Review
"...the writing is sharp, and it's clear Lazenby knows his stuff. "Mad Game" creates an image of a young player whose determination leaves him aloof, whose lack of a college experience deprives him of some necessary team skills and whose playground style frustrates his teammates." --
Washington Times"Subtitled The NBA Education of Kobe Bryant, the 313-page biography is proof that there is no such thing as a charmed life...Lazenby's book makes startlingly clear Bryant, 21, also is like you and me, tiptoeing around hostile co-workers and getting blamed for every little thing that goes wrong on the job and knowing at least one of the smiling faces he sees every day is trashing him behind his back." --
LA Daily News
From the Back Cover
Welcome to the world of Kobe Bryant, where expectations are huge but self-confidence is even greater. Already a veteran of three NBA seasons at age 21, he lives on the edge of his testosterone-laced dreams. Totally obsessed, totally committed, totally talented; putting every part of himself into becoming the greatest and most dominant--what he and other young NBA players call The Man. In
Mad Game, Roland Lazenby goes behind the scenes to explore Bryant's world, where the young star couples his iron will with enormous self-assurance to battle elements within the NBA that would force him to reshape his dreams. Brant left his Pennsylvania high school in 1996 as a 17-year old phenom to join the glitzy Los Angeles Lakers. Within months he faced a wave of media hype declaring him the next Michael Jordan.
Mad Game is the story of how these circumstances propelled his rapid rise through the NBA, only to result in conflict with--and, ultimately, alienation from--his veteran teammates. A cautionary tale emerges from Bryant's hard lessons along the road to NBA stardom. Yet it's also a story of triumph, of a uniquely gifted young athlete trying to remain true to himself and the game.
