The Basketball Maniac's Almanac - (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Part reference, part trivia, part brain teaser, and absolutely the most unusual and thorough compendium of basketball stats and facts ever assembled!

Did you know that Wilt Chamberlain and Wes Unseld are the only two players in basketball history to win both the Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player awards in the same season? Or that Mark Jackson had more than 10,000 assists in his career, but is not in the Hall of Fame? How about that Kevin Love has the longest consecutive streak of double-doubles, with 53?

Inspired by The Baseball Maniac's Almanac--first created by legendary sportswriter Bert Randolph Sugar--The Basketball Maniac's Almanac includes thousands of fascinating lists, tables, data, and stimulating facts never before compiled in one place! Inside, you'll find all of the big name basketball heroes like Bill Russell, Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, LeBron James, Rick Barry, Kevin Durant, Jerry West, Ray Allen, Kobe Bryant, and a lot of information that will be new to even the most devoted fans:

• Hall of Famers drafted #1 overall
• Points leaders by state of birth
• Most blocked shots by players under six-feet tall
• Career leaders in four-points plays
• Oldest player selected to an All-Star Game
• Players with career Quadruple-Doubles
• Former ABA players leading the NBA in 3-pointers
• Most career technical fouls
• Fathers and sons both drafted in the first round
• Coaches winning Coach of the Year award and championship in the same season
• And so much more!

Not just a collection of facts or records, this is a book of glorious fun that will astound even the most bookish basketball fan. Read up and amaze your friends, family, and anyone who loves the game of basketball!

Review Quotes

"In The Basketball Maniac's Almanac, you can find all kinds of ridiculous associations and comparisons and silly (wonderful?) NBA facts without doing more than turning a page. Take the book with you (yeah, you need a big bag because it's 542 pages), and be the hero of your buddy's man cave or the star at the next bored-guys-at-a-cocktail-party-kitchen-hang. . . . The thing is, you don't need anybody else around to enjoy this block of fun. Just sit back by yourself and start checking out one unusual stat after another."
--SLAM magazine

"The Basketball Maniac's Almanac hit the right chord with me, a hoops maniac for 70-plus years. I guess it's the one book you'd want with you when stranded on a deserted island, since you could never quite finish it! To see Wilt all over the book illustrates how amazing he was. And yes, I do miss the Waterloo Hawks--who doesn't?!"
--Ira Berkow, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of How Life Imitates Sports and Baseball's Best Ever

"Some books are perfectly titled, and this is one. Basketball maniacs (or any sports nuts, actually) can find out fascinating things they never knew they needed--and wanted--to know, or that anybody kept track of. Oldest player with an 800-rebound season? Check. Fewest blocks in a season by an MVP? Got it. Most points by a player who never averaged 20 points in a season? Of course! Get lost in this book. I did."
--Rick Telander, senior sports columnist, Chicago Tribune; and author of Heaven is a Playground

"A must-have!"
--HoopsHype.com

"In these days with everything available online, very few books are necessary to own a hardcopy of. I would argue that any real basketball fan must own a copy of The Basketball Maniac's Almanac. I should say at least one copy, since friends will want their own. . . . This is living, breathing trivia and history and pure basketball gold. . . . If you're young, you will enjoy the analytics, and hopefully, learn the history. If you're old, these lists will serve as "brain exercises" to boost memory and retain mental skills."
--Elliott Kalb, author of Who's Better, Who's Best in Basketball and best known as "Mr. Stats"

"This is a book you want in your Man Cave when you're watching an NBA game on TV and somebody wants to know the most far-fetched bit of trivia imaginable. . . . The editors of Sports Publishing gathered every piece of statistical information about NBA players that one can imagine, and more. This baby is crammed with stuff you want to know along with some that you don't care to know. . . . I had fun with this. If you like the NBA and statistics, you will, too."
--Kerry Eggers, veteran journalist and author of Jail Blazers

About the Author

For more than three decades, Sports Publishing has offered sports books to readers on both a regional and national platform. Covering all aspects of sports, they have published books from amateurs to professionals, national to international, making sure every and any subject is covered in depth. The Editors of Sports Publishing have continued their work of excellence in revising and updating The Baseball Maniac's Almanac (now in its fifth edition), and hope to accomplish the same with The Basketball Maniac's Almanac.