Customer Reviews

The Official NBA Basketball Encyclopedia (3rd Edition)

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

 

 

The Official NBA Encyclopedia is the best book any hoops fan will ever read. Not only does it hold all the info for the current players, but it holds the complete history of basketball. The NBA, all its seasons, the Draft, International players, coaches, referees, expanding, photos, development, Hall of Fame, and tons of other great stuff are found as well as complete reviews of the ABA,NBL,and ABL. The NBA Seasons in Review is one of my favorite sections. The only negative thing about this book is that the seasons for the NBA are listed backwards. This encyclopedia has every stat for every player that ever played. I love reading this awesome history, and the Official NBA Encyclopedia is the perfect gift for any hoops fan. If I could, I'd give it more than 5 stars.

I know that what other reviews said is true : this book does not have EVERYTHING, but believe me, it's pretty close. More than 900 pages of basketball history is enough to know who made this game as great as it is today. You will learn about the players that lead the path to Kobe, Kevin Garnett and all of today stars, the great coaches, the commisioners, even the referees! You have all the stats for every player that played in the NBA, ABA and NBL. At least for me, that's enough to give it 5 stars.

I agonized (for a very short time) whether to rate this third revised edition of the encyclopedia three or four stars and decided on three. The first thing I noticed about this heavy volume is that there is slight difference in the title. The second edition was called "The Official NBA Basketball Encyclopedia"; this edition is simply "The Official NBA Encyclopedia". I suppose the league figured that If you know what the NBA is, the word "Basketball" is superfluous. Just finding the table of contents is a chore. After the title page, instead of a table of contents, there is a 30-page photo essay showing highlights of the league's history. The table of contents follows this opening section, and having to leaf through all the pictures to get to it gets old after the second time. Although this new edition has the same categories of statistical data as the previous edition (updated through the 1999-2000 season), the arrangement of some information is unorthodox. For example, the "NBA Seasons In Review" are presented in reverse order, so the 1999-2000 season is at the front, and you have to work backwards to find the year you are looking for. Fortunately the "All-Time Player Directory", with each player's complete record, lists names in normal alphabetical order. On the plus side, the pages of these two chapters are marked on the edge opposite the binding, so they are easy to find immediately. Besides the NBA, this book also gives comprehensive coverage to the American Basketball Association, which existed for nine seasons (1967-1976). The chapter on "The International Player" has a handy list of all foreign-born players who ever played in the NBA. The biggest disappointment is the section on "The Coaches". There are articles on the top head coaches, including those with over 400 victories in the NBA. However, unlike the official encyclopedias for major league baseball and the National Football League, there is no register for head coaches where one can look up each coach's professional record (this was missing from earlier editions as well). Most people know that Red Auerbach was the longtime head coach of the Boston Celtics (1950-51 through 1965-66). But he also coached the Washington Capitols for three years before coming to the Celtics. The only way to find any coach's won-lost record is to plow through the "All-Time Team Records" at the beginning of chapter 30. I don't think the reader should have to do that. Chapter 30 also has the NBA's all-time individual records for various statistical categories. One statistic I found fascinating was that Wilt Chamberlain scored 50 or more points in 118 games in his career. In second place is Michael Jordan with 30. If the next edition includes a coaches register, I may upgrade my rating.

This book helped me keep updated on all the roster and salary changes after the 2000-2001 season. It also gives a bit of history with all the championship and allstar game winners. I liked reading the foreward by Michael Jordan. It has sections on the 50 greatest players and the players drafted in every single draft since 1946. I think it is worth buying it because you will learn things and you will enjoy the book!

this encyclopedia is very interesting and very useful. I think every nba fan should buy it. it contains information on every nba player ever! and lots of interesting facts about nba rules, players and franchises. whenever i need to know something about the nba, i go to this encyclopedia.

good: comprehensive player records, performance records, season synopses, articles, draft results. bad: omits comprehensive team records. (rosters for each year). this was included in the 'sporting news' predecessor. a big disappointment.

"THE OFFICIAL NBA BASKETBALL ENCYCLOPEDIA" IS A VERY GOOD AND NECESSARY BOOK FOR EVERY NBA FAN ALL OVER THE WORLD.IF YOU WANT LOTS OF STATS,INTERESTING FACTS,RULES AND MUCH MORE ABOUT NBA,IT IS A VERY GOOD CHOICE. NOTE:YOU WON'T BE SORRY OF THIS INCREDIBLE CHOICE.

If hockey and baseball can have Total Hockey and Total Baseball what is up with basketball? Not a bad book by any means but needs a bit more punch to it. How about more insightful essays like those "Total" books go for?