The 3 best basketball books

Here a server was one of those who, as a child, stayed up late to watch NBA games commented on by Ramón Trecet. Those were the days of Michael Jordan, of Magic Johnson, of Stockton and the postman Malon, of the bad boys of Philadelphia, of Dennis Rodman and their extravagances, of the particular discordant figures of Larry Bird or Abdul Jabbar ...

Those were my first flesh and blood heroes in the realm of sport, that first mirror for every child. Gigantic guys who flew to the hoop and whom we friends in town emulated. Those were days when the All Stars had a greater taste for rivalry among the best players in the world. Like almost everything, over time that has been a marketing event.

We also had eyes for the ACB, of course, with the Epis, the Arcegas, Romay ... and the plethora of NBA players who in their last days or as a rebound effect, came from the United States to give an exotic touch to our league and lead the quintet of every team that opted for something.

Then came the first beatings of the team from the next town and another type of nightlife more typical of adolescence. But those were undoubtedly my myths and based on them I have looked for the best books on a sport that, with the football, it occupies the most children in the world. Only, because of my love for those idols, the selection is going to be quite biographical, contextual… let's go there.

Top 3 Recommended Basketball Books

Under the hoop

Nothing better than starting with the most important basketball player in Spain. Don Pau Gasol… Since those days of my childhood, it was not possible to think that a Spaniard would manage to put on the champion's ring. The idea sounded like a joke to us friends who every Sunday emulated the Jordan, Johnson, Bird, Wilkins and company. Fernando Martín's passage through this competition turned out to be gratifying but brief ...

However, many years later basketball in Spain enjoyed a boom that continues to this day. The greatest emblem of the glorious stage of basketball in Spain is Pau Gasol, without a doubt.

We have all been observing that in addition to the skills on the field, Pau also moves with ease in interviews and the media, expanding at ease on complementary aspects of the sport as well as on social circumstances that demand our attention.

This book is an interesting introspection on the idol, the perspective of the character himself who knows how he has come to achieve sporting glory and who enjoys transmitting it as a coaching system that addresses the personal, the motivational towards whatever our objective may be.

Because currently, when the end of his sports career looms near, we all take stock of one of the greatest Spanish athletes. But behind is the how and the motivation for the what. The qualities of Pau Gasol are undeniable. But we can't believe that genetic chance does much more than 50% of the work toward success.

It is even certain that this optimal endowment can succumb on more occasions than we think to imponderables such as frustration or defeat. On more than one occasion Gasol talks about reinventing himself. And nothing better than this word to focus on the need to improve, especially when circumstances that were previously favorable to us suddenly change.

It is not about resorting to the hackneyed term of the comfort zone as there is no greater comfort zone than opening up to all changes. It's about reading and learning, being realistic but aiming for the impossible.

The path is marked this time by Pau Gasol. And it never hurts to read the impressions of a great in every way to end up reinforcing the foundations of the will that can guide us towards success, despite the earthquakes that we may have to face ...

Air. The Michael Jordan Story

With Netflix's "tribute" to the one who was and is still the most mediatic athlete in the world, Michael Jordan, one who was his childhood admirer (with the entanglement of myths during childhood) discovers that the passage of time is merciless especially with memories. Sensations recovered from early mornings strangling in front of television to watch the Bulls; of Sundays in front of the old portable basket clinging to a balcony where we all thought we were flying like Air after leaving 12 mass unscathed.

Because the Jordan that was and that the report showed us was far from the Air Jordan that we beatify as a superhero. Beyond the natural naivety of the boy he idolizes, Jordan was a tyrant who at times seemed to lack the slightest bit of empathy. Not only was it a matter of putting triumph before everything, there was something else, a kind of almost sickly animosity. Fatal discovery for the old totems of childhood.

Then there is the punishment of time on the ancient demigods who passed through our world. Because the "Air" lounging in his chair for most of the report, with his reddened eyes for God knows what, conveyed that feeling of self-forgetfulness, of the punishment inflicted halfway by the years and by wills.

The books continue to praise his deeds. And it is also good to remember the legendary of a guy who on the courts was simply God, as Larry Bird warned. But at the moment Jordan is light years away from guys like Gasol, also with his books much more adjusted to the reality of what a great athlete should be and his vision of sport as a space for self-improvement.

“Michael Jordan is responsible for some of the most unforgettable moments in basketball history and one of the reasons that the NBA is what it is today. When people think of Jordan, they remember spectacular shots, the dance of his body with the ball, his attunement to the court, his incredible flight to the basket. Before million-dollar contracts and lucrative endorsements, few people waited in front of the television for NBA games, which were rarely broadcast. And then Jordan came along.

From that moment, everything changed and a new era was inaugurated, capitalized on the talent of 23, in his will and unparalleled competitiveness. Behind his greatness, a born leader was hiding. In Air, Pulitzer Prize winner David Halberstam does his best investigative work resulting in a riveting story about Jordan's legendary last year with the Chicago Bulls, the team that changed the game forever.

Mamba Mindset: The Secrets of My Success

The Kobe Bryant thing caught me a bit back. He did not follow the NBA basketball so much in his time. If anything, the World Cups and other events with our Spanish team. It was enough to follow the ACB, once that ideal of Yankee basketball was abandoned as something from another planet.

In this book, renowned basketball player Kobe Bryant invites his readers to see his career from his own perspective. It narrates between its pages of who learned, how he managed to resist and how he never accepted defeat as an option. Mamba mentality It is an ode to effort and improvement.

“When I hear people say that they have been inspired by the mamba mentality, I think that all my work, all my effort and all the sweat, has been worth it. That is why I have written this book. All the pages contain teachings, not only about basketball, but also about the mamba mentality. That is, about life.

rate post

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.