"The Book of Basketball" by Bill Simmons?

I really enjoy reading his stuff but have not picked this up yet. I think it is like 700 pages long and before I start investing time in it, was wondering if anyone has read it yet.

I haven't as yet but it's on my 2010 list (i read a lot)

I've been meaning to read it.

I like Simmons, but in small doses.... 700 pages of him might be a bit too much.

TMC wrote:I like Simmons, but in small doses.... 700 pages of him might be a bit too much.

lol thats a fair point. I couldnt see myself reading it cover to cover, straight up.

Im like 200 pages into it. Its pretty good so far, he makes a huge deal about cocaine (or at least in the pages I have read so far), makes a buttload of movie references, and he puts down Darco Milicic every 5 pages no matter what he is talking about.
But I really like the book, its refreshing reading a comedic take on one of my favorite topics of discussion rather than just a straight forward tale of what it is.

I finished the book a few weeks ago.

I found it to be a great book. Very interesting read. I only started following the NBA in the last ten years, so I particularly enjoyed the chapter that look at the history of the game (split into different eras). It gives a pretty concise summary of the who, what, when, where, why and how of the last 60-odd years of the NBA.

The chapter on "The Secret", about the secret of basketball (essentially, play as a team, it's not about individual numbers), I also found to be quite interesting. There's also a chapter that breaks down the Russell verse Wilt debate (Russell wins, easily --> he's from Boston after all), as well as a 'What if' chapter that looks at how a number of events/scenarios might have unfolded if players ended up on different teams, or certain trades did or did not get made.

Another chapter looks at past MVP winners and determines their worthiness. But the biggest section of the book is Simmons detailing the best 96 players of all time. It's very in-depth and detailed, and would certainly generate a great deal of debate.

The book is very much written in the style of his columns (lots of pop culture references, lots of "how good am I type-stories, some crassness), but overall, I would recommend it, particuarly if you are a big fan of the NBA. And if you're not, it would be a pretty good way of getting up to speed on what you would need to know about the game.

excellent review aussie. tks for that.

it's a great book! the simmons book is just amazing to me

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