The Playmasters: From Sellouts to Lockouts-An Unauthorized History of the Nba

By Eldon L. Ham

Book Overview

The PlayMasters is the compelling story of the rise of the National Basketball Association as never before told. It reveals decades of behind-the-scenes manipulation and court battles that forged the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0809226022
• ISBN13: 9780809226023
• Release Date: February 2000
• Publisher: Contemporary Books
• Length: 258 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.8" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

Books on Professional Sports

Despite some minor misstatements and misrepresentation of events, sports law professor Eldon L. Ham's book is interesting and insightful to read. Detailed by name and/or organization, he reveals how insiders "engineer[ed] the greatest entertainment marketing partnership in the history of professional sports." Besides tracing the founding and historical development of the NBA, Ham writes about the good, bad, spectacular and inane agents, coaches, commissioners, owners, and players that contributed to the growth of the sport. For further information about how, when and why the NBA along with the NFL, NHL and American and National Leagues in MLB, became prominent and successful sports organizations in the U.S., see "American Sports Empire: How the Leagues Breed Success." Published by Praeger Publishing in 2003, this book documents how member teams, franchise owners, team players, the media and various government entities have collectively contributed to the progress and wealth of each sports league in the twentieth century. After reading "American Sports Empire," sports fans, team administrators, owners, coaches and players, and business journalists and historians will appreciate the significance and role of professional sports as a component of the culture in American society.