Basketball: Olympic Handbook of Sports Medicine

Alan Ross

No team in NBA history has won more consistently throughout the league's fifty-seven-year history than the Los Angeles Lakers, nee Minneapolis Lakers. Though they trail the Boston Celtics in overall pro basketball championships, sixteen to fifteen—the Lakers won two pre-NBA titles in addition to their thirteen NBA crowns—the Lakers reigned through four different epochs: the George Mikan years (six titles), the Wilt Chamberlain-Jerry West era (one crown), the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar-Magic Johnson-James Worthy teams (five championships), and the more recent Kobe Bryant-Shaquille O'Neal dynasty (three consecutive titles) at the turn of the century. Their star power is second to none. The list of big-name Lakers reads like a who's who of hoopdom: Mikan, MIkkelsen, Lovellette, Baylor, West, Chamberlain, Goodrich, Abdul-Jabbar, Johnson, Worthy, Wilkes, O'Neal, and Bryant. And don't forget the great coaches: John Kundla, Bill Sharman, Pat Riley, and Phil Jackson. Lakers Glory...

John F. Grabowski

Coming into the NBA as an expansion team in 1966, the Bulls experienced many years of frustration before Michael Jordan and company made them the team of the '90s, winning six NBA championships in the decade.

Clare Martin

Take Your Best Shot... Authorized by the National Basketball Association, here is the ultimate trivia challenge for hoopsters of all ages. Filled with more than 700 multiple-choice questions, Official NBA Trivia will test your basketball acumen on all aspects of the league including: All-time records Arenas Past and present players Players' nicknames Coaches Award winners Retired numbers Rules of the game And more See how much you really know about the NBA in chapters devoted to each of the league's twenty-nine franchises, from the Atlanta Hawks to the Washington Wizards, and discover interesting facts, stats, and figures about them all. From the epic battles of the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers to the heated rivalry between the New York Knicks and the Miami Heat, to recent contests in Canada between the Toronto Raptors and the Vancouver Grizzlies, you'll...

James Naismith

James Naismith was teaching physical education at the Young Men’s Christian Association Training College in Springfield, Massachusetts, and felt discouraged because calisthenics and gymnastics didn’t engage his students. What was needed was an indoor wintertime game that combined recreation and competition. One evening he worked out the fundamentals of a game that would quickly catch on. Two peach half-bushel baskets gave the name to the brand new sport in late 1891. "Basketball: Its Origin and Development" was written by the inventor himself, who was inspired purely by the joy of play. Naismith, born in northern Ontario in 1861, gave up the ministry to preach clean living through sport. He describes Duck on the Rock, a game from his Canadian childhood, the creative reasoning behind his basket game, the eventual refinement of rules and development of equipment, the spread of amateur and professional teams throughout the world, and the growth of women’s basketball (at first...

Kyle Wright

What NBA team was the greatest ever? For basketball fans, that question can lead to widespread debate. Sports journalist and basketball enthusiast Kyle Wright has created a new and unique computer formula to rank every team in NBA history. Coining it as the POST formula, Wright assigns ratings to all NBA teams based on how they stack up to other comparable teams during any year—from the number of wins and losses to points scored and points allowed. The result is a complete ranking that takes you from number one to number 1,153.