Basketball Audiobooks | Sports & Recreation

Pat Summitt, the all-time winningest coach in NCAA basketball history aad bestselling author of Reach for the Summitt and Raise The Roof, tells for the first time her remarkable story of victory and resilience as well as facing down her greatest challenge: early-onset Alzheimer's disease. Pat Summitt was only 21 when she became head coach of the Tennessee Vols women's basketball team. For 38 years, she has broken records, winning more games than any NCAA team in basketball history. She has coached an undefeated season, co-captained the first women's Olympic team, was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame, and has been named Sports Illustrated 'Sportswoman of the Year'. She owes her coaching success to her personal struggles and triumphs. She learned to be tough from her strict, demanding father. Motherhood taught her to balance that rigidity with communication and kindness. She is a role model for the many women she's coached; 74 of her players have become coaches. Pat's life took a shocking turn in 2011, when she was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease, an irreversible brain condition that affects 5 million Americans. Despite her devastating diagnosis, she led the Vols to win their sixteenth SEC championship in March 2012. Pat continues to be a fighter, facing this new challenge the way she's faced every other--with hard work, perseverance, and a sense of humor.

Pat Head Summitt, Sally Jenkins (Author), Sally Jenkins (Narrator)

Audiobook

I'll Show You

In 2012, Derrick Rose was on top of the world. After growing up in Chicago's Englewood neighborhood, Rose achieved an improbable childhood dream: being selected first overall in the NBA draft by his hometown Chicago Bulls. The point guard known to his family as 'Pooh' was a phenom, winning the Rookie of the Year award and electrifying fans around the world. In 2011, he became the youngest MVP in league history. He and the Bulls believed the city's first berth in the NBA Finals since the Jordan era was on the horizon. Rarely had a bond between a player and fans been so strong, as the city wrapped its arms around the homegrown hero. Six years and four knee surgeries later, he was waived by the Utah Jazz, a once surefire Hall of Fame career seemingly on the brink of collapse. Many speculated his days in the NBA were over. But Derrick Rose never doubted himself, never believed his struggles on and off the court were anything other than temporary setbacks. Rather than telling the world he had more to give, he decided to show them.

Derrick Rose (Author), David Sadzin (Narrator)

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Pistol: The Life of Pete Maravich

Pistol is more than the biography of a ballplayer. It's the stuff of classic novels: the story of a boy transformed by his father's dream---and the cost of that dream. Even as Pete Maravich became Pistol Pete---a basketball icon for baby boomers---all the Maraviches paid a price. Now acclaimed author Mark Kriegel has brilliantly captured the saga of an American family: its rise, its apparent ruin, and, finally, its redemption.

Mark Kriegel (Author), Lloyd James, Lloyd James (Narrator)

