I seldom read sports books. A friend of mine got this on a "buy one get 50% off" deal and gave me a copy. I just finished it. It's about 800 pages so there's a time real commitment here. It's worth it. Simmons is considerably younger than I am and is an unabashed Celtics' homer, but he absolutely, positively LOVES NBA basketball and this love comes through loud and clear in his book. He also, IMO, looks at the game and its players with a reasonably objective eye. The book attempts to be the "NBA bible" and it comes very close to living up to its intent. Simmons does a masterful job of comparing eras and explaining why we should take certain individual accomplishments (like Wilt Chamberlain scoring 100 points in a game of averaging 50 points in a season) with a few grains of perspective salt. Simmons is younger than I am by more than a decade. However, it's clear by his narrative that he's watched more of the old tape than I saw of the live action. The guy did his homework and then some. TBOB is the best all-encompassing book on the NBA that you can read...and you should read it. I don't agree with all of Simmons conclusions, but having lived through them, I was impressed with how many I did. One of the great things about the book is that Simmons made his cases so well that he was able to turn some of my long-held my opinions around (the best example I can think of is putting Jerry West ahead of Oscar Robertson on the all-time greats list). Buy it or check it out from your neighborhood library. You'll be glad you did.
I would second this. It's very readable and fun yet a lot of good information. If you love lists and basketball, this is for you. Despite being such a Celtics homer, Simmons does a very good job of explaining how hard it will be for someone to knock off MJ as the best basketball player ever.
