The "Official NBA Guide" provides everything basketball fans want to know about the league's past and present. Besides a 1996-97 season rundown and a look ahead to the coming year with front-office directories, rosters, and calendar-style schedules for each team, the "Guide" is loaded with NBA history. 160 photos.

Get Street Smart - Information on creating and developing your players - Team-by-team breakdowns - Strategies for playing the right lineup - Every secret court revealed and NBA Legend unlocked - Tips for running an unstoppable offense and a lock-down defense - Complete list of killer moves, crazy shots, and thundering dunks

NBA players are some of the most well-conditioned athletes in the world. They have to be. To withstand their grueling 82-game schedule, they find staying in top physical condition a necessity. How do the NBA players train? What do they do in the off-season to keep in shape? How do they incorporate strength training into their workouts? What do they eat before a game for maximum performance? These questions and more are answered in the first-ever official NBA-authorized fitness guide geared toward helping athletes of all ages-from weekend warriors to worn-out gym rats looking to improve not only their hoops game, but also their overall physical conditioning. Total Fitness the NBA Way includes routines for stretching, cardiofitness, and weight training formulated by NBA team trainers and strength-and-conditioning coaches, as well as helpful tips, nutritional advice, players' anecdotes, behind-the-scenes information, and countless action shots. With a special foreword by Lenny Wilkens, the winningest coach in NBA history, and photos of workout positions demonstrated by Steve Smith, NBA All-Star and member of the USA Basketball's Men's Senior National Team that will compete in the 2000 Olympic Games, this book will help you achieve Total Fitness.

From the opening tip to the last-second buzzer-beater, there's no letting up for the basketball referee. Before you step out on the hardwood, Officiating Basketball will help you ensure you're in the right place at the right time to make the right call. Based on officiating mechanics devised and endorsed by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), Officiating Basketball is the definitive guide for new and experienced high school referees. Included are guidelines for what's expected of you as a basketball official, officiating procedures and responsibilities, and pre- and postgame duties. More than 100 photos and illustrations of positioning, court movement, and signals support officiating mechanics for two- and three-person crews. Real-life cases demonstrate correct rulings, point out common officiating errors and how to avoid them, and challenge you to make the right call in game situations. A glossary of key basketball terms is also included. Officiating Basketball is not only a rules book--it's a practical resource for implementing correct mechanics as developed and approved by the NFHS.

"Let's Talk Defense! will help take you and your team to the next level." --Scottie Pippen, 10-time member of the NBA All-Defensive Team and six-time NBA champion "Herb Brown's experience and defensive knowledge makes Let's Talk Defense! a mustread for any basketball player or coach. The concepts demonstrated in his book are the same ones I use when guarding some of the best players in the NBA." --Rasheed Wallace, NBA All-Star "Herb Brown understands the most fundamental aspect of the game and that is great defense wins championships. This book will explain the basic concepts of how it is done." --Joe Dumars, general manager of the Detroit Pistons and former six-time NBA All-Star Endorsed by top NBA players, this is the essential guide for coaching defense. Loaded with drills, tips, and step-by-step diagrams as well as official NBA photos, Let's Talk Defense! includes: Making the transition from offense to defense Out-rebounding opponents Causing turnovers Stopping fast-break opportunities Eliminating penetration Creating havoc for the opposition and much more

James Naismith was teaching physical education at the Young Men's Christian Association Training College in Springfield, Massachusetts, and felt discouraged because calisthenics and gymnastics didn't engage his students. What was needed was an indoor wintertime game that combined recreation and competition. One evening he worked out the fundamentals of a game that would quickly catch on. Two peach half-bushel baskets gave the name to the brand new sport in late 1891. Basketball: Its Origin and Development was written by the inventor himself, who was inspired purely by the joy of play. Naismith, born in northern Ontario in 1861, gave up the ministry to preach clean living through sport. He describes Duck on the Rock, a game from his Canadian childhood, the creative reasoning behind his basket game, the eventual refinement of rules and development of equipment, the spread of amateur and professional teams throughout the world, and the growth of women's basketball (at first banned to male spectators because the players wore bloomers). Naismith lived long enough to see basketball included in the Olympics in 1936. Three years later he died, after nearly forty years as head of the physical education department at the University of Kansas. This book, originally published in 1941, carries a new introduction by William J. Baker, a professor of history at the University of Maine, Orono. He is the author of Jesse Owens: An American Life and Sports in the Western World.