Book #4: The Book of Basketball

I read Bill Simmons's Book of Basketball in April, and loved it. Simmons- aka The Sports Guy on ESPN.com- took the one thing he does best in the world (talk about the NBA) and ran with it, to the tune of 700 pages. Not a light read. That said, the pages turned quickly. The discussion points (why Bill Russell is better than Wilt Chamberlain is the opening argument) certainly encourage debate, though Simmons takes his opinions and spells them out, all while humorously dismantling most dissenting objections.

What I have loved most about reading his work online is the interwoven sports and pop culture references present in just about every piece he does. It makes the reading of sports writing much more enjoyable, as other writers can be purely statistically-driven. This may be interesting material, but it certainly lacks the entertainment value that Simmons provides in his name-dropping of Red and Andy from Shawshank Redemption and how Rocky Balboa ended the Cold War on his Christmas Day fight against Drago.

The Sports Guy has made a career of presenting his arguments from a fan's perspective; in The Book of Basketball, he re-structures the basketball Hall of Fame in terms of a pyramid. The catch is that players reach certain levels of exclusivity based on their performance, which is to say Kobe Bryant deserves a more prestigious level of inclusion than say, Alex English. What this does is not necessarily make the inclusion tougher, but rather reward those who are certainly more deserving of a spot in the Hall.

The best part about the book was the fact that while Simmons' sense of writing comes off as conversational (had I been better-versed in NBA knowledge, I'd argue for or against some of these point at a bar), he speaks from a lifetime's worth of fandom. His previous effort, Now I Can Die in Peace, was more meaningful to me as a baseball fan; I learned more reading this book, though. Simmons chronicles the evolution of the sport, the highs and the lows...all in his entertaining fashion.

Problems with the book include the constant evolution of players, meaning there will be revised editions to come of a 700-page behemoth. I will probably just continue reading his work online, rather than purchase another copy of the book. That said, it's a fantastic and insightful read...and a good arm workout.