The odds of becoming an NBA or WNBA player are daunting, but this appealing, behind-the-scenes look at the path to pro basketball might help young athletes beat the odds. Readers will learn about the youth and development leagues that can help them hone their skills. They'll find out who to contact to get into the right college and what they can do now to prepare themselves for their future career. Stories of famous basketball players who made it big will further inspire young athletes as well as open their eyes to the realities of professional sports.
For a professional player, basketball isn't just a fun game?it's a job. Millions of people are watching your every move, expecting you to make every shot and block your competitors'. You have to give your all for every game, and when you're not playing, you're sharpening skills, working on plays, and studying your opponents. Dedication extends beyond the season. You must follow strict diets and workout plans to stay in shape throughout the year. You must learn to manage the pressure of constant travel and stardom. Is it worth it? This book, which was reviewed by 11-year National Basketball Association (NBA) veteran and three-time NBA champion Devean George, offers an authentic look at what life is like as a pro basketball player. You'll learn: ? What kinds of skills it takes to play in the NBA ? How players climb the ranks to reach the NBA ? What daily life is like for an NBA player ? The types of workouts and dietary plans NBA players use ? How NBA players prevent and treat injuries Go behind the scenes and see what it's really like to be an NBA star!
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.
Your game plan for career success—from International Basketball Pro Dre Baldwin No one knows how to turn unrelenting self-belief into hard-and-fast career results better than Dre Baldwin. When everyone and everything was telling him to give up on his goal of playing pro basketball, he got focused on his future, and met the challenge head on. In the end, Baldwin succeeded—making a living playing basketball in leagues around the world—and in these pages, he shares all his secrets. Whether you’re just starting out in business or looking to take your career to the next level, Work On Your Game provides the strategy you need to succeed from the inside-out. Dre Baldwin, or “DreAllDay,” as his fans know him, delivers an easy-to-understand four-part model for achieving any goal. It’s based on discipline, confidence, mental toughness, and personal initiative—and it’s proven effective. Baldwin takes you through the steps of identifying what’s expected of you, preparing for what's coming, and conditioning your body and mind for the competitive world of business—and everything is a business. Baldwin’s personal story of beating the odds is both inspiring and instructional. You’ll learn how to play the mental game in a way that launches you towards unparalleled achievement.
The Eastern Professional Basketball League (1946-78) was fast and physical, often played in tiny, smoke-filled gyms across the northeast and featuring the best players who just couldn’t make the NBA—many because of unofficial quotas on Black players, some because of scandals, and others because they weren’t quite good enough in the years when the NBA had less than 100 players. In Boxed out of the NBA: Remembering the Eastern Professional Basketball League, Syl Sobel and Jay Rosenstein tell the fascinating story of a league that was a pro basketball institution for over 30 years, showcasing top players from around the country. During the early years of professional basketball, the Eastern League was the next-best professional league in the world after the NBA. It was home to big-name players such as Sherman White, Jack Molinas, and Bill Spivey, who were implicated in college gambling scandals in the 1950s and were barred from the NBA, and top Black players such as Hal “King” Lear, Julius McCoy, and Wally Choice, who could not make the NBA into the early 1960s due to unwritten team quotas on African-American players. Featuring interviews with some 40 former Eastern League coaches, referees, fans, and players—including Syracuse University coach Jim Boeheim, former Temple University coach John Chaney, former Detroit Pistons player and coach Ray Scott, former NBA coach and ESPN analyst Hubie Brown, and former NBA player and coach Bob Weiss—this book provides an intimate, first-hand account of small-town professional basketball at its best.
Since I started my website DreAllDay.com, along with all the YouTube videos, I have received many requests from players on playing pro basketball. And since the NBA has only so many positions, most of you know that overseas ball is a stronger possibility for you to continue your playing career, and it is: The NBA has 450 job positions while there are 10,000 players employed internationally (which includes Canada, Central and South America, which technically do not require going "over a sea" to get to, in case you cared). Over the years I have compiled several guides and tips for players on how to get their careers started, what to expect on the way and once they are in the door, and how to handle themselves with the on and off-court situations that come with it. Every guide comes from questions that players frequently ask me. This guidebook is a compilation of all of those guides and tips in one place for your quick and easy reference, which I will be updating over time as new questions come up and new information arises. It should be noted that several, though not all, of the chapters of this book are based on the posts on the Guides & Tips page of my website, edited and updated for this guidebook - so do not leave me any negative reviews saying, "It's just the same stuff from his website!" I'm saying here and now that many things are the same, but there is also new stuff in here, and everything is updated to fit the times. And it's damn ninety-nine cents. Quit your whinin', make the pros, write a book about it and sell one copy - you've made your money back! If you take only one thing from this guidebook, know that professional basketball is a buyer's market: There are more candidates than there are jobs, so the people who do the hiring - the teams themselves - have the power. What this means for you is, you need to make yourself stand out. Make these coaches, agents, and managers remember you and want to know more. We will cover this within.
Called for Traveling is a pro basketball journey that spans four continents, seven countries and twelve teams over eleven hilarious and adventurous years. After playing his college ball at Penn State, Tyler Smith had a path in mind of where he wanted his pro basketball career to lead. Bringing his own toilet paper to away games, courts made of concrete, and fully-geared riot police at every stadium were not part of his original dream. Where were all the big contracts people talked about? Would he even have a job next season—or next week? And would he be playing for free this month because the team didn’t feel like paying him? In this highly unstable and unorthodox overseas lifestyle as a professional basketball player, Smith draws readers in quickly with his humor and ability to share his clever stories that seem outrageous, but are 100 percent true. His attitude and faith are tested relentlessly through bounced paychecks, injuries, and the seemingly endless frustrating reality of people around him speaking a language he could not understand. From Italy to Japan to Uruguay, and even the NBA, the challenges and adventures only accelerate as Tyler’s wife and kids are added to the overseas equation. His unique story is highly engaging whether or not you’re a basketball junkie. Called for Traveling is an honest and entertaining inside look at one man’s journey playing pro basketball around the world.
For a professional player, basketball isn't just a fun game—it's a job. Millions of people are watching your every move, expecting you to make every shot and block your competitors'. You have to give your all for every game, and when you're not playing, you're sharpening skills, working on plays, and studying your opponents. Dedication extends beyond the season. You must follow strict diets and workout plans to stay in shape throughout the year. You must learn to manage the pressure of constant travel and stardom. Is it worth it? This book, which was reviewed by 11-year National Basketball Association (NBA) veteran and three-time NBA champion Devean George, offers an authentic look at what life is like as a pro basketball player. You'll learn: • What kinds of skills it takes to play in the NBA • How players climb the ranks to reach the NBA • What daily life is like for an NBA player • The types of workouts and dietary plans NBA players use • How NBA players prevent and treat injuries Go behind the scenes and see what it's really like to be an NBA star!
"Provides instructional tips on how to improve one's basketball skills, including quotes and advice from professional coaches and athletes"--Provided by publisher.
