Customer Reviews

The Art of a Beautiful Game: The Thinking Fan's Tour of the NBA (Sports Illustrated)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

It's fashionable to say that pro athletes don't have anything interesting to say. Maybe that's because they're not being asked the right questions. Chris Ballard, who covers the NBA for Sports Illustrated, asks the right questions. Namely, he gets players to talk at length on what they're most passionate about -- the intricacies of the sport that is their life's work. These men are justifiably proud of their tricks of their trade, and they'd much rather describe how best to challenge a shooter without fouling him or block a shot from the weak side than answer the umpteenth question on where they might sign their next contract. It helps, too, that Ballard is a former college player and lifelong gym rat who can convince the players that he speaks their language, even if it turns out (SPOILER ALERT!) he may or may not be able to beat Steve Kerr in a 3-point shootout.

Perhaps best of all, Ballard relates all this insider scoop as if he was one of your buddies sharing a beer. That's presuming that one of your pals is able to get face time with Kobe, LeBron, Yao and company and report back not just with the hard facts but the juicy nuggets and gossip that make a night at the bar so sublime. That's what this book is: the ideal virtual drinking companion for the NBA fan. Bottoms up.

I chose Ballard's book over Bill Simmons' better-selling tome to serve a specific purpose: introduce my wife - who has developed an obsessive rooting interest in our local five (the 17-time champion Celtics) - to some of the finer points of the NBA game.

That, it turns out well for us, is a perfect use for Ballard's work. I don't say this to imply that it was beneath me (I am no basketball maven myself), or that it was great "for the little lady," but mean it as a recommendation of the book as a very smart, very accessible look at the finer points of the mechanical and strategic points of the game.

Ballard uses access to specific well-known NBA stars to explain the mechanics of things like the jump shot (Steve Kerr) and the box out (Dwight Howard), and he is able to fit in some anecdotes that never really feel too cutesy.

Between Ballard's book and the DVR rewind feature, my wife is now appreciating the games even more thoroughly, picking out pick and rolls but also beginning to really stretch her legs by doing things like watching action off the ball. That is the way to enjoy the NBA. Ballard's book will help you do it.

I think Chris Ballard has used this book to write from a very unique perspective. The author as fan. What I love about the
book is that he doesn't just dig into questions he assumes the fan-at-large might want to know. He asks questions he as a
hoop fan would want to know. And I think that makes him more connected to the reader. I found tips on bettering my game, stats
that'll sell my hoop talk with friends, and a sympatico soul -- someone who loves the game as much as I do.

This book is a real insider's gem of reporting. Chris Ballard does for basketball what George Will did for baseball, in Men at Work. Ballard's tenacious reporting skills, and obvious passion for the NBA make this book a treat for NBA fans (like myself), who want to know how the best NBA players approach their craft. Additionally, Ballard has a gift for getting behind the stars' carefully groomed personas, to give us glimpses of the players' passions and fears (who knew that Eric Snow made a highlights dvd of him dunking in college, to silence the mockery of his younger teammates). I just loved how Ballard tracked down Kobe's benchwarmer hs teammate and nash's hs coach, to gain a sense of their character. This kind of shoe-leather-heavy effort makes it seem that most sports reporters are lazy. Maybe they aren't, but with this book Ballard stands out from the pack. If you like the NBA, buy this book.

I love NBA basketball and I loved this book. Chris Ballard does an excellent job covering the quintessential areas of basketball: Pure shooting, rebounding nuances, the dunk, the paradoxes of the free throw, shot blocking and more. He has carefully selected examples about well-known players, past games, and basketball highlights worth reviewing again and again. His spin is not so much on basketball mechanics, but the mental aspect of players and how that effects their performances for better or worse. Reading this book will forever change the way I watch a basketball game. Ballard's chapter on the art of rebounding has made me pay much more attention to those like Dwight Howard, who have honed this skill. It is the kind of book that I didn't want to put down.

I've always thought that NBA players rely pretty much on god-given athleticism to go out and score 20. But this book shows just how insanely dedicated the best ballplayers are about mastering skills like shot-blocking, boxing out or shooting a trey. I mean, they really study the stuff. Each of the profiles - Kobe, Yao Ming, Reggie Miller, etc. - could be titled, "Here's exactly what I'm thinking when I'm on the court. Glad you asked." Players actually love talking about the six different foot drills they do each day, the angle they hold their hands when they push off a screen, etc. And when they open up about that stuff, you start to get a sense about who they really are as people. Well, at least a far better sense than with most of the stuff I read or see about the NBA.

The author, who played college hoops, also engages players on and off the court for some pretty funny personal anecdotes - his story about meeting Shaq on his big, bad motorcycle is priceless. There's just tons of great details in the book about locker room rituals, player rivalries, etc, too. Call it a cliche, but I don't think I'll watch an NBA game the same way again.

