Amazon Exclusive: Bill Walton Reviews When the Game Was Ours Bill Walton played in the NBA for 13 years, and in 1996, was named one of the top 50 players in NBA history. He's been an analyst for CBS Sports and NBC Sports, and since 2002, he's been a game analyst for ESPN NBA telecasts. Read his guest review of When the Game Was Ours: Larry Bird and Magic Johnson are transcendent, iconic and timeless standard bearers of excellence who changed "The Game" forever, always bringing out the best in each other and never failing to put a smile on all our faces. I was one of the lucky ones. I had the incredible good fortune to have witnessed firsthand the Bird/Magic rivalry. It was an intense and constant thing for us all. But even I didn't realize how powerful their connection was until I read When the Game Was Ours, a riveting and page-turning masterpiece that could only be written with the help of someone like Jackie MacMullan, who was there every step of the way and who sensed there was a whole lot more to their story than what happened on the court or got played over and over again on the highlight reels. In this book, Larry and Magic tell stories like they never have before. I was enthralled, page after page. Theirs was a unique relationship. They were polar opposites, but in ways few of us realized they were very much the same. They both wanted the same thing, day in and day out--to win. And did they know how to win. When the Game Was Ours perfectly captures the defining moments of their lives from the very beginning of their fiercest of rivalries through their constantly evolving historical relationship and friendship right up to the present. This epic tome is the capstone of their landmark careers. It is also so much more than anyone could ever dream for. When the Game Was Ours brilliantly explains why "The Game" will always belong to Larry and Magic.--Bill Walton (Photo © Joe Faraoni/ESPN) Amazon Exclusive: A Q&A with Larry Bird and Magic Johnson Amazon.com: It was interesting to learn that a fast break during an exhibition game sparked the start of your long friendship. Talk about that play and how it set the stage for future Bird vs. Magic battles. Larry Bird: What I remember about that play was we had the defender spinning around like a top because we moved the ball so quickly. I had never played with anyone who could pass the ball like Magic. I was blown away by the things he was doing on the court. But once we were done as teammates on that All-Star team, I moved on. And, a year later, when we played against each other for the NCAA championship, I treated him like he was just another guy. I wasn't too big on being friendly with people I was trying to beat. I think that upset him, but I didn't care. I was always taught, "Don't talk to the enemy." Earvin "Magic" Johnson: I already knew about Larry before we played in the World Invitational Tournament. I was dying to meet this guy who went to Indiana, quit school, worked on a garbage truck, then came back and started putting up really big numbers for Indiana State. We played on the second team together during those exhibitions, and the way we moved the ball, we were better than the starters! That one play was so fast, so amazing, those Russian players had no idea what hit them. We didn't spend a whole lot of time together off the court, because Larry kept to himself, but I was real excited the following spring when I realized our Michigan State team was going to play his Indiana State team for the NCAA championship. I went over to say hello to him at the press conference a day or two before the game, and he totally blew me off. I couldn't believe it. I left thinking, "That Larry Bird, he's kind of a jerk." And the rivalry was on. Amazon.com: Where did you each develop your love for the game? Bird: My two older brothers, Mike and Mark, played basketball all day long. They were bigger and stronger than me, so they were better in the beginning. But I loved the way it felt when the ball dropped through the strings, so I was out there all the time, day and night, working on my game. I wasn't going to stop until I could beat my brothers. And by the time that happened, I was hooked on the game. I couldn't live without it. Johnson: I honestly can't remember a time when basketball wasn't a part of my life. I grew up in a big family, so we played all kinds of sports, including basketball. I loved the way the ball felt in my hands. I took my ball with me everywhere--to school, to the store, to the school dances. People in Lansing, Michigan, got used to seeing me walking down the street dribbling my ball. I wasn't going to stop until I was in the NBA. Amazon.com: If you could each replay one game from the past, which would it be and why? Bird: I'd like to go back to the 1987 Finals, to the game when Magic sunk his junior junior hook. It was down to the final seconds, and Magic had Kevin McHale isolated out on