It’s basketball season! I have to admit, I don’t watch it and don’t know the first thing about who has made it to the Sweet Sixteen or whether or not it has even started, but I’m sure that many of you are. So, for you, I have conducted some research on fiction and nonfiction books about basketball and have compiled a list of sixteen sweet reads for you. All synopses based on Goodreads. Enjoy! (Scroll past pinnable graphic for book descriptions!)
It's #MarchMadness for books! Check out these sweet sixteen reads about basketball. Click To Tweet
- The Unraveling of Mercy Louis by Keija Parssinen – An incredible story about a high school senior basketball player and her struggles during her final year.
- Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success by Phil Jackson – An autobiography by the former head coach of the Chicago Bulls and the LA Lakers.
- Sum It Up: 1,098 Victories, a Couple of Irrelevant Losses, and a Life in Perspective by Pat Summitt – An autobiography of the coach with the most wins in the NCAA and her struggle with early-onset Alzheimers.
- Jump by Mike Lupica – A fiction suspense novel about a basketball player accused of rape.
- My Losing Season by Pat Conroy – A memoir about Conroy’s time as a basketball player at the Citadel in the late 1960’s.
- The Last Shot: City Streets, Basketball Dreams by Darcy Frey – The story of a life playing basketball on Coney Island and the the challenges they face.
- The Franchise: Lebron James and the Remaking of the Cleveland Cavaliers by Terry Pluto – The title says it all, so if you’re a LeBron fan, this is for you.
- Fab Five: Basketball, Trash Talk, The American Dream by Mitch Albom – From Goodreads: “The all-freshmen starting basketball team that wowed the country and stormed through the 1992 NCAA college basketball tournament.”
- The Miracle of St. Anthony: A Season with Coach Bob Hurley and Basketball’s Most Improbable Dynasty by Adrian Wojnarowski – The story of a coach who takes troubled kids off of the streets and changes their lives with basketball.
- The Basketball Diaries by Jim Carroll – A book about basketball that was made into a movie with Leonardo DiCaprio.
- Fall River Dreams: A Team’s Quest for Glory, A Town’s Search for Its Soul by Bill Reynolds – The true story of a town with a past and their attempt at glory.
- The Last Amateurs: Playing for Glory and Honor in Division I College Basketball by John Feinstein – The story of those who play for the love of the game in a tiny league.
- They Call Me Coach by John Wooden and Jack Tobin – An autobiography of this famous coach.
- The Book of Basketball: The NBA According to The Sports Guy by Bill Simmons and Malcolm Gladwell – From Goodreads: “Nowhere in the roundball universe will you find another single volume that covers as much in such depth as this wildly opinionated and thoroughly entertaining look at the past, present, and future of pro basketball.”
- Hoop Dreams: True Story of Hardship and Triumph by Ben Joravsky – The story of Arthur Agee and William Gates, who were determined to make it to the NBA.
- Playing for Keeps: Michael Jordan and the World He Made by David Halberstam – You know, a book about Michael Jordan.
If you purchase books from the links above, I receive a small commission, so thank you!
