10 Best Basketball, Sports & Recreation Books
Basketball, Sports & Recreation is a popular category for many book lovers. Our team at Speechify has curated a list of the top Basketball, Sports & Recreation audiobooks everyone must read.
See the top 10 Basketball, Sports & Recreation audiobooks below.
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Coach Wooden and Me
- By: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
- Narrator: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
- Length: 6 hours 0 minutes
- Publisher: Hachette Audio
- Publish date: May 16, 2017
- Language: English
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4.37(1653 ratings)
4.37(1653 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0025.98 USDFormer NBA star and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient Kareem Abdul-Jabbar explores his 50-year friendship with Coach John Wooden, one of the most enduring and meaningful relationships in sports history. When future NBA legend KareemFormer NBA star and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient Kareem Abdul-Jabbar explores his 50-year friendship with Coach John Wooden, one of the most enduring and meaningful relationships in sports history.
When future NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was still an 18-year-old high school basketball prospect from New York City named Lew Alcindor, he accepted a scholarship from UCLA largely on the strength of Coach John Wooden’s reputation as a winner. It turned out to be the right choice, as Alcindor and his teammates won an unprecedented three NCAA championship titles. But it also marked the beginning of one of the most extraordinary and enduring friendships in the history of sports. In Coach Wooden and Me, Abdul-Jabbar reveals the inspirational story of how his bond with John Wooden evolved from a history-making coach-player mentorship into a deep and genuine friendship that transcended sports, shaped the course of both men’s lives, and lasted for half a century.
Coach Wooden and Me is a stirring tribute to the subtle but profound influence that Wooden had on Kareem as a player, and then as a person, as they began to share their cultural, religious, and family values while facing some of life’s biggest obstacles. From his first day of practice, when the players were taught the importance of putting on their athletic socks properly; to gradually absorbing the sublime wisdom of Coach Wooden’s now famous “Pyramid of Success”; to learning to cope with the ugly racism that confronted black athletes during the turbulent Civil Rights era as well as losing loved ones, Abdul-Jabbar fondly recalls how Coach Wooden’s fatherly guidance not only paved the way for his unmatched professional success but also made possible a lifetime of personal fulfillment.
Full of intimate, never-before-published details and delivered with the warmth and erudition of a grateful student who has learned his lessons well, Coach Wooden and Me is at once a celebration of the unique philosophical outlook of college basketball’s most storied coach and a moving testament to the all-conquering power of friendship.
Instant New York Times and USA Today Bestseller
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President Barack Obama’s Favorite Book of 2017
A Boston Globe and Huffington Post Best Book of 2017 Pick -
Showtime
- By: Jeff Pearlman
- Narrator: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 18 hours 36 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 2014
- Language: English
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4.33(2469 ratings)
4.33(2469 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0024.95 USDThe New York Times bestselling author of Sweetness delivers the first all-encompassing account of the 1980s Los Angeles Lakers, one of professional sports’ most-revered–and dominant–dynasties. The Los Angeles Lakers of the 1980sThe New York Times bestselling author of Sweetness delivers the first all-encompassing account of the 1980s Los Angeles Lakers, one of professional sports’ most-revered–and dominant–dynasties.
The Los Angeles Lakers of the 1980s personified the flamboyance and excess of the decade over which they reigned. Beginning with the arrival of Earvin “Magic” Johnson as the number one overall pick of the 1979 draft, the Lakers played basketball with gusto and pizzazz, unleashing their famed “Showtime” run-and-gun style on a league unprepared for their speed and ferocity–and became the most captivating show in sports and, arguably, all-around American entertainment. The Lakers’ roster overflowed with exciting all-star-caliber players, including center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and they were led by the incomparable Pat Riley, known for his slicked-back hair, his Armani suits, and his arrogant strut. Hollywood’s biggest celebrities lined the court, and gorgeous women flocked to the arena. Best of all, the team was a winner. Between 1980 and 1991, the Lakers played in an unmatched nine NBA championship series, capturing five of them.
Bestselling sportswriter Jeff Pearlman draws from almost three hundred interviews to take the first full measure of the Lakers’ epic Showtime era. A dazzling account of one of America’s greatest sports sagas, Showtime is packed with indelible characters, vicious rivalries, and jaw-dropping behind-the-scenes stories of the players’ decadent Hollywood lifestyles. From the Showtime era’s remarkable rise to its tragic end–marked by Magic Johnson’s 1991 announcement that he had contracted HIV–Showtime is a gripping narrative of sports, celebrity, and 1980s-style excess.