the wing, and when he drove past him to the basket, our center, Robert Parish, came over to help, and I came over from the weak side, but probably a second too late. I never expected Magic to shoot a hook. I had never seen him do anything like that before. People forget that even after that basket, we still had a chance to pull it out. I got a great look from the baseline in the final seconds, but the shot rolled off. If I could go back and replay that game, maybe we would have won it, and possibly the series as well. Johnson: That's easy. I'd go back to Game 2 of the 1984 Finals, when we were in Boston and about to take a 2–0 lead in the series, and instead I called a time-out in the final seconds. If I hadn't called it, we would have run out the clock and taken total command of the series. Instead, because of the time-out, the Celtics were able to set their defense, and James Worthy's pass was intercepted by Gerald Henderson. That was one of the most disappointing losses of my career, and I've never forgotten it. Amazon.com: One of the most powerful moments in the book surrounds November 7, 1991--the day Magic announced he was HIV positive. Magic, why was it so important to you to contact Larry before the news hit? Johnson: You've got to understand that by this point, we're like Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali. Nobody talked about one of us without mentioning the other. We were that connected. I knew the minute the news hit, people would be flocking to get a reaction from both Larry and Michael Jordan, so I felt I had to give them some warning. Also, by then, Larry and I had developed a bit of a relationship. In spite of all our battles, I felt a real affection for him. He needed to know, and he needed to know from me. Amazon.com: Larry, what do you remember most about that day? Bird: The feeling I had in the pit of my stomach. It was a horrible, awful feeling. I just remember lying in my room, trying to take a nap, and all I could think about was that Magic would be dead soon. At that time, we didn't know much about HIV. We all just assumed he had been given a death sentence, and that was really shocking to think about. Amazon.com: How did winning a gold medal with the 1992 Dream Team compare to winning an NBA championship? Johnson: That whole experience in Barcelona was amazing, fantastic. At that point, I was technically retired from the NBA because of my HIV illness, and I missed basketball so much. To be out there playing for my country, not to mention alongside Larry and Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley and Patrick Ewing, was one of the biggest thrills of my life. I savored every single moment of it. Bird: It was a little harder for me because my back was in such bad shape, and sometimes it was hard for me to enjoy it because of the pain. I just wanted to get into a game and make a contribution and be able to say I did it, that I was part of an Olympic team. And once I did that, I was happy. My goals were pretty realistic in Barcelona. Still, I didn't realize how amazing it would feel to be up on that medal stand, alongside Magic, John Stockton, Patrick, and all the guys, with that gold medal around my neck. That is one special memory. Amazon.com: Who carries the NBA torch today? Johnson: There's some great young talent out there, but I've got to choose the Laker, Kobe Bryant. I think he proved in the 2009 NBA championship that he learned how to balance his own individual skills with those of his teammates. That was a big step forward for him. What I liked best about Kobe was watching him enjoy himself. The game is supposed to be fun. Larry and I never lost sight of that. Bird: You certainly couldn't go wrong choosing Kobe, but I'm a LeBron James man. He is so strong. He's also fearless, and he's convinced he can do anything. That's what stands out to me. He still has some steps to take, like bringing the same effort defensively every night that he brings on the offensive end, but he has all the tools to accomplish that. He's going to have a long, successful career that will include some championships of his own. Amazon.com: If you both laced 'em up right now, who would win one-on-one in H-O-R-S-E? Bird: Nobody beats me in H-O-R-S-E. Besides, Magic can't shoot. Johnson: Larry, you'd have no chance against me one-on-one. I've got too many ways to beat you. Plus, as slow as I am, I'm still faster than you. (Photo © Marc Serota RRA Media) Photographs from When the Game Was Ours (Click on images to enlarge) Magic and his high school coach George Fox Larry and his mother Georgia in Salt Lake City, 1979 Magic and Larry in a pregame meeting of team captains Larry and Magic for a NBA promotional campaign Larry and Magic in between takes of the 1985 Converse commercial Larry, Commissioner David Stern and Magic Larry, Michael Jordan, and Magic in their Dream Team uniforms Magic congratulates Larry at his retirement ceremony
