The Portland Trail Blazers won the NBA title the first time they made the playoffs. Since then, they’ve been a consistent force in the Pacific Northwest. From the pioneers of the 1970s to the global superstars of today, get to know the players who made the Trail Blazers one of the NBA’s top teams through the years.

A New York Times bestseller, David Halberstam's The Breaks of the Game focuses on one grim season (1979-80) in the life of the Bill Walton-led Portland Trail Blazers, a team that only three years before had been NBA champions. More than six years after his death David Halberstam remains one of this country's most respected journalists and revered authorities on American life and history in the years since WWII. A Pulitzer Prize-winner for his groundbreaking reporting on the Vietnam War, Halberstam wrote more than 20 books, almost all of them bestsellers. His work has stood the test of time and has become the standard by which all journalists measure themselves. The tactile authenticity of Halberstam's knowledge of the basketball world is unrivaled. Yet he is writing here about far more than just basketball. This is a story about a place in our society where power, money, and talent collide and sometimes corrupt, a place where both national obsessions and naked greed are exposed. It's about the influence of big media, the fans and the hype they subsist on, the clash of ethics, the terrible physical demands of modern sports (from drugs to body size), the unreal salaries, the conflicts of race and class, and the consequences of sport converted into mass entertainment and athletes transformed into superstars -- all presented in a way that puts the reader in the room and on the court, and The Breaks of the Game in a league of its own.

Guaranteed to delight NBA historians and Blazermaniacs a like, this release chronicles forty years of Portland Trail Blazers basketball with an amazing collection of anecdotes, rare photographs, and more. Guaranteed to delight NBA historians and Blazermaniacs alike, this release chronicles forty years of Portland Trail Blazers basketball with an amazing collection of anecdotes, rare photographs, and more. Blazermania: This is Our Story captures the magic moments and behind-the-scenes stories that have unfolded in the four decades since Harry Glickman and his serendipitous raincoat first brought professional basketball to Portland. The book highlights great moments, reveals long lost anecdotes, and uncovers photographs from the vast archives of the Trail Blazers and The Oregonian. The book takes an in-depth look at an array of topics, including: - The birth of “Rip City” and the team’s rise to prominence. - Dr. Jack Ramsay’s arrival and the road to the 1977 NBA championship. - The career and legacy of Bill Walton, the mercurial, star-crossed center. - Clyde Drexler, Terry Porter, and the beloved two-time Western Conference champions. - A new tradition of excellence, led by Brandon Roy, Greg Oden, and LaMarcus Aldridge - The team’s biggest characters, overachievers, and winners. Learn how one of the NBA’s smallest cities was transformed into one of basketball’s foremost meccas, hosting 814 straight sellouts, 21-straight playoff appearances, three NBA Finals, as well as the NBA Draft and the historic 1992 Dream Team.

"Describes great comeback stories for teams and athletes from National Basketball Association (NBA) history"--

The Inside the NBA series gives readers an inside look at the basketball teams that make up the National Basketball Association. Each team’s history, uniforms, accomplishments, equipment, key players, coaches, and much more are covered in detail in this exciting series. Sports fans will love the brilliant photographs and fun facts of the Inside the NBA series. Each AV2 media enhanced book is a unique combination of a printed book and exciting online content that brings the book to life. Readers can access embedded weblinks, audio and video clips, activities, and other features, such as a slide show, matching word activity, and quiz.

Examines the best professional basketball players from each of the five distinct periods and ranks the five greatest players at each position throughout the history of the game.

One of professional basketball's most iconic franchises, the Boston Celtics—along with the Boston Red Sox and New England Patriots, both of whom have been the subject of "50 Greatest" treatments by sports historian Robert W. Cohen—represent a multistate region rather than just a city or state. Many of the sport's very best have played for the Celtics, including Bill Russell, Bob Cousy, John Havlicek, Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Paul Pierce. But who is the greatest of them all? In The 50 Greatest Players in Boston Celtics History, Cohen attempts to determine just that. Using as measuring sticks the degree to which these players impacted the fortunes of the team, the extent to which they added to the Celtics legacy, and the levels of statistical compilation and overall dominance they attained while wearing a Celtics uniform, this book ranks, from 1 to 50, the top 50 players in team history. Quotes from opposing players and former teammates are provided along the way, as are summaries of each player’s greatest season, most memorable performances, and most notable achievements.

Along with the Boston Red Sox and the New England Patriots, both of which have been the subject of “50 Greatest” treatments by Bob Cohen, the Boston Celtics is one of the most iconic professional basketball teams, representing a multi-state region rather than just a city or state. Some of the sport’s greatest played for the Celtics: Bill Russell in the 1950s, John Havlicek in the 70s, Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parrish in the 80s, and recently Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Kevin Garnett. Sports historian Robert W. Cohen has chosen the best to ever wear the uniform, and he provides a short biographical profile, key stats, and details about each players exploits on the court.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Acclaimed sports journalist Jack McCallum delivers the untold story of the greatest team ever assembled: the 1992 U.S. Olympic Men’s Basketball Team. As a writer for Sports Illustrated, McCallum enjoyed a courtside seat for the most exciting basketball spectacle on earth, covering the Dream Team from its inception to the gold medal ceremony in Barcelona. Drawing on fresh interviews with the players, McCallum provides the definitive account of the Dream Team phenomenon. He offers a behind-the-scenes look at the controversial selection process. He takes us inside the team’s Olympic suites for late-night card games and bull sessions where superstars like Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and Larry Bird debated the finer points of basketball. And he narrates a riveting account of the legendary intrasquad scrimmage that pitted the Dream Teamers against one another in what may have been the greatest pickup game in history. In the twenty years since the Dream Team first captivated the world, its mystique has only grown. Dream Team vividly re-creates the moment when a once-in-a-millennium group of athletes came together and changed the future of sports—one perfectly executed fast break at a time. With a new Afterword by the author. “The absolute definitive work on the subject, a perfectly wonderful once-you-pick-it-up-you-won’t-be-able-to-put-it-down book.”—The Boston Globe “An Olympic hoops dream.”—Newsday “What makes this volume a must-read for nostalgic hoopsters are the robust portraits of the outsize personalities of the participants, all of whom were remarkably open with McCallum, both then and now.”—Booklist (starred review)

Portland Trail Blazers is a beginner's history of the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers. Beginning with the franchise's early years, readers will experience the team's highest and lowest moments, meet the team's best players and managers, and gain the inside track on information that completes the team's story. Mini-biographies, fun facts, anecdotes, fantastic quotes, and sidebars combine with full-color, action-packed photographs to round out the story of the Trail Blazers, allowing your readers Inside the NBA! SportsZone is an imprint of ABDO Publishing Company.