Basketball is one of the most popular sports in history. The sport is praised and honored in NBA 75 THE DEFINITIVE HISTORY. It celebrates 75 years of the sport as the title implies, and makes mention of the most important moments and players in the sport.
Even though we have had to deal with a pandemic for almost two years and sports has taken on a different look, at one time without spectators, that has not detracted from the popularity of basketball. The first pro basketball game was said to have taken place in Toronto at Maple Leaf Gardens between the Toronto Huskies and the New York Knickerbockers. New York won 68-66. Although it was the first game it was not recognized as such until 1949 when the Basketball Association of America and the National Basketball Leagues merged. It is noted the first actual basketball game was played on the campus of Springfield College in Springfield Massachusetts in 1891. It was invented by a Canadian, James Naismith. Rules were different with players kicking, punching, and tackling, but it provided interest in such a sport as rules were altered.
The book follows the progression of basketball on a yearly basis even noting the Harlem Globetrotters beating the Minneapolis Lakers in a 1949 game. The color barrier was broken in the sport in 1950 when Chuck Cooper became the first black player drafted, selected by the Boston Celtics.
Basketball has seen its share of great players over the years, with every one of them noted in the book. Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Kobe Bryant, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal, Magic Johnson and dozens more are profiled, along when they joined their respective teams and the accomplishments of each of them. Records are noted such as the Los Angeles Lakers holding the longest winning streak, 33 games in 1973.
Any fan of the sport will enjoy this most complete edition, a definite keepsake as the sport is honored for what it has brought to the lives of players and fans.