Learn to watch the game the way professional players do by discovering the origins and technical details of the most exciting and effective moves in basketball. Both players and fans will learn the moves as perfected by the world's greatest players-details, history and knowledge of the game that rarely leave the hardwood floors of professional arenas. The result is a totally different and exhilerating look at the history of basketball in action photos and insightful text that focuses where the action is-on the techniques of the best players in the game.
It is part fantasy, allowing the reader to place himself in Laker Kobe Bryant's shoes as he dribbles between his legs, jukes right and cuts left for the slam, or alongside the Nets' Jason Kidd on a full-tilt fast break as he perfectly positions himself for a laser-precision, no-look pass. It is also part history, revealing the origins of the move, the first player to execute it, how it was perfected and how it has changed the game. And it is all excitement and thrilling action-an explosive tour through the game that every fan and player will be talking about.
Award-winning sports writer Derek Gentile includes the dramatic, defining moment for each move and throws in "superstat" boxes listing the eye-opening numbers associated with it. You'll learn, for example, that the hook shot, which made Kareem Abdul-Jabbar the all-time points leader at his retirement in 1989, is not even used in the NBA today-to the detriment of many big men. You'll see how the slam dunk and three-point shot have spread defenses and helped weaker teams to the playoffs.
More than 300 photos reveal the exciting plays in action, juxtaposing black-and-whites from the early days with color shots of Jordan, Iverson, Kidd, and other contemporary giants. It's a feast for hoop fans who yearn for information as well as dramatic visuals.
