who claims authority in a male-dominated world.

The Second Season

5edb987a-3ad6-4e40-9004-623431a03952-1

Oregon

Eighteen true stories of unique events in basketball include accounts of the Rio Grande College team, the Harlem Globetrotters, Wilt Chamberlain and other high scorers, and fancy shooters.

Strange but True Basketball Stories

77f0fac4-8722-495d-b72f-3b3f7bb0479b-1

#hardcover #basketball #coach #inspiration #cvivianstringer #scarletknights #rutgersuniversity

Minnesota

A Memoir of Tragedy and Triumph

“Lots of people have dreams, but C. Vivian Stringer is the dream—a coalminer’s daughter who believed when her Poppa told her there was no obstacle she could not surmount. And she lives that dream, teaching others to rise up to meet challenges, turning underdogs into champions again and again—on and off the court. This is the quintessential American story, of a woman and of a family pulling together against the odds.Standing Talloffers an important message of hope to so many.” —John Chaney, Hall of Fame college basketball coach At a time when heroes are too rare, C. Vivian Stringer sets a shining example. She has time and again shown character, fortitude, and heart, both on and off the hardwood, and in the face of unbearable loss. InStanding Tall, she shares her remarkable life story, inspiring us to find this fortitude within ourselves. “Work hard, and don’t look for excuses,” Stringer’s parents told her, “and you can achieve anything.” But her faith and perseverance would be tested many times. A gifted athlete, she had to fight for a place on an all-white cheerleading squad in the sixties. In 1981, just as her coaching career was taking off, her fourteen-month-old daughter, Nina, was stricken with spinal meningitis. Nina would never walk or talk again. Still grieving, Stringer brought a small, poor, historically black college to the national championships—a triumph hailed as “Hoosiers with an all-female cast.” In 1991, her husband, Bill—her staunchest supporter, the father of her children, and the love of her life—fell dead of a sudden heart attack, but that same year, she led yet another young team to the Final Four. Through these dark times and others—including her bout with cancer, shared here for the first time—Stringer has carried her burdens with grace. Given her history, it was no surprise that she led her team to respond to Don Imus’s slurs with dignity and courage. Standing Tallis a story of quiet strength in the face of punishing odds. Above all, it is an extraordinary love story—love for the game, for the players she has coached, for her close-knit family, and for the husband she lost far too soon. It will resonate long after the last page.

Standing Tall

65c577c4-7f1e-4962-ba5a-3732766e3dab-1

#basketball #olympics #olympicsbasketball #hitler #berlin #athletes #1936 #jamesnaismith #remainderedbook #hardcover 

Ohio

The True Story of the First U. S. Olympic Basketball Team at the 1936 Olympics in Hitler's Germany

*"Rivaling the nonfiction works of Steve Sheinkin and Daniel James Brown's The Boys in the Boat....Even readers who don't appreciate sports will find this story a page-turner." --School Library Connection, starred review

*"A must for all library collections." --Booklist, starred review

Winner of the 2020 AJL Sydney Taylor Honor!  

From the New York Times bestselling author of Strong Inside comes the remarkable true story of the birth of Olympic basketball at the 1936 Summer Games in Hitler's Germany. Perfect for fans of The Boys in the Boat and Unbroken.

On a scorching hot day in July 1936, thousands of people cheered as the U.S. Olympic teams boarded the S.S. Manhattan, bound for Berlin. Among the athletes were the 14 players representing the first-ever U.S. Olympic basketball team. As thousands of supporters waved American flags on the docks, it was easy to miss the one courageous man holding a BOYCOTT NAZI GERMANY sign. But it was too late for a boycott now; the ship had already left the harbor.

1936 was a turbulent time in world history. Adolf Hitler had gained power in Germany three years earlier. Jewish people and political opponents of the Nazis were the targets of vicious mistreatment, yet were unaware of the horrors that awaited them in the coming years. But the Olympians on board the S.S. Manhattan and other international visitors wouldn't see any signs of trouble in Berlin. Streets were swept, storefronts were painted, and every German citizen greeted them with a smile. Like a movie set, it was all just a facade, meant to distract from the terrible things happening behind the scenes.

This is the incredible true story of basketball, from its invention by James Naismith in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1891, to the sport's Olympic debut in Berlin and the eclectic mix of people, events and propaganda on both sides of the Atlantic that made it all possible. Includes photos throughout, a Who's-Who of the 1936 Olympics, bibliography, and index.

Praise for Games of Deception:

A 2020 ALA Notable Children's Book!
A 2020 CBC Notable Social Studies Book!