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Play Their Hearts Out
- By: George Dohrmann
- Narrator: Emily Rose Speer
- Length: 15 hours 7 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 2010
- Language: English
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4.22(4186 ratings)
4.22(4186 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0024.95 USDEight years of unfettered access and a keen sense of a story’s deepest truths allow Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist George Dohrmann to take readers inside the machine that produces America’s basketball stars. Drawing on eight years ofEight years of unfettered access and a keen sense of a story’s deepest truths allow Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist George Dohrmann to take readers inside the machine that produces America’s basketball stars. Drawing on eight years of reporting and telling the very specific tale of one talented young recruit, his coach, and his teammates, Dohrmann immerses listeners in the world of grassroots basketball, where men hunt for future NBA stars and young boys and their parents navigate a tumultuous course in pursuit of basketball glory.
At the book’s heart are the personal stories of two compelling figures: Joe Keller, an ambitious coach with a master plan to find and promote “the next LeBron,” and Demetrius Walker, a fatherless latchkey kid who falls under Keller’s sway and struggles to live up to unrealistic expectations. In Play Their Hearts Out, Dohrmann presents a thoroughly compelling narrative, exposing the gritty reality beneath so many dreams of fame and glory.
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Season on the Brink
- By: John Feinstein
- Narrator: John Feinstein
- Length: 13 hours 0 minutes
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
- Publish date: January 01, 2013
- Language: English
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4.14(7644 ratings)
4.14(7644 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0023.95 USDTwenty-five years after it spent sixteen weeks at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list, John Feinstein’s A Season on the Brink remains the classic of the genre and an unforgettable chronicle of his year spent following the Indiana HoosiersTwenty-five years after it spent sixteen weeks at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list, John Feinstein’s A Season on the Brink remains the classic of the genre and an unforgettable chronicle of his year spent following the Indiana Hoosiers and their fiery coach Bob Knight. This anniversary edition features an updated package and a new Introduction by Feinstein.
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Twenty-five years after it spent sixteen weeks atop the New York Times bestseller list, A Season on the Brink remains the most celebrated basketball book ever written. Granted unprecedented access to legendary coach Bob Knight and the Indiana Hoosiers during the 1985-86 season, John Feinstein saw and heard it all–practices, team meetings, strategy sessions, and midgame huddles–as the team worked to return to championship form. The result is an unforgettable chronicle that not only captures the drama and pressure of big-time college basketball but also paints a vivid portrait of a complex, brilliant coach as he walks the fine line between genius and madness. -
Steve Kerr
- By: Scott Howard-Cooper
- Narrator: Roger Wayne
- Length: 9 hours 51 minutes
- Publisher: HarperAudio
- Publish date: June 15, 2021
- Language: English
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4.01(225 ratings)
4.01(225 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0027.99 USDThe definitive biography of Steve Kerr, the championship-winning basketball player and head coach of the record-breaking Golden State Warriors Few individuals have had a career as storied, and improbable, as Steve Kerr. He has won eight NBAThe definitive biography of Steve Kerr, the championship-winning basketball player and head coach of the record-breaking Golden State Warriors
Few individuals have had a career as storied, and improbable, as Steve Kerr. He has won eight NBA titles–five as a player and three as a coach–for three different franchises. He played alongside the best players of a generation, from Michael Jordan to Shaquille O’Neal to Tim Duncan, and learned the craft of basketball under four legendary coaches. He was an integral part of two famed NBA dynasties. Perhaps no other figure in basketball history has had a hand in such greatness.
In Steve Kerr, award-winning sports journalist Scott Howard-Cooper uncovers the fascinating life story of a basketball legend. Kerr did not follow a traditional path to the NBA. He was born in Beirut to two academics and split his childhood between California and the Middle East. Though he was an impressive shooter, the undersized Kerr garnered almost no attention from major college programs, managing only at the last moment to snag the final scholarship at the University of Arizona. Then, during his freshman season at Arizona, tragedy struck. His father, Malcolm, then the president of the American University of Beirut, was assassinated in Lebanon by terrorists. Forged by the crucible of this family saga, Steve went on to chart an unparalleled life in basketball, on the court and on the sidelines.
The only coach other than Red Auerbach to lead a team to the Finals five consecutive seasons, Kerr seems destined for the Basketball Hall of Fame. Steve Kerr is his incredible story, offering insights into the man and what it takes to be–and make–a champion. Drawing upon Scott Howard-Cooper’s years covering Warriors, deep archival research, and original interviews with more than one hundred of the central characters in Kerr’s life, this is basketball biography at its finest.
