Loose Balls : Easy Money, Hard Fouls, Cheap Laughs & True Love in the NBA [Hardcover]

Jayson Williams (Author), Steve Friedman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 7, 2000

The funniest, smartest, most honest book ever written about life in the NBA.

All-Star center Jayson Williams is one of the best players in the NBA, probably the strongest, certainly among the most generous, and definitely the wittiest. His irreverent take on life on and off the court, his sidesplitting one-liners, his pro-fan stance during the 1998 lockout, and his massive donations of time and money to charity have made Williams one of the most popular pro athletes in the country. He's the basketball superstar as human being--down-to-earth, honest, thoughtful, and a naturally hilarious raconteur.

Loose Balls is the basketball book everyone has been waiting for: the first candid report from a land of fragile egos, available women, unexpected tenderness, intramural fistfights, colossal partying, bizarre humor, inconceivable riches, and desperate competition. No inspirational pieties or chest-thumping boasting, just real insider tales of refs, groupies, coaches, entourages, and all the superstars, bench warmers, journeymen, clowns, and other performers in the rarefied circus that is professional basketball.

Loose Balls does for roundball what Ball Four did for hardball. From revelations about the meanest, softest, and smelliest players in the league, to Williams' early days as "a young man with a lot of money and not a lot of sense," to his strong and powerful views on race, privilege, and giving back, Loose Balls is sure to be the most talked-about sports book in years.


All-star center Jayson Williams is one of the best players in the NBA, probably the strongest, definitely the funniest. His irreverent take on life on and off the court and sidesplitting one-liners consistently land him on sportswriters' "all-interview" team and frequent appearances on the "Late Show with David Letterman," "The Rosie O'Donnell Show," ESPN "SportsCenter," and "Imus in the Morning." Jayson's column "The Basketball Diary" appeared during the 1997-1998 season in GQ and Details, and his pro-fan stance during the lockout made him a hero to millions. He's the basketball star as human being--down-to-earth, honest, smart, and a naturally hilarious raconteur.

LOOSE BALLS is the basketball book everyone has been waiting for: the first candid report from a land of fragile egos, easy sex, unexpected tenderness, hand-breaking fistfights, colossal partying, bizarre humor, and inconceivable riches. No inspirational pieties or chest-thumping boasting, just real insider tales of refs, groupies, coaches, entourages, and all the other clowns and performers in the rarefied circus that is professional basketball. -->

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Here's what you probably know about Jayson Williams: as of 2000, he has been in the NBA for 10 years, played in one all-star game, is one of the league's best rebounders, and has a seven-year, $100 million contract. He also has a reputation as a loudmouth with an attitude problem.

Here's what you probably don't know: he comes from a mixed-race family, lost two of his sisters to AIDS, adopted their children, and became a grandfather at 28, plus he calls his mom and dad a few times every day. Here's another thing you might not know about him: he's funny.

Williams shows off his sense of humor in Loose Balls, an irreverent look at life in the NBA. His style is conversational and snappy, with short vignettes strung together into brief, loosely themed chapters. One chapter, "What's Young & Skinny & Can Do a 580-Degree-Double-Pump-Backward Jam but Doesn't Know How to Shoot a Jump Shot or Set a Back-Side Pick? Meet the Future of the NBA" is all of eight pages long. However, by the end of the book Williams has dished the dirt on dozens of his colleagues--who is the biggest flopper (Rodman, of course), who is the worst trash talker (Gary Payton), and who is the dirtiest player (not John Stockton, but his tight shorts are a problem: "Someone should tell the man the ABA days are over.").

Williams also offers observations on coaches, refs, cheerleaders, and fans across the NBA--as well as events from his childhood, early career, and well-publicized days as a wild man. Williams's candor and charm are apparent throughout the book, as is his love of basketball. Hoops fans will love this book. --M. Stein

From Publishers Weekly

The $100-million star of the hapless New Jersey Nets, Williams may want to be remembered as "a good man," but this brash collection of anecdotes and rants shows that he can be as cruel as he is kind. For one, Williams is willing to speak his mind so shamelessly he makes Keyshawn Johnson look shy--yet that brazenness may be the book's greatest strength. His insights into talking trash and team dynamics, his often scathing portraits of coaches and players, his look at front-office machinations--all make for scandalous reading. (Of course, Williams may have to wear a throat guard and flak jacket on the court once other players read this book.) The book's thematic structure, showing that Williams has reformed himself from his wild early days, mixes up old, sometimes violent, escapades with recent good works, such as visiting sick children in hospitals.His accounts of the brutal prejudice he and his family encountered in South Carolina will shock many of his fans, while his descriptions of the intensive loyalty he feels toward his college buddies reveal a more appealing side of his character. In the end, readers may not like Williams, but they'll have had fun hearing him run at the mouth. (Mar.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 276 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday; 1st edition (March 7, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 038549226X
• ISBN-13: 978-0385492263
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #569,591 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #57 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Basketball > Professional

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for all profesional athletes, March 20, 2000

By 

keith van horn (East Rutherford, NJ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Loose Balls : Easy Money, Hard Fouls, Cheap Laughs & True Love in the NBA (Hardcover)

Coming from someone who knows Jayson very well, this book is all he said it was going to be! I've heard these stories a thousand times....and each time they get better! I didn't think I would react the same way to the stories beacuse his delivery is so unique, but I was wrong. I laughed just as hard as I did when I heard them the first time. I did worry a bit because I knew I was going to be in the book, but I even had to laugh at myself. This book is a must-read for sports fans of all kinds!

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars And you'll think you know Jayson, too., May 8, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Loose Balls : Easy Money, Hard Fouls, Cheap Laughs & True Love in the NBA (Hardcover)

If you live in New York or New Jersey, you know someone who knows Jayson Williams. You've heard a good Jayson story- you saw him speeding down Route 78 or in a restaurant somewhere. Well, if you're the one guy who somehow hasn't met Jay, read Loose Balls, and you'll know a suprising amount about him.

He is the funniest man I have ever met. He makes people around him feel like they're tight. He loves kids, even your kids. And he tells some of the best damn stories about sports and athletes and people you'll ever hear. Not all are laugh-out-loud funny. Some are just modest smile inducers. Some are wet your pants funny.

You can read it in an afternoon, or over a few days. Jump from vignette to vignette (you can't really call them "chapters") in no particular order, and enjoy a tour through the life of a ten million dollar man who is more down to earth than the guy who reads your electric meter. Sure, the book would have benefitted from a smooth, glitzy editing job-- but that's not Jayson. This is. It's not world peace or a cure for cancer (though proceeds from the book go to a Parkinson's foundation--his Mom has the disease). Smile a little and rest easy with the knowledge that there is at least one athlete who smiles, laughs and cries with the rest of us.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Loose Balls is a Must!, March 15, 2000

By 

Paul Riccitelli (Connecticut) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Loose Balls : Easy Money, Hard Fouls, Cheap Laughs & True Love in the NBA (Hardcover)

I have read over 200 books in the last 2 years and Loose Balls is the funniest, warmest, and most exciting book I've read in a long, long time! Jayson Williams makes this book easy to read by making this book into little stories through out the book. Plus it's for a great cause! He is donating all the money he makes from this book to a charity reguarding Parkconsin's disease. This is definenitly a must own! Please, you won't be disappointed!