The Soul of Basketball: The Epic Showdown Between Lebron, Kobe, Doc, and Dirk That Saved the NBA

The Soul of Basketball tells the story of an NBA prodigy, his league and their sport in the throes of crisis during the pivotal 2010-11 season. It began with The Decision, that infamous televised moment when uber-star LeBron James revealed that he was leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers - thereby distancing himself from his role model Michael Jordan - to pursue his first championship with his former opponents on the Miami Heat.

To the great fortune of LeBron, the NBA and basketball itself, the mission didn't work out as planned. In the cultural tradition of Moneyball and Friday Night Lights, veteran NBA writer Ian Thomsen portrays the NBA as a self-correcting society in which young LeBron is forced to absorb hard truths inflicted by his rivals Kobe Bryant, Doc Rivers and Dirk Nowitzki, in addition to lessons set forth by Pat Riley, Gregg Popovich, Larry Bird, David Stern, Joey Crawford and many more.

This is about the making of a champion. Brimming with inside access, The Soul of Basketball tells the inspiring story of LeBron's loneliest year, insecure and uncertain, when his ultimate foe was an unlikely immigrant who renewed the American game's ideals. From Miami to Boston, Los Angeles to Dallas, Germany to the NBA's Manhattan headquarters, the biggest names in basketball are driven by something more valuable than money and fame - a quest that will pave the way for Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and future generations to thrive.

Author: Ian Thomsen
Publisher: Mariner Books
Published: 04/17/2018
Pages: 352
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.20lbs
Size: 9.10h x 6.10w x 1.30d
ISBN: 9780547746517

Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 02/12/2018
Kirkus Reviews 03/01/2018 pg. 76
Library Journal 03/15/2018 pg. 97

About the Author

IAN THOMSEN is a special contributor to NBA.com and has been writing about sports in America and around the world for three decades on behalf of the Boston Globe, the National Sports Daily, the International Herald Tribune, and Sports Illustrated.