Table of Contents
Foreword Kareem Abdul-Jabbar xi
Introduction: February Reconsidered Alexander Wolff xv
From Basketball: Its Origin and Development James Naismith 1
A Case of Malnutrition Red Smith 11
Indiana's Town of Champions Edith Roberts 14
Farewell to Cousy Herbert Warren Wind 20
From A Sense of Where You Are John McPhee 40
47 Years A Shot-Freak Roy Blount, Jr. 43
From The City Game Pete Axthelm 53
A Reflection of Society George Kiseda 64
The Coach Who Couldn't Shoot Straight Jimmy Breslin 68
From Caught in the Pivot Tom Meschery 76
From Heaven Is a Playground Rick Telander 87
From The Joy of Sports Michael Novak 95
From The Game They Played Stanley Cohen 97
Requiem for a Globetrotter Peter Goldman 104
Girls Win, Boys Lose Douglas Bauer 116
From Second Wind Bill Russell Taylor Branch 126
From The Breaks of the Game David Halberstam 129
The Rabbit Hunter Frank Deford 150
The Autumn of the Age of Jabbar David Bradley 172
Basketball: The Purest Sport of Bodies Donald Hall 187
The Passion of Doctor J Mark Jacobson 192
Memories Curry Kirkpatrick 210
From Forty-Eight Minutes Bob Ryan Terry Pluto 227
Pete Maravich Dave Kindred 230
The Coach and His Champion Alexander Wolff 233
The Brother from Another Planet Charles P. Pierce 248
From The Last Shot Darcy Frey 256
Eyes of the Storm Gary Smith 264
Last Call? Rick Reilly 283
It's All in the Game Melissa King 293
From A Season on the Reservation Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 307
From Hoop Roots John Edgar Wideman 313
From My Losing Season Pat Conroy 320
I Believe in B-Ball Steve Rushin 332
Playing for Jud James McKean 335
From The Macrophenomenal Pro Basketball Almanac Freedarko 349
The No-Stats All-Star Michael Lewis 353
From Play Their Hearts Out George Dohrmann 374
The Fiberglass Backboard Bryan Curtis 389
From Dream Team Jack McCallum 393
His Last Game Brian Doyle 410
The King: LeBron James, Sportsman of the Year 2012 Lee Jenkins 414
The Life and Death of Fandom Zach Lowe 427
Days of Wine and Curry Rowan Ricardo Phillips 434
Life Is Not a Playground David Shields 438
Sources and Acknowledgments 445
Index 449