Three words: Buy this book.

Unless you definitively dislike basketball or are just a generally unhappy person, you will be instantly drawn into this colorful and insightful tour of the fundamental skills, subtle techniques, and diverse personalities of today's NBA. Ballard's remarkable access to the NBA's top talents, familiarity with the game, and immediately accessible and entertaining writing style make this the best sports book I have read in years.

Ballard's only mistake was in limiting his sub-title to "The Thinking Fan's Tour of the NBA." While the finer points in every chapter are no doubt informative and stimulating for even the most advanced fan, the fact is that this is a great book for those (like me) who haven't had the time, energy or interest in keeping abreadst of the NBA, but who remember basketball from our youth and hope that the art of a beautiful game is not lost on today's slam-dunk talent. Ballard's book clearly demonstrates that the art is not only alive and well, but soaring to new levels in today's NBA. Even for those who have never played basketball, this book is a winner simply because of Ballard's talents as a storyteller. Thanks for the great ride, Mr. Ballard!

Basically this book takes individual skills per chapter (mindset, shooting, passing, defense, rebounding, etc.), breaks them down by analyzing players that excel in each skill (Nash for passing, Dwight Howard for rebounding, Battier for d) and explains how each of them has perfected their particular skill through interviews, analysis, and actual experience.

My favorite part of the book was the chapter on Kobe Bryant's competitiveness and killer instinct. I am not a Kobe fan but after reading this, it gives me better understanding on why he is the way he is.

Overall, I would recommend this book. It's easy to read and it makes you appreciate the game better.

I never played a day of organized basketball, despite my 6-6 height and a wingspan reminiscent of Tayshaun Prince. Only in recent years, now that my vertical measures the same as a crippled hippo, have I started playing rec ball on anything approaching a regular basis. I just never connected with the game in a way that many of my friends have. I never liked the style-over-substance impression I always got from watching NBA ball. Playing more regularly helps me appreciate the sport in a way I never did in the past. This book actually got me appreciating the NBA game in a way I never did in the past.

I had to read a lot of reviews about this book before deciding to buy a copy. I have zero interest in reading yet another image-controlled, David Stern-approved look at NBA stardom. (If you're on the fence, like I was, go online and Google this book. Read the reviews from the people who live and breathe the game.) Like those guys, I didn't want the same random crap about a player's life off the court. Hell, I'm just starting to find myself enjoying the game on a new level; I want to know why the greatest players in the world love it as much as they do. What motivates them? How do they approach the game? What is the substance behind all that NBA-approved sheen? This book, more than any other I've read, peels away all the crap and carves right down to what makes Kobe so lethal, LeBron so powerful and Battier so maddening to opponents.

I think Ballard is the kind of guy who loves the monster dunk, yet knows when it's just another two points and when it truly swings momentum. There's a difference there that never shows up on those ridiculous ESPN highlights. That's the substance of the game, the stuff I'm starting to really connect with now that I'm playing. And that's the stuff that Ballard brings out so well in this book.

When I read the wonderful title and subtitle I was immediately intrigued. Something for the "thinking fan"! Ballard has some good insights and good exposure to top players for interviews, but the book is a little too breezy to me.

The best chapter of the book was excerpted in its entirely in Sports Illustrated recently ("The Hoops Whisperer" about a unique personal trainer of NBA players), leading me to believe more, more, more was coming when I cracked the pages. When you compare this book to something like Dan Coyle's "The Talent Code", there is a clear separation in quality and depth of the writing. Ballard says that this project came about from three years of work; Coyle similarly says he spent a couple years traveling the globe seeking out talent pockets and studying them. Coyle took that raw data and fashioned a detailed philosophical theory about how talent is developed. Ballard's book felt like a bunch of Sports Illustrated articles thrown together without a tremendous amount of extra value added from the author.

Think about it - the NBA is "Where Amazing Happens", athletes like Kobe Bryant and LeBron James are among the most popular public figures in the world, and the thinking fan definitely deserves a fantastic presentation of in-depth analysis of what makes these guys tick on and off the court. This book fell short for reasons I can't quite put my finger on except to contrast it with some like Coyle's Talent Code or Lance Armstrong's War. For example, things like lame metaphors dropped in here and there or the haughty writer penchant for serving up little digs in print about people he is interviewing are not a huge deal, but they are a bit lazy, disruptive and serve no means to advance the story.

That said, the book offers stuff you can't get elsewhere, some memorable tips for athletes and some excitement and levity too. I would certainly spend the money on it again, but I am compelled to clarify that it falls short of a masterpiece that it had the potential to be thanks to the subject matter.