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The definitive biography of basketball genius Julius Erving--the icon who transcended his sport and defined an eraJulius Erving, aka Dr. J, was a wizard with the basketball, performing feats the world had never seen before: midair spins and whirls punctuated by powerful slam dunks, which he was the first to glamorize. In a career that lasted from the 1970s well into the 1980s, he was one of the first players to make extemporaneous individual expression an integral part of the game, setting the style of play that has prevailed ever since. He's also long been respected as a gracious, dignified, and disciplined man. As there are great men of history, there are great men of sports, and Dr. J is just such a man.This book tells Dr. J's amazing story, following his basketball journey from his Long Island childhood to the street games of New York City to a college career as his skills, reputation, and character grew. It follows his entrance into the ABA, where he revolutionized the game by glamorizing the dunk, and his conquering of the NBA, where he was Michael Jordan before there was a Jordan. It relates the family struggles he's had since leaving the game and charts the transformation of the man into myth.The first complete biography of one of the greatest and most popular basketball players of all timeDraws on interviews with Dr. J's childhood friends and his family to teammates and coaches at all levelsWritten by a New York Times sports journalist and author of Asphalt Gods: An Oral History of the Rucker TournamentIncludes Erving's years as a player with the Virginia Squires, New York Nets, and Philadelphia 76ersRead Doc and follow the incredible journey of the basketball genius who elevated the game off the hardwood and helped make it America's passion.
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Destroying a dynasty.That was the mission of Wilt Chamberlain and 1966-67 Philadelphia 76ers.For eight straight years, the Boston Celtics had dominated the National Basketball Association. Each and every season during that stretch, a new NBA championship flag was hoisted to the top of the hallowed Boston Garden. No team had been able to stop them. Nobody thought any team could or would.Season of the 76ers, The Story of Wilt Chamberlain and the 1967 NBA Champion Philadelphia 76ers, chronicles the unprecedented, record-setting championship journey of the team that finally stopped the Celtics and became the new kings of the NBA. It tells the story of the legendary Chamberlain's personal triumph over Boston and their leader, Bill Russell, arch rivals who had annually thwarted Chamberlain's championship dreams and had left him branded a loser.But Chamberlain couldn't defeat the Celtics alone. He was reunited with fiery and focused Coach Alex Hannum, the only NBA coach ever to have beaten Boston for the championship. He was surrounded by the best supporting cast of his career: Hal Greer and Chet Walker, two talented offensive stars transplanted from a bygone NBA franchise; Luke Jackson, the league's first true power forward; Billy Cunningham, a sixth man loaded with instant energy and offense; Wally Jones and Larry Costello, a pair of basketball reclamation projects; and, Matty Guokas and Bill Melchionni, a couple of hometown rookies.Chamberlain remade his game, forsaking his own incredible scoring prowess in favor of handing out assists to teammates. In turn, the 76ers remade basketball history, rocketing to an unmatched 46-4 record out of the gate and not stopping until they reached 68-13, a regular season mark never previously achieved in NBA history--or even imagined back then.The book gives fans a fascinating, month-by-month look at the team's amazing season, a season that also saw Chamberlain pursued by both a rival basketball league and the heavyweight boxing champion of the world. It also recounts in vivid, play-by-play detail one of the most historic playoff series in the annals of the NBA.s20The 76ers battled the Celtics again in a much-anticipated post-season confrontation. But this time the results would be different. Amid chants of "Boston is dead" from the long-suffering, Celtics-hating fans at Philadelphia's Convention Hall, the 76ers won the series quickly and decisively. They went on to defeat sharp-shooting Rick Barry and the San Francisco Warriors for the NBA title.In 1995, the 76ers took their place among the top ten teams in NBA history. Season of the 76ers makes the strong case that they are the best NBA team of all time. Packed with pictures, playoff box scores, and reproductions of the 76ers' championship yearbook, the book is not only the biography of a great team, it is a fun- and fact-filled sports collectible.The NBA's 2001-2002 season marks the 35th anniversary of that special "Season of the 76ers"--a fitting time to relive this team's unforgettable achievements.
