Go Out and Read the Funny and All Around Awesome Book "Basketball and Other Things"
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I have just finished one of the best books on basketball that I have ever read. No, it is not a historical reference type book. No, it is not written by a former coach or player or GM. No, it does not come from anyone at ESPN or Sports Illustrated. This book is by my favorite writer who writes for Bill Simmons company, The Ringer. The book is entitled "Basketball and Other Things", and the writer is Shea Serrano.
I became vaguely familiar with Serrano when I got his first book, "The Rap Yearbook", a few years back as a gift. I kept "The Rap Yearbook" on my shelf for awhile, kind of staring it down, waiting to open and read it. I finally did, and I loved it. It was a great representation of all the things I think about rap music, but can't get across as funny and proper as someone like Serrano can. The illustrations also drew me in. Serrano's buddy, Arturo Torres, does all of the artwork for his books, and he is an amazing artist. Seriously, go google his name and check out his stuff. It is incredible.
So, after being on the high that was "The Rap Yearbook", I searched and searched to see if Serrano had written anything else. I saw all his columns, but I wanted a book. Then, about a week or so after my search, I saw on Twitter that he was working on a new book. He was vague, but he did say it was going to be about basketball. I was on board immediately. Then, he started a pre order campaign on Twitter, before he even finished his book. I, of course, pre ordered the book and waited for it to arrive in October. The only reason I am writing about it now, I just finished it very recently, and I am terribly OCD, so I read books in certain orders, and I had a few to read before "BAOT".
When I finally got around to "BAOT", I did not want to put it down. This is one of the funniest books, probably the funniest book, ever written about basketball. And don't get me wrong, Serrano knows his shit when it comes to basketball. But, he is undeniably hilarious. The stories he tells in the notes of this books, and throughout the chapters, had me in tears. In one of his chapters, when he talks about who he would dunk on if he could dunk on anyone, he tells a story about being a kid, finding 8 foot rims, playing 3 on 3 and dunking on one of his buddies so hard that he gave him a nose bleed. I have done this exact same thing. Reading this made me think of all the times that my friends and I would find smaller rims and yam on each other, and it was amazing. Also, when he breaks it down and announces that he would dunk on MLK, I was howling. That is what makes this book so great, the chapters.
The theme behind "BAOT", and I heard Serrano say as much in interviews, is to ask a question at the top, and then try to answer it. For example, he has a chapter about replacing Karl Malone with a grizzly bear, and seeing which one would succeed in the 1997 season. He breaks down each strengths and weaknesses, mind you, the bear in this chapter does not maul anyone, it is just put on a court and knows how to play basketball. It was also hilarious to read him talk about Malone living in the forest like a grizzly bear. This was the perfect chapter. He also delves into things like, which group of NBA players would be helpful or hurtful if the purge ever became a real thing. He puts players in the "Disrespectful Dunk Hall of Fame". He breaks down the careers of Allen Iverson and Dwayne Wade in one of my favorite chapters. Iverson had the better career, and Serrano proves that tenfold. He makes a Frankenstein type NBA player that would be dominant. He does a fictional basketball draft, which RD and I have also done on the podcast. He breaks down the most important NBA titles. He talks about the rules for pickup basketball, all of which I agree with him on. He does a chapter where he changes famous NBA players by just removing or replacing one letter of their names and says where they would be now, and the James Harder stuff is awesome. I would one hundred percent see the "Hammer" movies that Serrano makes up based on James Harden new name. They sound amazing. He talks about Nick Anderson making one of the four free throws he missed when the Magic played the Rockets in the Finals, and how that could have changed the history of the NBA. He even brings up the proposed Hakeem Olajuwon and Shaq one on one game that they were supposed to play after said Finals. That was a great chapter too.
Serrano covers so much great stuff in this book. Every chapter also has at least one drawing from Arturo Torres, and they are amazing. Each chapter opens with one of his drawings, and it is of an NBA player that has the number of the chapter. Shea Serrano has done something very special with "BAOT". As I said, this is my new favorite book about basketball. Serrano is easily my favorite writer at the moment. And it is not just me either. "BAOT" is so popular, even Barack Obama put it on his top 10 list at the end of the year.
Do yourself a favor and read "Basketball and Other Things". You don't necessarily have to be a basketball fan, but it helps. But, if you like comedy, Serrano is one of the best comedic writers out there right now. I am in love with this book. It is amazing.
Ty
Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He was dunked on by the head editor one time when they found a 5 foot rim, and the head editor beat Ty their in a footrace.
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