Courtside : 40 Years of Nba Photography

40 years of stunning basketball photography―both on the court and off―from the photographer who has defined the visual soul of the NBA.

As one of the National Basketball Association's premier photographers, Nathaniel S. Butler hasn't just witnessed history; he’s captured its DNA. From the gravity-defying grace of Michael Jordan and the precision of Kobe Bryant to the championship reign of Steph Curry and the arrival of Victor Wembanyama, Butler has held a front-row seat to the league’s most transformative era.

Courtside: 40 Years of NBA Photography is a spectacular monograph spanning the first four decades of Butler’s illustrious career. Moving beyond the high-speed action of the hardwood, this collection offers a rare, intimate look at the legends behind the jerseys.

It features iconic game-winners, like Ray Allen’s corner three, alongside quiet, behind-the-scenes portraits of the NBA50 and NBA75 teams and the titans who built the modern game―from Bill Russell to LeBron James.

More than just a sports book, Courtside is a cultural history of the NBA’s rise to global dominance. Featuring exclusive commentary from basketball icons across generations―including Patrick Ewing, Steph Curry, Jeremy Lin, and Victor Wembanyama―this is the ultimate insider’s perspective for fans, historians, and photography enthusiasts alike.

Both a stunning visual centerpiece and an intimate record of sporting history, Courtside is the definitive volume for anyone who lives and breathes the culture of the NBA.

Nathaniel Butler, one of the founding members of NBA Photos, has been photographing and documenting basketball since 1984. From the early years of Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and Larry Bird to Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Steph Curry, Butler has had a courtside seat for the best the NBA has had to offer. What started as developing black-and-white film during halftime at arenas across the country has grown to sharing real-time digital photos across the globe. For the past 40 years, Butler’s imagery of the sport has been on posters in childhood bedrooms and on trading cards treasured by collectors and is now shared with millions across the NBA’s various social media platforms. From portraits of the NBA’s legendary stars to buzzer-beating action, Butler’s work continues to be enjoyed by sports fans worldwide. Dave McMenamin is an NBA reporter, New York Times bestselling coauthor of Return of the King: LeBron James, the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Greatest Comeback in NBA History, and contributor to several ESPN platforms, including ESPN.com, ESPN Radio, NBA Today, and SportsCenter. He is a three-time Professional Basketball Writers Association Blumenthal Memorial award winner and proud Syracuse University alumnus. Adam Silver was appointed NBA commissioner on Feb. 1, 2014. He presides over a global sports and media business built around five professional sports leagues: the NBA, WNBA, NBA G League, NBA 2K League, and Basketball Africa League. Silver was named Sports Business Journal’s Executive of the Decade and has been ranked No. 1 on the publication’s annual list of the 50 Most Influential People in Sports Business. He was also named to TIME’s 100 Most Influential People and Fortune’s World’s 50 Greatest Leaders. Patrick Ewing is a two-time inductee to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame for his individual career and for being a part of the 1992 US Olympic “Dream Team.” In seventeen NBA seasons, fifteen with the New York Knicks, Ewing was an eleven-time All-Star and a seven-time member of the All-NBA team. After being named Rookie of the Year in 1986, Ewing went on to amass more than 24,000 points and 11,000 rebounds in the pros, and his Knicks teams made two trips to the NBA Finals. He was named to the NBA’s 50th and 75th Anniversary All-Time Teams. Spike Lee is an Academy Award–winning director, producer, and screenwriter known for She‘s Gotta Have It, Do the Right Thing, Malcolm X, and BlacKkKlansman, among many other films. He has also been nominated for four additional Academy Awards, won two British Academy Film Awards and two Emmy Awards, and was the recipient of an Academy Honorary Award for his achievements in film and his championing of independent filmmaking.