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Sacred Hoops
- By: Phil Jackson
- Narrator: Phil Jackson
- Length: 1 hours 52 minutes
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
- Publish date: January 01, 1995
- Language: English
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4.01(3914 ratings)
4.01(3914 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0010.95 USD“Not only is there more to life than basketball, there’s a lot more to basketball than basketball.” — Phil JacksonOne of the most successful coaches in NBA history, Chicago Bulls head coach Phil Jackson provides an inside“Not only is there more to life than basketball, there’s a lot more to basketball than basketball.” — Phil Jackson
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One of the most successful coaches in NBA history, Chicago Bulls head coach Phil Jackson provides an inside look at the higher wisdom of teamwork with Sacred Hoops — Jackson’s philosophy of mindful basketball and his lifelong quest to bring enlightenment to the competitive world of professional sports.
A new paradigm of leadership based on Eastern and Native American principles, Jackson’s approach flies in the face of the egoistic, winner-take-all attitude that has changed the face of American sports. Rather than winning through intimidation, Jackson — who describes himself as a Zen Christian — stresses awareness, compassion and most of all selfless team play. Filled with stories about Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Toni Kukoc and other members of the Bulls, Sacred Hoops reveals how Jackson directs his players to act with a clear mind; to respect the enemy and be aggressive without anger or violence; to live in the moment and stay calmly focused in the midst of chaos, so that the “me” becomes the servant of the “we.”
In Sacred Hoops, Jackson takes us inside the mind of the thinking man’s coach as he builds one of the greatest teams of all time. Not just for sports fans, this inspiring memoir is for anyone interested in the potential of the human spirit. -
Net Work
- By: Rob McClanaghan
- Narrator: Tim Paige
- Length: 5 hours 21 minutes
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
- Publish date: January 01, 2019
- Language: English
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3.88(37 ratings)
3.88(37 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0017.99 USDFrom the NBA’s most sought-after trainer and skills coach comes a “backstage pass to a part of the NBA that most fans never see” (Pete Thamel, Yahoo Sports)–how superstars like Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Derrick Rose,From the NBA’s most sought-after trainer and skills coach comes a “backstage pass to a part of the NBA that most fans never see” (Pete Thamel, Yahoo Sports)–how superstars like Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook, and Kevin Love work to excel at the game.
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When Rob McClanaghan failed to make the Syracuse basketball team as a walk-on freshman, he asked the coaches what he needed to do to achieve his goal the following year. They all agreed: get stronger. So that’s what he did. For months, Rob traded fraternity parties and hanging out with buddies for hours in the gym lifting weights and shooting baskets. He was single-minded; the only thing that mattered was defying the odds. He returned to Syracuse for his sophomore year thirty pounds heavier and caught the coach’s eye.
In Net Work, McClanaghan’s “experience, knowledge, and keen understanding of the sport jumps off the pages” (Bob Iger, CEO of the Walt Disney Company) and he delivers what he brings to each of his training sessions: the same grit and spirit that got him into the college game. He calls it “the grind,” and he knows that without it, even the most talented players will come up short. McClanaghan pushes his clients hard; he does whatever he can to drive his players to the edge and to simulate fourth quarter, at-the-buzzer adrenaline and fatigue.
An all-access pass to the practice courts of the NBA, Net Work combines McClanaghan’s hard-earned wisdom–both on and off the court–with rare glimpses into the dues-paying life of professional athletes determined to stay at the top. McClanaghan shares stories of working one-on-one with some of basketball’s greatest names, explaining how each athlete works to shore up his offensive and defensive weaknesses; perfect his nutrition; treat injuries; build mental toughness; and find occasional refuge from the glare of the spotlight. This book is life inside the NBA as you’ve never seen it, where players differentiate themselves by their willingness to put in relentless “net work.” -
From Hang Time to Prime Time
- By: Pete Croatto
- Narrator: Feodor Chin
- Length: 11 hours 38 minutes
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
- Publish date: January 01, 2020
- Language: English
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3.86(123 ratings)
3.86(123 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0023.99 USDPerfect for fans of Moneyball and The Book of Basketball, this vivid, thoroughly entertaining, and well-researched book explores the NBA’s surge in popularity in the 1970s and 1980s and its transformation into a global cultural institution.Perfect for fans of Moneyball and The Book of Basketball, this vivid, thoroughly entertaining, and well-researched book explores the NBA’s surge in popularity in the 1970s and 1980s and its transformation into a global cultural institution.
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Far beyond simply being a sports league, the NBA has become an entertainment and pop culture juggernaut. From all kinds of team logo merchandise to officially branded video games and players crossing over into reality television, film, fashion lines, and more, there is an inseparable line between sports and entertainment. But only four decades ago, this would have been unthinkable.
