The Art of a Beautiful Game by Chris Ballard
The summer has begun which means I take a break from YA and read sports, adult, psychology, and other books that are not geared for a younger crowd. I just finished reading this book and I loved it. I have a new found appreciation for NBA players. Chris Ballard has taken the game and broken it down into several ideas/chapters. This is not a story. These are his insights into the game and probably just not articles he could publish in SI. Some of these chapters I read more than once and others I read quickly. It comes down to your interest. The first chapter on Kobe and what makes him a competitor is mind blowing. I love that chapter. I may buy this book for that chapter alone for all my players to read. I am not even a Kobe fan and yet I wanted to coach RIGHT NOW! I was pumped up and motivated. This book does have some foul language as the players speak like they normally do and nothing is edited. I liked this as it made it real for me. However, I mention this as I know my audience of this blog and just want you to be forewarned. The image of the NBA is what drives me away from the game at this level. However, after reading this book I realize that things are not easy and they don’t just show up and play. They are devoted and this is a full time job. I appreciate their skills and abilities like never before after reading this book. Some of the other chapters I really enjoyed dealt with the defensive player mindset, Point Guard: Steven Nash can see the future, Pure Shooter: Steve Kerr, and Lebron James. If you like basketball then read this book. This will keep you engaged and have you appreciate these guys in a whole new way.
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