"Through 100 evocative, often stunning photographs, as well as the stories that accompany them, Sports Illustrated visits the great arc of basketball history. Featuring historical coverage and vivid photography covering the men's, women's, and college games, basketball's rich and remarkable history is here. Unforgettable events live in a continuum with stirring photos of the game’s most beloved and largest personalities such as Michael Jordan,...

"The 1980s were a transformative decade for the NBA. Since its founding in 1946, the league had evolved from a bruising, earthbound game of mostly nameless, underpaid players to one in which athletes became household names for their thrilling, physics-defying play. The 1987 season was the peak of that golden era, a year of incredible drama that featured a pantheon of superstars in their prime-the most Hall of Famers competing at one time in any given...

"In 1991, Michael Jordan was on the brink of his first national championship and global superstardom. As he overcame stiff competition from the reigning titans of basketball and solidified his iconic status in the imagination of the American public, every new success created unprecedented commercial possibilities. Yet his life grew increasingly isolating. Every game, every appearance on television, amplified the public clamoring for Jordan to meet...

A riveting, humorous memoir from Kenny "the Jet" Smith - superstar basketball commentator, host of top-rated Inside the NBA, and two-time NBA champion. Smith reveals his thoughtful views on race, the NBA, his upbringing, and an abundance of poignant, colorful inside stories about the star players, coaches, and mentors who taught and inspired him along the way. -- adapted from jacket flap "A riveting memoir from Kenny Smith ("Kenny the Jet")--superstar...