Audiobook

Dream Again

Born in 1993 in Fresno, California, Austin faced adversity even as a young child when he tore the retina in his eye. After four surgeries, Austin had to accept the fact he needed a prosthetic right eye. Isaiah's mom, Lisa Green says, "There are two choices in life: you make it your excuse or you make it your story." Isaiah went on to make a name for himself on the basketball court. Nobody thought he could play college ball without the sight in one of his eyes, but he didn't let adversity keep him down. He has a strong faith and a strong family and believes anything is possible. In his freshman season at Baylor, the 7-foot-1 Austin was named to the 2013 All-Big 12 third team and the Big 12 All-Rookie team and played in the NIT championship game in which Baylor defeated Iowa. In his sophomore season, he was named to the 2014 Big 12 All-Defensive team. On June 21, 2014, just five days before the NBA Draft, Austin learned that he had been diagnosed with Marfan Syndrome, a genetic disorder that affects the body's connective tissue. Austin could no longer play basketball at a competitive level since there was too much risk of his heart rupturing. Isaiah's dream of being drafted now seemed impossible. After hearing about Isaiah's diagnosis, NBA commissioner Adam Silver invited Austin to attend the 2014 draft as his personal guest. The League recognized Isaiah's courage, resilience, and determination in a bitter sweet moment when Isaiah was made as an Honorary Draft Pick. Since then, Austin has become a spokesman for The Marfan Foundation and has brought great awareness for the understanding of the disease and includes to act as an important partner with the organization. He also founded his own non-profit organization, The Isaiah Austin Foundation, to provide support and research for Marfan syndrome and those affected by it, which raised money by selling t-shirts with Austin's slogan ""Dream On."" Despite facing adversity when life takes an unexpected turn, Isaiah's story hopes to inspire others to tower in the face of adversity and keep living out your dreams. The book will include a foreword from one of Isaiah's celebrity connections and Baylor University, where Austin is on staff, will continue to help support Austin's mission. Chapter Outline for Dream Again 1. Blindsided Since he was five years old, locking himself in the bathroom to practice dribbling on the tile floor, Austin has held onto a vision of walking across the stage on NBA draft night. Isaiah wakes on Saturday morning to go work out in Dallas with only one thing on his mind: preparing for his next NBA tryout with the Chicago Bulls. Isaiah spends the day with his mentor, Coach Ray, and then drives to his ""Aunt"" Evelyn's house that evening. When he arrives to a driveway full of cars, he knows there is something out of place. One look at his mother's tears and he understands he has been blindsided by a diagnosis he never imagined could be true. He has Marfans Syndrome and his lifelong dreams are over. How can he ever learn to dream again? 2. Family Forever Facing the absence of his biological father, several cross-country moves, being abnormally tall and thin for his age, and dealing with a painful baseball accident taught Isaiah the importance of relying on his family. Isaiah talks briefly about his ""family forever"" tattoo and how his early childhood taught him to value family. Isaiah's biological father was not involved in his life. Finally, in the city championship game of his 8th grade basketball season, Isaiah dunks in warm-ups and when he hits the floor realizes something is very wrong: the vision in his right eye has gone completely red. 3. Your Excuse or Your Story Isaiah must learn to trust in God, even when the adversity seems overwhelming, as he is faced with the prospect of losing sight in his right eye. The family is in crisis as Isaiah's mom flies back to Miami and they rush Isaiah into surgery to repair his detached retina (a result of his prior baseball injury as a child in California). 4. By Faith, Not By Sight Isaiah makes the decision that he cannot bear to undergo more eye surgeries, but as he loses hope in regaining his vision he also draws closer to God for strength. Isaiah tells his family that he cannot endure another surgery and they make the difficult decision to accept his blindness. Isaiah overcomes his blindness on the court with hard work and hundreds of extra hours of shooting and dribbling. He begins to ""own"" his disability and solidifies his mother's message to ""make it his story"" by getting a tattoo ""by faith not by sight."" Isaiah decides to make an early commitment to Baylor University because of his family and his faith. 5. One and Done Austin describes his time on campus at Baylor as he adjusts to living as an adult college student and teammate. 6. Chapter 41 During the breaking point in the Baylor basketball season, Coach Mac shares a story of his friend's battle with cancer and compares it to Genesis 41 and the story of Joseph. The team rallies around ""Chapter 41"" and it becomes their theme. Austin decides to come out to the media about his blindness and tells his story in a January ESPN ""Gameday"" special. Letters and emails come pouring in and Isaiah realizes how much power he has to inspire others and begins to understand his responsibility as a role model. The Baylor Bears come together and make a historic run. After the season, Isaiah makes the difficult decision to leave the Baylor family and pursue his lifelong dream of walking across the stage as an NBA draft pick. 7. At the Edge of the Dream Isaiah is overcome with excitement, just days away from realizing his dreams and becoming the first player with a disability ever drafted in the first round of the NBA. Isaiah then begins to explain what was happening behind the scenes that fateful Saturday in Texas. 8. The Next Play In the darkest moment of his life, in the face of losing everything he has ever worked for, Isaiah must decide what his faith in God really means. He receives the phone call from the NBA doctor who confirms what everyone in the room already knows: this diagnosis effectively ends his basketball career. In that devastating moment, the Baylor coaches, Isaiah's family, his closest friends gather around him and pray as the Holy Spirit enters the room as Coach Pops begins to speak words of life into the situation. ""Dear Father,"" he prays, ""Give Isaiah the strength to dream again."" As God moves in the room, he begins to understand that he has been prepared to deal with this his entire life. He listens to Coach Pops words about dreaming again and God speaks directly to his heart. 9. God's Plan Isaiah begins to understand the reality that the doctor's diagnosis is actually God's grace and may have saved his life. He is contacted by the NBA and asked to attend draft night, but has no idea why. After the toughest five days of his life, he arrives in New York to attend the NBA draft. Just a half hour into the evening, NBA commissioner Adam Silver calls out the very words Isaiah has dreamed of hearing since he was five years old, ""with the next pick in the draft, the NBA selects Isaiah Austin."" Isaiah walks to the stage, fighting back emotion as he realizes that God has actually been faithful and delivered his lifelong dream even in the face of tragic circumstances. He is thrust into the national spotlight. Isaiah begins to embrace the spotlight and use it to inspire others, realizing that God had been preparing him for this moment earlier in the year when he went public about his disability. 10. Dream Again As the hype dies down from the draft, Isaiah must focus on the actual work, the reality of ""dreaming again."" He returns to Baylor on a full scholarship as a player coach and begins to learn more about his disease and what it will mean for him in the future. He explains the challenge of Marfans, how it impacts the lives of many, and the desperate need for research and funding. He explains what he is learning about life as a coach and normal student and begins travelling the country as a motivational speaker and working to raise money for Marfans research. Isaiah launches his Dream Again Foundation with the opportunity to build relationships with children across the country who have been diagnosed with Marfans. Isaiah realizes that the Bible doesn't promise that you will face circumstances in your life that you cannot handle, but it does promise that God will walk through those circumstances alongside you, teach you new ways to live and provide new opportunities for you to dream again.

