“Basketball is now the true sport of the American Dream”
The Soul of Basketball tells the story of the 2010-2011 NBA season – the season after LeBron James ‘Decision’ to move to Miami. It paints that year as a pivotal season – the changing of the guard as LeBron’s generation seized control of the NBA.
It isn’t simply a book about the season, but rather about the changing role of the NBA in American life as a new generation of players build on Jordan’s legacy and capture the public’s imagination. The NBA was trying to find its way in the post-Jordan era but LeBron had turned himself into public enemy number 1 with his handling of the Decision and his promises of a decade of glory in Miami. Players were arriving in the NBA already famous and already entitled.
Thomsen paints a compelling and illuminating portrait of the key individuals in that season’s NBA. He takes readers inside the Heat, the Lakers, the Celtics, the Spurs, and the Mavericks and focuses on a key individual in each of those teams. For me the most compelling figures throughout the book are Dirk Nowitzki, Greg Popovich and Kobe Bryant. Dirk Nowitzki was much less well-known to me and emerges as the most fascinating figure in the book.
Thomsen shows us who the players, coaches, scouts and executives really are, what motivates and drives them to succeed. Thomsen’s ability to get key people to open up and share revealing insights is a real asset to the book. There is also extensive and fascinating detail on the inside workings of team’s front office. Thomsen also captures the between old-school owners and the newer generation of owners like Mark Cuban at the Mavericks.
It is arguable that LeBron is treated a bit harshly at times in the book although the epilogue does recognise his achievement in returning successfully to Cleveland. By detailing LeBron’s toughest year, Thomsen attempts to show some of what LeBron went through before becoming a champion.
It’s a detailed, engrossing and brilliant read which I highly recommend. If there has been a better book written about the modern NBA, I’d be delighted to find it.
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