These books are slam dunks for hoops fans

In the wake of a voluminous public response to last week’s piece on the greatest sports films, we turn now to books — such a pleasant diversion, too often set aside for more pressing tasks. There is no proper substitute for a Stephen Curry 35footer or the artistry of Luka Doncic, but for stayathome fans suddenly in need of a pastime, here’s a reading list for the sport of basketball (in no particular order):

“The City Game: Basketball from the Garden to the Playgrounds”: The New York Times described author Pete Axthelm as “a poet” upon the 1970 release of this book, which combines the New York Knicks’ championship season of 196970 with a penetrating exploration of pickup basketball in the city’s most depressed areas. As such, we learn not only of Willis Reed and Walt Frazier, but about playground legends Earl “The Goat” Manigault and Herman “Helicopter” Knowings. “Second Wind: The Memoirs of an Opinionated Man”: Intensely private as a player, Bill Russell, who wrote this 1979 book with Taylor Branch, speaks through words as elegant and influential as the performances that carried his Boston Celtics to 11 championships. For anyone who believes Russell competed in a sort of dinosaur era, or that he wouldn’t be so relevant today, make a stop here — and continue with his other books: “Go Up For Glory,” “Red and Me” and “Russell Rules.”

“The Last Pass: Cousy, Russell, the Celtics, and What Matters in the End”: Historyminded fans are aware that Russell and Bob Cousy, pioneer showman of the fast break, basically invented the league as we know it today. In Gary M. Pomerantz’s 2018 book, we learn that Cousy, as much as he loved and admired Russell, sensed a racial barrier that prevented them from becoming close. Hauntingly, Cousy remains consumed with regret. (Also by Pomerantz: “Wilt, 1962.” The premise is Chamberlain’s 100point game, but we get meticulous detail on the man and his lifestyle.)

“The Breaks of the Game”: David Halberstam made his name covering wars and politics, among other noble endeavors. A sports fan at heart, he followed the Portland Trail Blazers’ 197980 season with nearly unlimited access; the book was published a year later. Beyond the insights into Bill Walton, Kermit Washington, Maurice Lucas and head coach Jack Ramsay, Halberstam plugs directly into the NBA’s many issues and the whole of American society.

“Pistol: The Life of Pete Maravich”: I once heard Maravich described as “basketball’s answer to Elvis, a white Southerner who sold Middle America on a black man’s game.” He was a true original, tormented by his coach/father’s obsession but a wildly inventive genius on the court, averaging 44 points per game over three seasons at LSU without the benefit of a 3point shot. Heck of a story — it did not end well — in Mark Kriegel’s capable hands.

“Loose Balls: The Short, Wild Life of the American Basketball Association”: The definitive history of the ABA, a worthy rival of the NBA from 1967 to ’76, written by Terry Pluto in 1990. With so little documentation in existence, Pluto scoured the landscape from Rick Barry, Julius Erving and Moses Malone to Bob Netolicky, Dave Twardzik and Billy Keller, and the story is told almost entirely through their welledited interviews. Thanks to Pluto’s diligence, a spectacularly colorful league comes to life.

“Golden Days: West’s Lakers, Steph’s Warriors, and the California Dreamers Who Reinvented Basketball”: Jack McCallum, the author of “Seven Seconds or Less” (another mustread), connects the Warriors’ Oakland dynasty and the 1970s Lakers through Jerry West, intimately woven into both eras. Those Lakers had a 33game winning streak and brought West his first title as a player. His behindthescenes work was invaluable to Golden State, and McCallum offers fresh insight into Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Steve Kerr and many more.

“Skyline: One Season, One Team, One City”: Beloved at The Chronicle for his Sporting Green contributions around this time, Tim Keown devoted months to following Skyline High School, in the Oakland hills, for the 199293 season. A more incendiary climate could hardly be imagined, and as Keown writes, “every game is a retribution” for players and families trying to navigate their way into a better life.

“Foul! The Connie Hawkins Story”: There should have been a welcome mat in the NBA for Hawkins, the New York playground legend whose majestic drives to the hoop rivaled those of Erving and Elgin Baylor. But he was something of a phantom, with hardship his companion. A gambling scandal wrecked his collegiate dreams and got him banned from NBA until the age of 27, when the wellworn “Hawk” still had some magic left. David Wolf ’s book was published in 1972.

“A Season Inside: One Year in College Basketball”: Just one of many excellent works delivered by John Feinstein, but mentioned here because it details Kerr’s playing days at Arizona: the glory, the devastation upon learning of his father’s death, and the turbulent days that followed. We know so much about Kerr. Here’s where he becomes a man, described by Arizona head coach Lute Olson as “the best leader I’ve ever seen.”

Also worth mentioning: “Life on the Run,” by Bill Bradley; “The Jordan Rules,” by Sam Smith; “Sum It Up,” by Pat Summitt with Sally Jenkins; “The Book of Basketball,” by Bill Simmons; “24 Seconds to Shoot,” by Leonard Koppett; “When the Garden Was Eden,” by Harvey Araton; “FortyEight Minutes,” by Bob Ryan and Terry Pluto; “My Losing Season,” by Pat Conroy, and “Basketball: A Love Story,” by Jackie MacMullan, Rafe Bartholomew and Dan Klores.