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Great articles, every Saturday.

Tags

Basketball

Best Article Science Sports

The Legacy of Wes Leonard

The story of a high school star who died minutes after hitting a game-winner to end an undefeated season, and the family and friends he left behind.

Thomas Lake Sports Illustrated Feb 2012 25min Permalink

Sports

Did This Man Really Cut Michael Jordan?

On Clifton “Pop” Herring, the then-26-year-old high school basketball coach who famously left Jordan off the varsity squad as a sophomore.

Thomas Lake Sports Illustrated Jan 2012 30min Permalink

Sports

"We Are Grown Men Playing a Child's Game"

Bill Russell, race, and the NBA of the 1960s.

Gilbert Rogin Sports Illustrated Nov 1963 20min Permalink

Crime Sports

The Murder of Tayshana "Chicken" Murphy

On the death of a high school basketball star in New York City.

Jonathan Abrams Grantland Nov 2011 20min Permalink

Sports Tech

Shaqzilla!

On the battle between Shaquille O’Neal and his former IT guy, who’s in control of much of O’Neal’s archived (and often damning) correspondence.

Gus Garcia-Roberts The Miami New Times Sep 2011 20min Permalink

Sports

Larger Than Real Life

What happens to 7-footers when they step off the basketball court?

Pablo S. Torre Sports Illustrated Jun 2011 20min Permalink

Sports

Three-Man Weave

On witnessing an incredible junior college basketball game 23 years ago in North Dakota.

Chuck Klosterman Grantland Jun 2011 15min Permalink

Best Article Sports

Shoot the Moon

A profile of Felipe Lopez, high school phenom.

Susan Orlean New Yorker Mar 1993 40min Permalink

Sports

The Garden of Good and Evil

On recommitting to the Knicks after “a decade of dysfunction and delusion.”

Katie Baker Grantland May 2011 25min Permalink

Best Article Reprints Sports

A Fan's Notes on Earl Monroe

The author came late to basketball. A profile of his favorite player:

He creates a sense of danger in the arena and yet has enough wit in his style to bring off funny ideas when he wants to.

Woody Allen Sport Jan 1970 15min Permalink

Sports

Betting It All On Basketball: A Gamblers Grind In The NBA

Basketball is considered one of the most difficult sports to effectively bet on, therefore gamblers like Haralabos Voulgaris who make a handsome living on NBA lines are a rare breed, whose knowledge of the game and personal statistical databases rival most of the league’s front-offices’.

David Hill Business Insider Apr 2011 10min Permalink

Sports

This ’Melo Is

A profile of Carmelo Anthony, newly anointed savior of the New York Knicks.

Will Leitch New York Apr 2011 10min Permalink

Sports

The Talent Trap

The inner workings of a high school basketball team stacked with international talent.

Gus Garcia-Roberts The Miami New Times Mar 2011 20min Permalink

Sports Religion

My Story

“My name is Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor Jr., and my name is also Abdul Kareem, but I’ll explain about that much later.” A three-part personal essay on basketball, family, race and religion.

  1. Part 1: My Story

  2. Part 2: UCLA Was a Mistake

  3. Part 3: A Year of Turmoil and Decision

Jack Olsen, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Sports Illustrated Nov 1969 1h30min Permalink

Sports

A Fling and a Prayer

The story of the 2010 NCAA championship game between Duke and Butler, and what would have been greatest shot in college basketball history.

Tim Layden Sports Illustrated Mar 2011 25min Permalink

Sports

Dunk and Done

On Baylor’s freshman basketball star Perry Jones and how the new era of one-season careers has changed the landscape of college basketball.

Michael Sokolove New York Times Magazine Mar 2011 Permalink

Sports

Too Slick, Too Loud, Too Successful: Why John Calipari Can't Catch a Break

A profile of the highest paid coach in college basketball. A pioneer of one-and-done recruiting, Calipari is also the only coach in NCAA history to have two runs to the Final Four removed from the record books for rules violations.

S.L. Price Sports Illustrated Mar 2011 30min Permalink

Sports

Dear Nate

The story of Nate Fleming—walk-on point guard at Oklahoma State, fan favorite, golden child—and the 2001 plane crash that took his life.

Tom Friend ESPN Jan 2011 Permalink

Sports Travel

Allen Iverson: Fallen Star

A reporter heads to Istanbul, where Iverson is playing minor league hoops in a 3,200-seat arena and hanging out at T.G.I. Friday’s.

Robert Huber Philadelphia Magazine Dec 2010 Permalink

Sports

A Different Drummer

A profile of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, written at the midpoint of his career.

John Papanek Sports Illustrated Mar 1980 20min Permalink

Best Article Sports World

Home and Away

A profile of Yao Ming published during his second season in the NBA.

Peter Hessler New Yorker Dec 2003 30min Permalink

Sports

The King and I

Brian Windhorst was one of the first reporters to cover LeBron James. He was there in high school. There at the draft. There in Cleveland. And now he’s there in Miami, though the relationship is far from what it used to be.

Michael Kruse The St. Petersburg Times Nov 2010 Permalink

Sports

The Education of Demetrius Walker

Or, the perils of promoting a middle schooler’s basketball skills. An excerpt from Play Their Hearts Out.

George Dohrmann Sports Illustrated Sep 2010 Permalink

Sports

Empty Garden

Lance Stephenson, the latest in a long line of Coney Island basketball prodigies, carries a burden none of his predecessors did: restoring New York City’s reputation as the hoops capital of the world.

Jason Zengerle The New Republic Apr 2009 25min Permalink

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