How to Watch Basketball Like a Genius: What Game Designers, Economists, Ballet Choreographers, and Theoretical Astrophysicists Reveal About the Greatest Game on Earth

A brilliant, entertaining deconstruction of basketball, drawing on the expertise of board-game creators, magicians, therapists, and more. The perfect gift for every thinking hoops fan.

“Really novel way to approach the game, and pretty unique to basketball.” ―Sopan Deb, New York Times

Nick Greene’s How to Watch Basketball Like a Genius deconstructs the sport from top to bottom and then puts it back together again, detailing its intricacies through reporting and dozens of interviews with experts.

These experts are an entertaining and diverse group: wine critics weighing in on LeBron’s ability to delegate on the fly, magicians analyzing Chris Paul’s mystifying dribbling techniques, cartographers breaking down Steph Curry’s deadeye three-point shooting.

Every chapter treats basketball to a multidisciplined study that adventures far beyond the lines of the court, examining key elements of the sport from some surprising and revealing angles. There’s a reason it has conquered the world, and every game is a chance to learn about pop culture, fashion, history, science, art, and anything else that bounces our way.

Basketball is the second-most popular sport in the world―an insanely complicated game built on a combination of athleticism, craftiness, rules, intangibles, and superstardom. However, while it’s enjoyable to watch, the real reason it works is because it’s a game of culture, art, and all the things that make us human.

Nick Greene is an acclaimed writer celebrated for his inventive approach to sports and culture. He is the author of How to Watch Basketball Like a Genius, a book praised for its witty, interdisciplinary exploration of basketball through insights from game designers, economists, ballet choreographers, and even theoretical astrophysicists. Building on that success, Greene’s How to Watch Soccer Like a Genius applies the same imaginative lens to the world’s most popular sport, drawing on expertise from architects, stuntwomen, paleoanthropologists, and computer scientists to uncover surprising truths about the game. [Greene’s work has appeared in Slate, The Washington Post, and Chicago Magazine, where his writing blends humor, historical depth, and cultural commentary. Known for his engaging and self-deprecating style, he has covered everything from NBA and NFL analysis to quirky lifestyle experiments―such as riding the entire New York subway in one day and negotiating his internet bill using Sun Tzu’s The Art of War.