Isaiah Austin, Matt Litton (Author), Caz Harleau, Caz Harleaux (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Jump: My Secret Journey from the Streets to the Boardroom

One of the most successful Black businessmen in the country, who has led Nike’s Jordan Brand from a $200M sneaker company to a $4B global apparel juggernaut, tells the remarkable story of his rise from gangland violence to the pinnacles of international business. Jump tells Larry Miller’s journey from the violent streets of West Philly in the 1960s to the highest echelons of American sports and industry. Miller wound up in jail more than once, especially as a teenager. But he immersed himself in the educational opportunities, eventually took advantage of a Pennsylvania state education-release program offered to incarcerated people, and was able to graduate with honors from Temple University. When revealing his gangland past caused him to lose his first major job opportunity, Miller vowed to keep it a secret. He climbed the corporate ladder with a number of companies such as Kraft Foods, Campbell’s Soup, and Jantzen, until Nike hired him to run its domestic apparel operations. Around the time of Michael Jordan’s basketball retirement, Nike Chairman Phil Knight made Larry Miller president of the newly formed Jordan Brand. In 2007 Paul Allen convinced Miller to jump to the NBA to become president of the Portland Trailblazers, one of the first African-Americans to lead a professional sports team, before returning to Jordan Brand in 2012. All along, Miller lived two lives: the secret of his violent past haunted him, invading his days with migraines and his sleep with nightmares of getting hauled back to jail. More than a rags-to-riches story, Jump is also a passionate appeal for criminal justice reform and expanded educational opportunities for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people across the United States. Drawing on his powerful personal story, as well as his vast and well-connected network, Miller plans to use Jump as a launching point to help expand such opportunities and to provide an aspirational journey for those who need hope.

Laila Lacy, Larry Miller (Author), Jd Jackson (Narrator)

Audiobook

Shooting Stars

From the ultimate team- basketball superstar LeBron James and Buzz Bissinger, Pulitzer Prize'winning author of Friday Night Lights and Three Nights in August-a poignant, thrilling tale of the power of teamwork to transform young lives, including James's own. The Shooting Stars were a bunch of kids-LeBron James and his best friends-from Akron, Ohio, who first met on a youth basketball team of the same name when they were ten and eleven years old. United by their love of the game and their yearning for companionship, they quickly forged a bond that would carry them through thick and thin (a lot of thin) and, at last, to a national championship in their senior year of high school. They were a motley group who faced challenges all too typical of inner-city America. LeBron grew up without a father and had moved with his mother more than a dozen times by the age of ten. Willie McGee, the quiet one, had left both his parents behind in Chicago to be raised by his older brother in Akron. Dru Joyce was outspoken, and his dad was ever present; he would end up coaching all five of the boys in high school. Sian Cotton, who also played football, was the happy-go-lucky enforcer, while Romeo Travis was unhappy, bitter, even surly, until he finally opened himself up to the bond his teammates offered him. In the summer after seventh grade, the Shooting Stars tasted glory when they qualified for a national championship tournament in Memphis. But they lost their focus and had to go home early. They promised one another they would stay together and do whatever it took to win a national title. They had no idea how hard it would be to pursue that promise. In the years that followed, they would endure jealousy, hostility, exploitation, resentment from the black community (because they went to a "white" high school), and the consequences of their own overconfidence. Not least, they would all have to wrestle with LeBron's outsize success, which brought too much attention and even a whiff of scandal their way. But together these five boys became men, and together they claimed the prize they had fought for all those years-a national championship.

