Taking Shots - by Keith Glass (Paperback)

About the Book

Glass shatters the myth of NBA marketing in this insightful, funny, and often mind-numbingly collection of bizarre tales of life as an agent in the NBA.

From the Back Cover

Bring a family of four to an NBA game today, and it costs around $500 to watch a bunch of seven-footers take bad shots. Perhaps the quote often attributed to P.T. Barnum is true--there really is a sucker born every minute.

The NBA is in trouble. And as NBA agent Keith Glass describes it--he's part of the problem! If team owners are willing to throw millions of dollars his way for marginal players, why should he be the only one with the self-restraint to say "no"?

In his insightful, funny, and often mind-numbingly bizarre tales of life in the NBA over the last twenty- five years, Keith Glass lets it fly from half-court. He'll tell you how we got to the present state--where an agent who makes millions off the game can't sit through one; why our NBA stars couldn't capture Olympic gold; and why the game he loves is in dire need of help.

Glass has seen it all as the representative of players like Mark Eaton, the seven-foot-five center found working as a mechanic because he hated basketball; Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, who converted to Islam and brought the wrath of the league upon him when he refused to stand for the National Anthem; and first-round draft pick Quincy Douby, who was forced to enter the draft before graduating from Rutgers because of the harsh NCAA rules regarding college eligibility.

With informative chapters such as "How to Feed Your Family on Only $14 Million a Year," "Eighty-one Feet of White Centers," and "From 6'11" to the 7- Eleven," Glass shatters the myth of NBA marketing: that everything about the game is great, and that as long as the fans in the luxury boxes are happy and weighed down with expensive merchandise, all is well. But have no fear! Keith Glass doesn't preach about the evils of highlight film slam-dunks--he'll just have you falling down laughing as he flagrantly fouls the league that was once the envy of the pro sports world.

Review Quotes

"The agent, Keith Glass, is not trying to kill the goose that laid the golden egg. But he is poking it with a sharp stick in his book, Taking Shots. Part memoir, part purist manifesto, the book is a winding tour of everything right and wrong with the NBA. The wrongs are what resonate most." - New York Times
"Part memoir, part purist manifesto...a winding tour of everything right and wrong with the NBA." - New York Times
"...Entertaining and enlightening." - Chicago Tribune
"...a wild ride from start to finish." - Asbury Park Press
"Agents deal with players, coaches and management on a regular basis, making them some of the most plugged-in people in sports. In his first book--which is insightful and at times very funny--agent Keith Glass offers his thoughts on topics including why teams are willing to throw millions at marginal talent and why U.S. pros have trouble bringing home gold." - Sports Illustrated
"...insightful and at times very funny." - Sports Illustrated
"As a basketball person, Keith Glass's Taking Shots tied that mysterious area of players and agents together for me--I learned and laughed at the same time. I'm a big sports book reader, and I thought Keith's book was terrific. Taking Shots will now be required reading at St. Anthony's." - Bob Hurley, St. Anthony High School
"I thought Keith Glass's book was terrific. Taking Shots will now be required reading at St. Anthony's." - Bob Hurley, St. Anthony High School
"Interesting, insightful, humorous and factual--Taking Shots has it all! A must read for any and all basketball or sports fan." - Jud Heathcote, former coach, Michagan State
"Arguably the best basketball book that came out in 2007. ...For those looking to get into the industry...this book is basically a must-read. It's all told in a pointy, cynical tone... ...Extremely informative and entertaining." - draftexpress.com
"Glass is deliciously passionate about things. ...Strong opinions make for good reading." - Orlando Sentinel
"...It's a good read, a rollicking ride, and bodes well for Glass's retirement job as a stand-up comedian..." - Montreal Gazette
"Through humor, he expresses a fairly weighty opinion... Keith may have outsmarted us all with his covertly brilliant writing style." - Paul Shirley, Phoenix Suns, author of Can I Keep My Jersey?
"Glass has had some intriguing experiences as an agent for NBA players...he has some stories to tell..." - Bill Littlefield, WBUR
"For an irreverent look at NBA life from an insider, consider the new book Taking Shots by Keith Glass." - Good Times
"...it deals with opinions many have thought but few have articulated. It's a wild ride from start to finish. Then again, what else would you expect from someone whose first recruiting trip for UCLA included a jailhouse visit with most of the team from Ben Franklin High School in East Harlem, N.Y., including Walter Berry and Richie Adams, and whose first client, Mark Eaton, was discovered under a car working as a mechanic in Southern California. It has all the elements...conflict and resolution...loyalty and betrayal...international intrigue and romance. ...worth reading." - Asbury Park Press
"Keith's book is full of funny stories. But that's not really the point of Taking Shots. The stories are merely the pieces of a collage that lead the reader to the eventual conclusion that the world of professional basketball is pretty screwed up. ...Through humor, he managed in his book to express a fairly weighty opinion on a subject close to his heart. ...Keith may have outsmarted us all with his covertly brilliant writing style...." - Paul Shirley, Phoenix Suns, author of Can I Keep My Jersey?