"Maraniss does a great job of blending basketball action with the horror of Hitler's Berlin to bring this fascinating, frightening, you-can't-make-this-stuff-up moment in history to life." -Steve Sheinkin, New York Times bestselling author of Bomb and Undefeated

"I was blown away by Games of Deception....It's a fascinating, fast-paced, well-reasoned, and well-written account of the hidden-in-plain-sight horrors and atrocities that underpinned sports, politics, and propaganda in the United States and Germany. This is an important read." -Susan Campbell Bartoletti, Newbery Honor winning author of Hitler Youth

"A richly reported and stylishly told reminder how, when you scratch at a sports story, the real world often lurks just beneath." --Alexander Wolff, New York Times bestselling author of The Audacity of Hoop: Basketball and the Age of Obama

"An insightful, gripping account of basketball and bias." --Kirkus Reviews

"An exciting and overlooked slice of history." --School Library Journal


Games of Deception

41baf10e-cd51-4b87-9611-d512170ae978-1

#hardcover #johngrisham #basketball #fiction 

Indiana

THIS TIME, JOHN GRISHAM TAKES YOU TO A DIFFERENT KIND OF COURT. In the summer of his seventeenth year, Sam­uel Sooleymon gets the chance of a lifetime: a trip to the United States with his South Sudanese teammates to play in a showcase basket­ball tournament. He has never been away from home, nor has he ever been on an airplane. The opportunity to be scouted by dozens of college coaches is a dream come true. Samuel is an amazing athlete, with speed, quick­ness, and an astonishing vertical leap. The rest of his game, though, needs work, and the American coaches are less than impressed. During the tournament, Samuel receives dev­astating news from home: A civil war is raging across South Sudan, and rebel troops have ran­sacked his village. His father is dead, his sister is missing, and his mother and two younger brothers are in a refugee camp. Samuel desperately wants to go home, but it's just not possible. Partly out of sympathy, the coach of North Carolina Central offers him a scholar­ship. Samuel moves to Durham, enrolls in classes, joins the team, and prepares to sit out his freshman season. There is plenty of more mature talent and he isn't immediately needed. But Samuel has something no other player has: a fierce determination to succeed so he can bring his family to America. He works tirelessly on his game, shooting baskets every morning at dawn by himself in the gym, and soon he's dominating everyone in practice. With the Central team los­ing and suffering injury after injury, Sooley, as he is nicknamed, is called off the bench. And the legend begins. But how far can Sooley take his team? And will success allow him to save his family? Gripping and moving, Sooley showcases John Grisham's unparalleled storytelling powers in a whole new light. This is Grisham at the top of his game.

Sooley

408d3111-daa8-4940-9b7d-21090fb18efd-1

#fiction #juvenilefiction #ya #youngadult #hardcover #sports #basketball 

Kansas

High school sophomore Liam jeopardizes his new position on the varsity basketball team when he decides to take a stand against his coach who is leading prayers before games and enforcing teamwide participation.

Box Out

a2559d68-424f-49db-b0a2-42f3f2347a7e-1

New Jersey

A Life Plan for Team Players

"Not only is Pat Riley one of pro basketball's winningest coaches, but his speeches before hundreds of corporations, from ARCO to AT&T to Toyota, have earned him the title of "America's Greatest Motivational Speaker."" "The Winner Within is his formula for success. It is a book about winning, leadership, mastery, change, and personal growth, based on understanding and controlling the shifting dynamics of a team - any team, whether it is a small company or a giant corporation, a family, a city, or a group of athletes." "How does a struggling team form a covenant to work together instead of separately? How does a successful team battle complacency? How does any team overcome the thunderbolts that strike out of the blue?" "Drawing upon the great teachers and his own experiences in and out of sports, interweaving them with dozens of parallels and stories from business and society, Riley shows how to ride the cycles of team change, balance role players and stars, build solid foundations, break through self-imposed barriers, create change within continuity, and nurture cooperation within competition." ""All of my contacts and experiences have proved to me, over and over again, that the complex inner rhythms of teamwork - flows of ambition, power, cooperation, and emotion - are the keys to making dreams come true," says Riley, and in The Winner Within, he provides the tools, insights, and plan of action to help master those rhythms. It is a book of universal power and scope - a new classic of the literature."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

The Winner Within

918d457c-7050-4e1d-a440-4968e76ab1ce-1

#fiction #fantasyfiction #fantasy #youngadult #hardcover #kobebryant #basketball #sports #ya #youngadultfiction 

Heavy Hardcover (2 to 4 lbs)

The Wizenard series

Training Camp

00968ce9-8ef8-461f-99db-e30449738dc8-1

Special collector’s edition
LeBron James, how he changed the NBA forever
Celebrating 20 years of dominance
Amazing stats, trivia and tributes
Inside the king’s $1 billion empire 
10 most epic games
A360media
Printed in USA

Light Paperback (1 lb or less)

California

Living Legend Celebrating LeBron James 20 years of Dominance

Special Collector’s Edition: Lebron

The Epic Fail of Arthur Zamora

#hardcover #nonfiction #juvenile #ya #motivational #inspiration #sports #basketball

52 Rules to Aim, Shoot, and Score in This Game Called Life

A companion to the Newbery Medal-winning middle grade novel The Crossover, the basis of the show streaming on Disney+!

What can we imagine for our lives? What if we were the star players, moving and grooving through the game of life? What if we had our own rules of the game to help us get what we want, what we aspire to, what will enrich our lives?

Illustrated with photographs by Thai Neave, The Playbook is intended to provide inspiration on the court of life. Each rule contains wisdom from inspiring athletes and role models such as Nelson Mandela, Serena Williams, LeBron James, Carli Lloyd, Steph Curry, and Michelle Obama. Kwame Alexander also shares his own stories of overcoming obstacles and winning games in this motivational and inspirational book for readers of any age and for anyone needing a little bit of encouragement.

