Bubbleball: Inside the NBA's Fight to Save a Season

by Ben Golliver Narrated by Ben Golliver

Overview

When NBA player Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19 in March 2020, the league shut down immediately, bringing a shocking, sudden pause to the season. As the pandemic raged, it looked as if it might be the first year in league history with no champion. But four months later, after meticulous planning, twenty-two teams resumed play in a bub­ble at Disney World-a restricted, single-site locale cut off from the outside world. Due to health concerns, the league invited only a handful of reporters, who were required to sacrifice medical privacy, live in a hotel room for more than three months, and submit to daily coronavirus test­ing in hopes of keeping the bubble from bursting. In exchange for the constant monitoring and restricted movement, they were allowed into a basketball fan's dream, with a courtside seat at dozens of games in nearly empty arenas. Ben Golliver, the national NBA writer for The Washington Post, was one of those allowed access. Bubbleball is his account of the season and life inside, telling the story of how basketball bounced back from its shutdown, how players staged headline-grabbing social-justice protests, and how Lakers star LeBron James chased his fourth ring in unconventional and unforgettable circumstances. Based on months of reporting in the exclusive, confined environment, this is an entertaining record of an extraordinary season.

Editorial Reviews

Library Journal

★ 06/01/2021

In March 2020, the NBA abruptly paused the 2019–20 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That July, in an effort to finish the season and crown a champion, the NBA created a "bubble" to keep players and coaches from being exposed to the virus. Washington Post basketball reporter Golliver, with this debut book, chronicles the 93 days he spent in the NBA bubble, including details of the league's security procedures and his time in quarantine. Golliver also reports on the experiences of players and team staff, including Rudy Gobert testing positive for the virus, and the death of Karl-Anthony Towns's mother. As Golliver adeptly tells, players had to not only overcome being isolated from their family and friends, but also meet the grueling physical challenge of performing on the court. His descriptions of games sometimes fall flat in comparison with players' real-life concerns, like the pandemic, protests against police violence, and the Milwaukee Bucks' boycotting a playoff game to bring awareness to the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Jacob Blake. VERDICT Beyond basketball, this book is an important cultural artifact of the impacts of COVID-19 on American life, as well as the interconnection of social justice and sports. An instant classic.—Chris Wilkes, Tazewell Cty. P.L., VA

Product Details

BN ID:	2940177034461
Publisher:	Dreamscape Media
Publication date:	05/24/2021
Edition description:	Unabridged

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