The Book of Basketball: The NBA According to The Sports Guy

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Product Reviews

(5 stars) - Sports Guy's Bible
The perfect book for anyone who is a fan of Bill Simmon's. Also, good for anyone who enjoys pro basketball, history, well thought out & researched ideas, mixed with creativity and a sharp sense of humor.

Also, I would like to thank Bill Simmon's for his time on the book tour!

(4 stars) - Great Insights from a Passionate Fan
I have been a fan of Bill Simmons' online Sports Guy columns for several years and I liked his first book on the Boston Red Sox. His latest offering is a fascinating look at the history of the NBA through the eyes of an avid, Boston Celtics loving fan. Simmons' love of the game is evident, and it comes through in his writing. I found his rankings of the top players of all time to be interesting and his re-imagining of the Hall of Fame to be intriguing. However, as one previous reviewer mentioned, I was surprised by the lack of a separate section on referees, despite Simmons' frequent mention and criticism of them in his other writings. I was also surprised that there was not a separate section on the greatest and worst coaches, once again despite Simmons' previous material. Considering that this book ended up being over 700 pages long, perhaps Simmons felt that he could not do justice to these subjects without adding significant length to an already hefty volume. Maybe Simmons will include sections on referees and coaches in the second edition, which will supposedly arrive in 2016 when he needs a quick influx of cash (as humorously mentioned a couple times in this book). Some reviewers have expressed their dislike of the numerous footnotes, but I laughed out loud at a few of them and found myself nodding in agreement as I read many others. While reading the epilogue, I wondered why Simmons and/or his publisher didn't wait until the 2009 NBA season had concluded before putting the book out so that the most current information and statistics could be used. As much as I enjoyed this book, I felt compelled to only give it 4 stars out of 5 due to the numerous typos and other mistakes spread throughout. Those are the sorts of things that should be rectified in the editing process, and I hope that either Simmons' editor does a better job on his next book or is replaced by a better one.

(5 stars) - Everything you wanted to know by a real sports fan
There is a reason this book is over 700 pages, and it's not just so it could stop a bullet. Simmons goes into such depth explaining the history of basketball and creating a tier system to rate the greatest players over the test of time and constantly changing statistics and amount of games played per year.

Despite all this information over the aforementioned 700 pages, Simmons constantly uses funny stories and antidotes to bolster his facts and in some cases amuse his readers and himself. These stories keep the book flowing and also gives the reader the option to put the book down and come back whenever!

This book is the history of basket ball told through one if it's biggest fans and not some historian or crazy stat jockey... Simmons shows us the way to the game of basketball not just by the level of play or talent, but the heart of teamwork and personal sacrifice.

(5 stars) - A book of NBA arguments
This book is wildly entertaining, chalk full of footnotes showcasing The Sports Guy's usual sense of humor, and is a great way to brush up on NBA history, especially if you came to the NBA late as I did. Like his columns, this book is a blend of pop culture and sports, contains his unique opinions and insights as well as the research which he used to arrive at them, and it can be read in multiple installments without sacrificing the overall experience.

(3 stars) - Player Rankings Need Some Serious Re-Working
In this book, among other things, Simmons ranks the 96 greatest players in NBA History and the 20 or so greatest teams. He also has a chapter on who was better Wilt or Bill Russell. He has many other Chapters wherein he opines on a variety of topics that would be good fodder for discussion in a bar.

Over half of the book revolves around his ranking of the 96 greatest players in NBA history. For me, this is the central core of the book and the part of the book that disappointed me the most. Although I realize that any ranking of the 96 best players is bound to include some players that are controversial, one would expect that the players selected would be very close to the Top 96. For me, the inclusion of Robert Horry as all-time player #85 is an unforgiveable joke and the notion that Dennis Rodman is the 69th best player of all-time leaves me speechless. At no time was Dennis Rodman any better than the 3rd best player on his team and he is the 69th best player of all-time? Give me a break.

I got the impression that selections like Horry and Rodman were supposed to add some spice to this book. It simply caused me to question the credibility of the author. Simmons' list excludes many players. I'll mention five- Marques Johnson, Maurice Lucas, Bob Love, Chet Walker and Alonzo Mourning. I would find it astounding that someone who watched basketball in the 70's and 80's would take Bobby Dandridge (Player 79) over Johnson, Lucas, Love or Walker. I would find it silly that someone would take Horry and/or Rodman over the aforementioned players.

I will acknowledge that Simmons' wrote a lengthy book and that he was not afraid to express strong opinions on the players. I'll also acknowledge that he did provide some good insights. A very significant portion of his player rankings was a function of how they "meshed" with the other players not only in terms of their game but also in terms of their attitudes, personalities, etc. Frankly, this was a "spin" that I think he handled pretty well. However, my assessment of this type of book will ultimately be a function of my assessment of Simmons' support for his decisions as to which players were included in the list (as well as their ranking on the list) and which were excluded. For me, Simmons' rankings are so poor that it causes me to question the value of his insights.

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