The bestselling author of Sprawlball, Kirk Goldsberry returns with a visual feast of a bookâequal parts Book of Basketball and Shea Serranoâthat uses sharp writing, his signature graphics, and cutting-edge statistical analyses to unpack how a handful of NBA superstars âMJ to Lebron to Jokicâhave reshaped pro basketball and charted the course to the future of the NBA.
Every few years a talent comes along that disrupts everything we think we know about how the NBA should work. Whether itâs scoring, playmaking, or shooting, these are players and tactics that fundamentally challenge how the game is played and what greatness looks like on a basketball court. For a period of time, these players each become an âAtlasâ for the league, carrying the weight of the NBA on their shoulders, but also providing the roadmap that points the way to the future of the sport. In tandem, they map out the modern NBAâs creation.
Goldsberry returns with a highly visual, electrifying tour through the last three decades of NBA history, showing the âAtlasâ players that have led us out of the brutishness of 90s hoops and into the wide open spaces of the most skilled era in NBA history. Charting the course from Jordan to Jokicâwith plenty of stops along the way for Iverson, Kobe, Curry, and of course LebronâGoldsberry, who was instrumental in helping spur the NBAâs statistical revolution, has designed a vibrant new way to compare and debate the contributions of the best NBA players of all-time. Masterfully connecting NBA past and present through incisive writing and stunning visual statistical analyses, he shows how weâve come to this unprecedented moment, a time when offensive efficiency and shooting percentages are higher than ever.
Using beautifully designed, four-color shot maps and illustrations, Goldsberry offers a graphic journey through the last thirty years of the NBA that covers up to the 2023 season and is as much fun to look at as it is to read. The end result offers stories and analyses of a select group of NBA superstars that open up lively debates, reveal just how singular their talents truly are, and characterize the dramatic 21st-century metamorphosis of the best basketball league in the world.
Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.