The Official Nba Encyclopedia (Official Nba Basketball Encyclopedia, 3rd Ed) [BARGAIN PRICE] (Hardcover)

by Michael Jordan (Author), National Basketball Association (Author), Jan Hubbard (Author), David J. Stern (Author) "The beauty of the play stems from its simplicity and a reliance on nonverbal communication..." (more)
Key Phrases: consecutive seasons leading league, ste als, most seasons leading league, Season Totals, New York, Playoff Totals (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
This update of the 1989 edition has a 50,000-copy first printing.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist
Last revised in 1994, this hefty volume reviews every NBA season and provides stats for every player who has ever played in the league. RBB
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 911 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday; 3rd edition (October 17, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385501307
• ASIN: B00008NRHY
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,985,793 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars New Encyclopedia has absolutely everything!, May 26, 2001

By	Erik J. King (Jacksonville, FL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Official NBA Basketball Encyclopedia (3rd Edition) (Hardcover)

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.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Needs To Be More User Friendly, October 25, 2000

By	David Glagovsky (Arlington, Virginia USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Official NBA Basketball Encyclopedia (3rd Edition) (Hardcover)

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.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Everything you wanted to know about NBA history, January 26, 2001

By	Mariano N. Capalbo (Buenos Aires, Argentina) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Official NBA Basketball Encyclopedia (3rd Edition) (Hardcover)

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.