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The Sixers won 65 games and an NBA championship in 1982-83, still one of the finest seasons in NBA history. It was Moses Malone who, in the days before the playoffs, gave the team its battle cry. Asked by coach Billy Cunningham how he thought things would go in the playoffs, Moses said, "Fo', fo', fo'" - meaning, in Moses' shorthand, that he expected the Sixers to sweep each of the three series they would need to play in order to win a championship. In Pat Williams' Tales from the 76ers, the former Sixers general manager writes about those Sixers - the transcendent talents (and personalities like Julius Erving, Bobby Jones, Maurice Cheeks, and Andrew Toney) that made them special, the years of heartache that preceded the championship run, and a season that was surprisingly devoid of drama.
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A BRILLIANTLY WRITTEN ACCOUNT OF THE NBA’S GLORY DAYS, AND THE RIVALRY THAT DOMINATED THE ERAIn the mid-1950s, the NBA was a mere barnstorming circuit, with outposts in such cities as Rochester, New York, and Fort Wayne, Indiana. Most of the best players were white; the set shot and layup were the sport’s chief offensive weapons. But by the 1970s, the league ruled America’s biggest media markets; contests attracted capacity crowds and national prime-time television audiences. The game was played “above the rim”–and the most marketable of its high-flying stars were black. The credit for this remarkable transformation largely goes to two giants: Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain. In The Rivalry, award-winning journalist John Taylor projects the stories of Russell, Chamberlain, and other stars from the NBA’s golden age onto a backdrop of racial tensions and cultural change. Taylor’s electrifying account of two complex men–as well as of a game and a country at a crossroads–is an epic narrative of sports in America during the 1960s.It’s hard to imagine two characters better suited to leading roles in the NBA saga: Chamberlain was cast as the athletically gifted yet mercurial titan, while Russell played the role of the stalwart centerpiece of the Boston Celtics dynasty. Taylor delves beneath these stereotypes, detailing how the two opposed and complemented each other and how they revolutionized the way the game was played and perceived by fans. Competing with and against such heroes as Jerry West, Tom Heinsohn, Bob Cousy, John Havlicek, and Elgin Baylor, and playing for the two greatest coaches of the era, Alex Hannum and the fiery Red Auerbach, Chamberlain and Russell propelled the NBA into the spotlight. But their off-court visibility and success–to say nothing of their candor–also inflamed passions along America’s racial and generational fault lines. In many ways, Russell and Chamberlain helped make the NBA and, to some extent, America what they are today.Filled with dramatic conflicts and some of the great moments in sports history, and building to a thrilling climax–the 1969 final series, the last showdown between Russell and Chamberlain–The Rivalry has at its core a philosophical question: Can determination and a team ethos, embodied by the ultimate team player, Bill Russell, trump sheer talent, embodied by Wilt Chamberlain? Gripping, insightful, and utterly compelling, the story of Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain is the stuff of sporting legend. Written with a reporter’s unerring command of events and a storyteller’s flair, The Rivalry will take its place as one of the classic works of sports history.
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Charles Barkley, five-time NBA all-star, looks back at his life and basketball career in the same no-holds-barred fashion with which he views everything. Full of his shoot-from-the-lip opinions and outlandish exploits, this book, like the man himself, can only be described as outrageous. 8 pages of photographs.
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This digital document is an article from The Sporting News, published by Sporting News Publishing Co. on March 11, 2005. The length of the article is 768 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.Citation DetailsTitle: 76ers g/f Kyle Korver: in his second season, Kyle Korver has established himself as a potent perimeter threat. Korver is shooting 40.1 percent on 3-pointers and averaging 11.5 points.(Q&A)(Interview)Author: Sean DeveneyPublication: The Sporting News (Magazine/Journal)Date: March 11, 2005Publisher: Sporting News Publishing Co.Volume: 229 Issue: 10 Page: 43(1)Article Type: InterviewDistributed by Thomson Gale
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