Customer Reviews

Keepin' It Real:: A Turbulent Season At The Crossroads With The Nba

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I ordered "Keepin' It Real" largely based on the other Amazon reviews. Live and learn. I do agree with the others that the book is a quick-and-easy read. But I think therein lies its problem. Platt sidesteps a meaty topic--the future of the post-Jordan NBA--to wax sycophantic about hangin' with high-flying NBA hip hoppers. Save the touchy-feely fluff for GQ and People Magazine! If I'm going to shell out $20 bucks, I want level-headed analysis and insight into the future of the NBA. And, on both counts, Platt falls flat.

Take his profile of Chris Webber. Platt is right on the money that Webber is a good guy. Insiders know this. But what serious fans struggle with is why Webber has yet to reach his oncourt potential? Was the bar set too high in Washington? Remember: High expectations brought Webber to Washington; high expectations--and teammate Juwan Howard's unmoveable contract--ran him out of town. Platt doesn't touch the subject. He also forgets to mention that one of Webber's worst misteps that season was skipping a team-sponsored event with season ticket holders. Or, what about Webber's brushes with management regarding team planes and personnel moves? As a Wizards fan, trust me, Platt missed a lot of telling details in the Chris Webber saga. Hangin' with C-Webb for a few nights out of the year just ain't enough to qualify Platt as a basketball expert.

And so it goes with the other one-sided pro-player profiles. A generous heaping of objectivity could have saved this book and made a meaningful contribution to the ongoing debate about the future of a multi-billion dollar industry. Keepin' It Real? Get real!

In his book, Platt reveals some of what goes on behind the headlines. If anything, it makes us think twice about what the league, management and media types say about the people who actually play the game. While they are paid professionals, Platt shows us how little their pre-NBA experiences prepare the players for the big time and all that fame brings them.

The language used in the book - while rough - only adds to the impact of what the players themselves have to say about what is happening. If anything, language is obviously used as a weapon (esp. in Charles Barkley's case). You really have to think more about the message's intent rather than how it's expressed.

Great book - highly recommended to all those starry-eyed wannabes who think they have the right stuff.

This book rocks. Larry Platt walks the walk and talks the talk of five NBA "playas." With a keen semiotic eye, Platt shows how the media often distort microscopic details of these athletic icons' lives to suit pre-conceived "narratives" of "good" and "bad" players. Not coincidentally, these narratives usually conform to old, ugly archtypes about race. In this day in age, it's amazing to read how "keepin' it real" Barkley-style, or Vernon Maxwell-style, is sometimes interpreted by NBA higher-ups still stuck in a post-plantation mentality as the antics of "rebellious niggers," to quote (from a quote in) the book.

Platt is one great reporter. He got very close to his players. Arguably too close. One can't help but notice a powerful homoerotic longing underlying many of Platt's interactions with his "playas." Read the book and you'll see. It can be quite titillating!

This book gave a insight to the NBA that i have been unaware of. Larry Platt took five different NBA players and told about there strugles and their succeses. This is a great book if you are interested in the behind the scenes of the NBA. The book gave me a different perspective on the lives of NBA stars

While I can't feel sympathy for high-paid professional athletes under any circumstances, I loved this book's perspective. Platt went deep inside, rolling through the nights and smoking blunts with the playas to deliver an excellent look inside today's NBA.

the author successfully tracks the ups & downs of 5 young men from various backgrounds as they achieve varying degrees of success in life as they work to survive in the nba.If you are a fan of bball you will enjoy the real life stories.

A masterful look at misunderstood genius Vernon Maxwell and four other NBA greats and not-so greats. (when was the last time Matt Maloney got into a game?). Proust has nothing on Platt. However, I could have done with a little less of the obscenities. Clean it up, Mr. Platt! Otherwise, you've joined the ranks of such esteemed young sports journalists as Benjamin Wallace and Mike Wise.

It was interesting to note the different backgrounds and how each led a life that ultimately took them to fame and fortune and everything that goes with it, You do not have to be a sports fan to enjoy this - it is a good story about young men who happen to be exceptional in a field that has great monetary benefits.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book because it reveals the reality of NBA life. The author spent a year with five players: Charles Barkley, Chris Webber, Matt Maloney, Vernon Maxwell and Jerry Stackhouse. His research pays off with an-off-the-court, behind-the-scenes look at NBA life. The groupies, the partying, the lifestyle that these players have become used to as they try to "Keep it Real-" its' all on display in this book. It's a fascinating account of the NBA prior to the lockout.

I found the book kept my attention and the characters (real life) were very interesting. It was easy to read for myself (not being an avid sports fan). I think it makes you realize how vulnerable these young players are to the horrors of this profession. I think the management should take more responsibility for their welfare after they lure them in. But in the end we are all responsible for our own actions, as Larry so clearly puts it. Highly recommended. Great new writer.