The Joy of Basketball: An Encyclopedia of the Modern Game

by Ben Detrick, Andrew Kuo, Desus Nice (Foreword by)

Overview

A vibrant, unconventional, highly opinionated guide to the triumphs, joys, struggles, and heartbreaks of the modern era of the game, for every obsessive basketball fan who loves to hate hot takes.

From the cohosts of Cookie Hoops and featuring a foreword by Desus Nice, The Joy of Basketball is a subversive sports manifesto camouflaged as a colorful reference book for your coffee table.

Bouncing between witty graphics and keen sociopolitical observations, The Joy of Basketball celebrates the meteoric rise of basketball over the last quarter century by ignoring the bland, traditionalist binary of wins or losses. Instead, the book’s focus is on everything else.

Using text, charts, and illustrations that upend conventional jock wisdom, the book details the most incredible players in history, draft flops, long-limbed oddballs, superteams, the international talent wave, brawls, scandals, the rapid evolution of contemporary gameplay, coaching, fashion, crime, positional erosion, tragic tales, memes, and the sacred Kardashian Blessing.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781419754821
Publisher:	Abrams Image
Publication date:	11/09/2021
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	164,453
Product dimensions:	7.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Ben Detrick has been a contributing writer to the New York Times since 2007, covering pop culture, style, nightlife, travel, and music. His byline has appeared in publications like New York magazine, The New Yorker, GQ, Vice, Vibe, and Complex. Detrick is the cofounder and cohost of Cookies Hoops, and has been a guest on The Ringer NBA Show alongside Bill Simmons, NBA Desktop, The Dan Le Batard Show, and Jalen & Jacoby. He lives in New York.

Editorial Reviews

"I'd never read a book that made me want to redecorate my apartment with its pages. But The Joy of Basketball certifies what Ben Detrick and Andrew Kuo's day ones have known forever: they are two of the most creative forces in the NBA universe. Their art has already redecorated my brain."

ESPN - Pablo S. Torre

"Fans of the modern NBA will devour this book, which recounts not only the stories that have defined the sport, but also explains how those stories have dovetailed with political history and pop culture. Much like the game itself, The Joy of Basketball is a rich text and a visual delight."

ESPN - Mina Kimes

"The Joy Of Basketball will easily become one of those quintessential sports books that you can open up at any page and get deeply enthralled. And one that will definitely need a sequel as the years pass."

Sarah Silverman

"Fans of the modern NBA will devour this book, which recounts not only the stories that have defined the sport, but also explains how those stories have dovetailed with political history and pop culture. Much like the game itself, The Joy of Basketball is a rich text and a visual delight."—Mina Kimes, ESPN

"TheJoy Of Basketball will easily become one of those quintessential sports books that you can open up at any page and get deeply enthralled. And one that will definitely need a sequel as the years pass."—Sarah Silverman

"I'd never read a book that made me want to redecorate my apartment with its pages. But The Joy of Basketball certifies what Ben Detrick and Andrew Kuo's day ones have known forever: they are two of the most creative forces in the NBA universe. Their art has already redecorated my brain."—Pablo S. Torre, ESPN

From the Publisher