Masters of the Game A Conversational History of the NBA in 75 Legendary Players
Language: English
Published by Penguin Group, 2025
- Hardcover
- New
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Masters of the Game: A Conversational History of the NBA in 75 Legendary Players brings together sportswriter Sam Smith and eleven-time NBA champion coach Phil Jackson for an extended, candid conversation about the greatest basketball players who ever lived. Smith and Jackson have known each other since the late 1980s, when Smith was covering the Chicago Bulls for the Chicago Tribune and Jackson was an assistant coach on that bench. Forty years of friendship and disagreement feed every page. The book grew out of the NBA's seventy-fifth anniversary process, in which Smith helped assemble the league's official list of its seventy-five all-time greats. Jackson was invited to participate but declined - he's not a fan of ranking greatness - and the two have been arguing about it ever since. In these pages they work through the legends one by one: Jordan, Kobe, Shaq, Magic, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West, Larry Bird, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, Bill Walton, and more. The talk is analytical and gossipy in equal measure, covering the genius and the flaws, the mark race left on the game, the business behind the spectacle, and the alchemy that turns talented individuals into championship teams. Published by Penguin Group in 2025 and running to 400 pages, this is a book for readers who already love basketball and want to hear two people who lived it at the highest level talk about it honestly. Smith brings the reporter's access and institutional memory; Jackson brings the coach's eye for what actually matters on a team. Together they make a strong case that greatness is more complicated - and more interesting - than any ranked list can capture. …
Seller Inventory # BMC26250ro86
- Title
- Masters of the Game A Conversational History of the NBA in 75 Legendary Players
- Author
- Sam Smith, Phil Jackson
- Publisher
- Penguin Group
- Publication year
- 2025
- Condition
- New
- Binding
- hardcover
- Language
- English
- ISBN 13
- 9798217060702
Sam Smith and Phil Jackson grew to know and respect each otherin the late 1980s, when Smith was a Chicago Tribune sportswriterand Jackson was an assistant coach for the Chicago Bulls. Fortyyears later, the two remain close friends. In 2021, Smith helped theNBA arrive at a list of the seventy-five greatest players of all timein celebration of its seventy-fifth anniversary. Phil Jackson wasasked to participate too, but he’s not a big fan of ranking greatness.They’ve been enjoying the argument ever since.
In Masters of the Game, Smith and Jackson chop it up about thebasketball life, the sport, and both the genius and shadow side ofthe all-time greats: Jordan, Kobe, Shaq, Magic, Bill Russell, Wilt,Jerry West, Bird, LeBron, KD, Steph Curry, Bill Walton, and more. Ina conversation full of high-grade analysis and high-grade gossip, wemeet the stars of long-ago eras of basketball and see the mark raceleft on players and the business of the game—and we get a masterclass on character and the alchemy of a good team. And of course,inevitably, these two old heads get into the GOAT debate.
There are so many huge characters here, and Smith and Jacksoncan hold their own with any of them. Their spirit—sharp, wise,irreverent, honest, respectful of the lore and legacy of the game butnever pious—and the clash of their different perspectives combineto make this book a joyous ride, a short course in greatness opento all students.
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About the Author
Phil Jackson is the coauthor of the number one New York Times bestseller Eleven Rings, The Last Season, and Sacred Hoops. He’s arguably the greatest coach in the history of the NBA. His reputation was established as head coach of the Chicago Bulls from 1989 to 1998; during his tenure, Chicago won six NBA titles. His next team, the Los Angeles Lakers, won five NBA titles, from 2000 to 2010. He holds the record for the most championships in NBA history as a player and a head coach. Jackson was a player on the 1970 and 1973 NBA champion New York Knicks. In 2007 he was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.
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