You gotta know the rules to play the game. Ball is life. Take it to the hoop. Soar.

The Playbook

acb1eac7-e760-4cbd-bc07-fd0947facf84-1

#paperback #fiction #youngadult #ya #middlegrade #sports #basketball #nba #realisticfiction #disney

Theo Rollins is starting eighth grade six inches taller, and his new height is making everyone expect more from him. Coach Mandrake wants to transform him from invisible science geek into star basketball player, even though Theo has little experience with the game. When Theo tries to hone his skills by playing pick-up ball in the park, kids are eager to include him at first; then they quickly see that he has no control of his gangly body. A girl named Rain even dubs him "Sasquatch." To make matters worse, all his time spent on training is starting to hurt his science club's chances of winning the "Aca-lympics," the school's trivia competition. Just when Theo thinks he can't handle any more pressure, he's accused of stealing. Can he find the real thief before he is kicked off the basketball and science club teams, or will his attempt at sleuthing be yet another air ball?

Loosely based on challenges that NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar faced while growing up, Sasquatch in the Paint is a slam dunk for fans of basketball action and absorbing mysteries.
Praise for Sasquatch in the Paint

"A crisp tale of sports, smarts and what it means to be your own man or woman-or boy or girl, if you happen to be 13...It seems to be an embarrassment of riches to be, say, one of the best basketball players in history and also write tightly entertaining novels for kids, but there you have Abdul-Jabbar. Fearless, caring sports fiction."
--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"A humorous novel that delivers a heartwarming story about growing up, facing down bullies, and learning what true friendship is all about."
--School Library Journal

"The depth and realism Abdul-Jabbar and Obstfeld bring to the novel keep it from being a run-of-the-mill sports story...Readers will feel a kinship with Theo as he maneuvers through tough but realistic choices."
--Publishers Weekly

"This smart, sensitive novel is full of simple truths that extend far beyond the court."
--Booklist

"This funny and inspirational novel based on Kareem's sudden growth spurt as a middle-schooler captures the excitement of playing basketball and the anxiety of growing up--while growing tall, which I know a little something about. Kids will learn about the wonderful world of basketball and the importance of friendship and following your dreams."
--Magic Johnson
A Junior Library Guild Selection
Selected for the Texas Library Association's Lone Star List



Sasquatch in the Paint

1b97b4ec-ce86-4a3c-8708-1ac0649536e2-1

John Grisham

South Carolina

Kwame Alexander

Virginia

Fourteen-year-old twin basketball stars Josh and Jordan wrestle with highs and lows on and off the court as their father ignores his declining health.

The Crossover

a63df29c-d6b0-41aa-bcc1-6999ea33f4a7-1

The Making of an American Sports Legend

The star of the Boston Celtics comes to life in this readable biography.

Bird

ba73a93b-8b56-4088-a194-a4d2b63fbb2b-1

Presents an overview of the history of basketball from its beginning in 1891 and profiles some notable players and coaches of modern times.

The Story of Basketball

8634db0c-2daf-49fc-a8b8-88c72c654004-1

Kentucky

Patty Mills has always been good at sports, so when he tries out for basketball, he expects it to be easy. When it's not, he realizes he's got a lot to learn, on and off the court. But will he and his school team be good enough to make the finals?

Patty Hits the Court

a097e0c3-0dd6-4d5a-8195-fb49da2432b9-1

Pristine condition aside from the slight faded pages on top (see photo). 

Iowa

A middle-grade novel in verse follows the experiences of twin basketball stars Josh and Jordan, who struggle with challenges on and off the court while their father ignores his declining health. 20,000 first printing.

Maryland

Mike Lupica

After he is cut from his travel basketball team, the very same team that his father once led to national prominence, twelve-year-old Danny Walker forms his own team of cast-offs that might have a shot at victory.

Save this search

Andrew Maraniss

Inaugural Ballers

Kent Babb

Not a Game

Larry Bird; Earvin "Magic" Johnson; Jackie MacMullan

When the Game Was Ours

Emily Adrian

The Second Season

Howard Liss

Strange but True Basketball Stories

C. Vivian Stringer; Laura Tucker

Standing Tall

Andrew Maraniss

Games of Deception

John Grisham

Sooley

John Coy

Box Out

Pat Riley

The Winner Within

Wesley King, Kobe Bryant

Training Camp

A360media

Special Collector’s Edition: Lebron

Pablo Cartaya

The Epic Fail of Arthur Zamora

Kwame Alexander

The Playbook

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Sasquatch in the Paint

John Grisham

Sooley

Kwame Alexander

The Crossover

Lee D. Levine

Bird

Dave Anderson; Julius Erving (Introduction by)

The Story of Basketball

John Grisham

Sooley

Jared Thomas; Patty Mills; Nahum Ziersch (Illustrator)

Patty Hits the Court

Kwame Alexander

The Crossover

John Grisham

Sooley

Mike Lupica

Travel Team