Featuring writing that leaps off the page with energy and wit, journalist and basketball fan Pete Croatto takes us behind the scenes to the meetings that lead to the monumental American Basketball Association-National Basketball Association merger in 1976, revolutionizing the NBA’s image. He pays homage to legendary talents including Julius “Dr. J” Erving, Magic Johnson, and Michael Jordan and reveals how two polar-opposite rookies, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, led game attendance to skyrocket and racial lines to dissolve. Croatto also dives into CBS’s personality-driven coverage of key players, as well as other cable television efforts, which launched NBA players into unprecedented celebrity status.
Essential reading whether you’re a casual or longtime fan, From Hang Time to Prime Time is an enthralling and entertaining celebration of basketball history. -
Bubbleball
- By: Ben Golliver
- Narrator: Ben Golliver
- Length: 12 hours 8 minutes
- Publisher: Dreamscape Media
- Publish date: May 24, 2021
- Language: English
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3.84(329 ratings)
3.84(329 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0017.99 USDWhen NBA player Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19 in March 2020, the league shut down immediately, bringing a shocking, sudden pause to the season. As the pandemic raged, it looked as if it might be the first year in league history with noWhen NBA player Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19 in March 2020, the league shut down immediately, bringing a shocking, sudden pause to the season. As the pandemic raged, it looked as if it might be the first year in league history with no champion. But four months later, after meticulous planning, twenty-two teams resumed play in a bubble at Disney World–a restricted, single-site locale cut off from the outside world. Due to health concerns, the league invited only a handful of reporters, who were required to sacrifice medical privacy, live in a hotel room for more than three months, and submit to daily coronavirus testing in hopes of keeping the bubble from bursting. In exchange for the constant monitoring and restricted movement, they were allowed into a basketball fan’s dream, with a courtside seat at dozens of games in nearly empty arenas. Ben Golliver, the national NBA writer for The Washington Post, was one of those allowed access. Bubbleball is his account of the season and life inside, telling the story of how basketball bounced back from its shutdown, how players staged headline-grabbing social-justice protests, and how Lakers star LeBron James chased his fourth ring in unconventional and unforgettable circumstances. Based on months of reporting in the exclusive, confined environment, this is an entertaining record of an extraordinary season.
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Betaball
- By: Erik Malinowski
- Narrator: George Newbern
- Length: 10 hours 50 minutes
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
- Publish date: January 01, 2017
- Language: English
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3.5(482 ratings)
3.5(482 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0023.99 USD“As lively, thorough, and engaging as the team it chronicles” (Nathaniel Friedman), Betaball is a compelling look at how the Golden State Warriors embraced savvy business practices, next generation science, and Silicon Valley’s“As lively, thorough, and engaging as the team it chronicles” (Nathaniel Friedman), Betaball is a compelling look at how the Golden State Warriors embraced savvy business practices, next generation science, and Silicon Valley’s technocentric culture not only to produce one of the greatest basketball teams in history but also to revolutionize the NBA–perfect for fans of Moneyball and The Book of Basketball.
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Betaball is the definitive, inside account of how the Golden State Warriors, under the ownership of venture capitalist Joe Lacob and Hollywood producer Peter Guber, quickly became one of the greatest success stories in both sports and business.
In just five years, they turned a declining franchise with no immediate hope into the NBA’s dominant force–and facilitated the rise of All-Star point guard Stephen Curry. By operating in “beta,” the Warriors morphed into a model organization for American professional sports, instituting the best workplace principles found inside the world’s most successful corporations, and instilling a top-down organizational ethos that allows employees–from the front office to the free-throw line–to thrive.
With in-depth access and meticulous reporting on and off the court, acclaimed journalist Eric Malinowski recounts a gripping tale of a team’s reinvention, of worlds colliding, of ordinary people being pushed to extraordinary heights, and the Golden State Warriors’ chase for a second straight NBA championship during the 2015-’16 season. Betaball is “a book for fans of all sports and science, business and analytics, Silicon Valley and Wall Street, front offices and locker rooms, money and winning” (Don Van Natta Jr., ESPN reporter and New York Times bestselling author).
Cliff Weitzman
Cliff Weitzman is a dyslexia advocate and the CEO and founder of Speechify, the #1 text-to-speech app in the world, totaling over 100,000 5-star reviews and ranking first place in the App Store for the News & Magazines category. In 2017, Weitzman was named to the Forbes 30 under 30 list for his work making the internet more accessible to people with learning disabilities. Cliff Weitzman has been featured in EdSurge, Inc., PC Mag, Entrepreneur, Mashable, among other leading outlets.
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