Buzz Bissinger, Lebron James (Author), Moe Irvin (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Hoops Whisperer

Basketball's most unlikely-and most sought-after-training guru offers an inside look at his career, his methods, and the all-star players whose games he's helped transform. Where do the best basketball players in the world turn when they want to improve their game? Whom does a future NBA Hall of Famer thank at his press conference when he's named Rookie of the Year? Who is it that Sports Illustrated, The Wall Street Journal, and Men's Journal all call the "Hoops Whisperer" because of his ability to engage, inspire, and challenge the players he trains? The answer to all of these questions is Idan Ravin. Ravin never played or coached in college or the pros, yet a virtual NBA All-Star team relies on him to better their game and reach their full potential. A soft-spoken former lawyer, Ravin has become professional basketball's hottest trainer. In The Hoops Whisperer, Ravin shares the fascinating story of how he transformed a passion for the game into working with iconic basketball stars such as Chris Paul, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony, Stephen Curry, Blake Griffin, James Harden, Dwight Howard, and many more. He offers a rare unguarded glimpse inside the lives of these great athletes, drawn from his intimate connection with them that is the basis of his success. Showcasing his unorthodox drills and improvisational techniques in action, Ravin reveals how faith, effort, dedication, and passion can make a player into a superstar-and anyone into a success. Combined with his own inspiring journey, Ravin's insights make The Hoops Whisperer a must for anyone who loves the game.

Idan Ravin (Author), Sean Pratt (Narrator)

Audiobook

Bubbleball: Inside the NBA's Fight to Save a Season

When 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.

Ben Golliver (Author), Ben Golliver (Narrator)

Audiobook

Steve Kerr: A Life

The 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.

Scott Howard-Cooper (Author), Roger Wayne (Narrator)

Audiobook

Michael Jordan: Life Lessons from His Airness

Michael Jordan: Life Lessons from His Airness contains the secrets to success from the greatest basketball player of all time. “Sometimes a winner is just a dreamer who never gave up.” Michael Jordan defied gravity, transcended the world’s expectations, and exceeded the limits of age, soaring to fame as the world’s greatest basketball player of all time. While his talent was breathtaking to behold—those flying dunks and record-breaking sixty-point games have inspired generations—the unseen forces behind his success are the kind we can all harness for our own. M. J. and his accomplishments were founded on discipline, hard work, and knowing how to channel the deep, competitive drive within. Michael Jordan: Life Lessons from His Airness offers a courtside seat to the wild ride that made Michael Jordan a star and reveals valuable insights for anyone trying to make their own lofty dreams come true.

David H. Lewis (Author), Cary Valentine (Narrator)

Audiobook

Game Face: A Lifetime of Hard-Earned Lessons On and Off the Basketball Court

NBA Hall of Famer Bernard King is one of the most dynamic scorers in basketball history. King was notoriously private as a player, and rarely spoke to the press-not about his career and never about his personal life. And even beyond his prolific scoring, King will forever be remembered for the gruesome knee injury he suffered in 1985. Doctors who told him he'd never play again were shocked when he not only became the first player to return to the NBA from a torn ACL, but returned at an All Star level. In Game Face , King finally opens up about his life on and off the court. In his book, King's basketball I.Q. is on full display as he breaks down defenses using his own unique system for taking shots from predetermined spots on the floor. King talks about matching up against some of the all-time NBA greats, from Michael Jordan, Julius Erving and Charles Barkley to Larry Bird, Patrick Ewing and many others. He also tackles issues of race and family off the court, as well as breaking a personal cycle of negativity and self-destructiveness with the help of his family. Engaging, shocking, revelatory, yet always positive and upbeat, Bernard King's memoir appeals to multiple generations of basketball fans.

Bernard King, Jerome Preisler (Author), Bernard King, Jerome Preisler (Narrator)

Audiobook

Game Changers: Dean Smith, Charlie Scott, and the Era That Transformed a Southern College Town

Among many legendary episodes from the life and career of men's basketball coach Dean Smith, few loom as large as his recruitment of Charlie Scott, the first African American scholarship athlete at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Drawn together by college basketball in a time of momentous change, Smith and Scott helped transform a university, a community, and the racial landscape of sports in the South. But there is much more to this story than is commonly told. In Game Changers, Art Chansky reveals an intense saga of race, college sport, and small-town politics. At the center were two young men, Scott and Smith, both destined for greatness but struggling through challenges on and off the court, among them the storms of civil rights protest and the painfully slow integration of a Chapel Hill far less progressive than its reputation today might suggest. Drawing on extensive personal interviews and a variety of other sources, Chansky takes readers beyond the basketball court to highlight the community that supported Smith and Scott during these demanding years, from assistant basketball coach John Lotz to influential pastor the Reverend Robert Seymour to pioneering African American mayor Howard Lee.

Art Chansky (Author), Mirron Willis (Narrator)

Audiobook

Basketball Audiobooks in Sports & Recreation