Ain't No Tomorrow : Kobe, Shaq, and the Making of a Lakers Dynasty [Paperback]

Elizabeth Kaye (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 3, 2003

"Elizabeth Kaye is a wonderful writer--as a reporter she's like a bulldog . . . [she] discovers and explains the game of basketball in a way that no one ever has."--Sylvester Stallone

"An inside look at the near-implosion of a championship team, the 2000-01 Los Angeles Lakers, titans who clashed, grew, gave, and learned to work as one. Like the Lakers, this book is a winner."--Paul Sunderland, commentator for Fox Sports News/NBC

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Journalist Kaye spent the 2000-01 season with the defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers during their up-and-down quest for a repeat title. Coach Phil Jackson's teams are noted for running the Triangle Offense, but what is most evident in following his Lakers is that the Kobe Bryant/ Shaquille O'Neal/Phil Jackson triangle often took on soap-opera proportions. That soap opera is the focus of Kaye's book as she tries to explain how a championship team could implode so quickly in the regular season and then turn things around and come together as a team once again in time for the playoffs. At press time, the season appeared to be following the same story line, and if it ends the same way as last season, the Lakers can truly boast of the dynasty noted in the title of this work. The most interesting perspectives are offered by the many less-famous veteran players who served a valuable role in the championship run. Recommended for all public libraries. John Maxymuk, Rutgers Univ. Lib., Camden, NJ
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

The accepted adage in sports is that getting to the top is tough but staying there is exponentially tougher. The Los Angeles Lakers won the 2000 NBA championship behind Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, and the sage coaching of Phil Jackson. Could they do it again? Yes, but not easily. Author Kaye, whose work has appeared in such publications as Esquire and Rolling Stone, tracks the team's sometimes bumpy road to a repeat championship in 2001. She profiles the individual players and coaches (including the lesser knowns, like basketball gypsy Mike Penberthy); but, more pointedly, she focuses on the ephemeral chemistry that every successful team develops. Phil Jackson comes through as a subtle, clever, and knowing coach, confident enough to retreat to the background when a midseason feud erupted between Shaq and Kobe, the team's foundation. ("Family" spats, Jackson learned during his championship years with the Chicago Bulls, are best allowed to dissipate on their own timeline.) An intelligent, thoughtful examination of the mental focus required for professional sports success. Wes Lukowsky
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill; 1 edition (February 3, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071412611
• ISBN-13: 978-0071412612
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,017,093 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Nothing new for real fans, August 3, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Ain't No Tomorrow : Kobe, Shaq, and the Making of a Lakers Dynasty (Hardcover)

This is a good book for part-time Laker fans. They get to learn a lot about locker room stories.
But if you're someone who regularly follow the Lakers'exploits during the season, on the internet or otherwise, you're not getting any wiser by reading this book. The author was just repeating articles form the LA Times, OCR and other sources. Reading passages in the book you get the feeling that you've already read that somewhere else.
This ain't a David Halberstram book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not Bad, July 23, 2002

By 

Mitch Lowe (Riverside, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ain't No Tomorrow : Kobe, Shaq, and the Making of a Lakers Dynasty (Hardcover)

Ain't No Tomorrow offers a unique perspective on the 2000-2001 World Champion L.A.Lakers in that Ms. Kaye is an outsider with very little - if any - previous basketball experience. She develops close relationships with many of the players, coaches, and members of the travelling media. The best aspect of this book is it's commentary on the individual relationships between the players and coaches. From a basketball standpoint, however, it is found wanting. Kaye's basketball terms and descriptions leave much to be desired as she continually uses improper terms and awkward phrases that detract from the flow of the book. A good read for a die-hard Laker fan - but if you're only going to read one Laker book - I'd pick a different one. Lyle Spencer's perhaps.

4.0 out of 5 stars I like this book, March 22, 2011

By 

Sigurãur Einar Einarsson (Iceland) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Ain't No Tomorrow : Kobe, Shaq, and the Making of a Lakers Dynasty (Hardcover)

I love to read about this great team and this book is great. You get some inside storys and you can go trought the season with this team.
What i dont like is this is one of the best playoffs teams of all time but there are not many pages about the playoffs and that is just wrong.