Life in the G: Minor League Basketball and the Relentless Pursuit of the NBA
Autor Alex Squadron Cuvânt înainte de Andre Ingramen Limba Engleză Hardback – oct 2023
Life in the G League is far from glamorous. Players make enormous sacrifices and work unimaginable hours in the hope that someone in the NBA will give them a chance. To this day, very few fans—even the most passionate followers of the NBA—know much about the G League. In the fall of 2021, the Birmingham Squadron granted author Alex Squadron complete access to the team to capture the experience of playing in the league.
That year, with hundreds of NBA players sidelined by the highly contagious Omicron variant of COVID-19, the G League saw a record number of call-ups. Sports Illustrated labeled it “the year of the NBA replacement player.” Many of those players stayed in the NBA, earning life-changing contracts and taking on significant roles for their new teams. In addition to recounting the organization’s inaugural season, Squadron’s access to the Birmingham Squadron enabled him to document the incredible journeys of G League players and to tell the larger story of life in the G. This is the inspiring tale of an unforgettable season and the emotional roller coaster for everyone involved in the chase for an NBA dream.
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Specificații
ISBN-13: 9781496235855
ISBN-10: 1496235851
Pagini: 288
Ilustrații: 19 photographs
Dimensiuni: 152 x 229 x 30 mm
Greutate: 0.34 kg
Editura: Nebraska
Colecția University of Nebraska Press
Locul publicării:United States
ISBN-10: 1496235851
Pagini: 288
Ilustrații: 19 photographs
Dimensiuni: 152 x 229 x 30 mm
Greutate: 0.34 kg
Editura: Nebraska
Colecția University of Nebraska Press
Locul publicării:United States
Notă biografică
Alex Squadron is a sports journalist who has worked as an associate editor for SLAM, producing cover stories on NBA stars and reporting on numerous marquee events, including the NBA Finals, NBA All-Star Weekend, and FIBA World Cup in China. Andre Ingram is a professional basketball player who has spent fourteen years in the G League. He also serves as president of the G League’s union.
Extras
1. WHAT’S THE G LEAGUE?
Growing up on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois, Renaldo Major was convinced
that he would one day be a professional baseball player. He wore number
30 and was the centerfielder for the Meyering Park Mets, a local youth team.
He was good too. Really good. Good enough to be singled out by coaches as
a potential future star, even though he was just in elementary school. For a
brief time, Major thought he was destined to become the next Ken Griffey Jr.
That all changed at a family barbeque in May of 1991—right around Renaldo’s
ninth birthday. His uncles were all huddled around a small television,
watching the Chicago Bulls game. Little Renaldo wedged his way into the
crowd. He stared curiously at the screen. He didn’t know much about basketball,
but the announcer kept repeating the same name, over and over again:
Michael Jordan. Michael Jordan. Michael Jordan.
“Who’s Michael Jordan?” Renaldo finally asked.
Michael Jordan—the eventual five-time NBA MVP and six-time NBA
champion, widely considered the greatest basketball player to ever walk the
earth—would soon become Renaldo’s hero. More than that, Jordan would
completely change the direction of Renaldo’s life. The Bulls legend grew to
be so famous and so idolized that it became almost cliché to say, “Michael
Jordan inspired me to become a basketball player.” But Michael Jordan inspired
Renaldo Major to become a basketball player, without a doubt.
Not long after that family gathering, Major quit baseball forever—no
more centerfield, no more Meyering Park Mets, no more worshiping Ken Griffey Jr.
Instead, basketball became his obsession—the sort of obsession that drowns
out everything else in the world. Major’s life was basketball. And soon, his
dream was to make it to the NBA. “They say don’t put all your eggs in one
basket, but I kind of did that,” he said. “I wanted nothing but the NBA. I had
my mindset stuck on the NBA. NBA or nothing. NBA or nothing.”
Though rail thin, Renaldo had the physical tools for basketball. He was
tall, long-armed, fast, and athletic—just like his father, Ronald, had been.
His go-to move was a little midrange jumper, catching the ball around the
foul line and rising over smaller defenders. Renaldo became a good player at
Carver High School, but not that good. Not the kind of player who dreams
of making it to the NBA. Not the kind of player who puts all his eggs in one
basket.
Still, despite a high school career that caused about as much splash as a
rock tossed in the ocean, he fully, albeit foolishly, believed that basketball was
his purpose. So much so that he neglected schoolwork—he had to scramble
in the last few months of his senior year just to graduate from Carver—and
any semblance of a social life.
“I was weird in high school. I had no friends,” he remembered with a laugh.
“It’s funny—I didn’t want to pay attention to anything else. All I wanted to
do was just play basketball.”
His confidence was admirable, sure, but also delusional. He was a zero-star
recruit in a pre–social media era. Even at six feet seven with solid skills, how
was Major going to get noticed? How was he going to make it to the pros?
What miracle path existed? And here’s the thing: Major didn’t just dream
of a life in the NBA, he prepared for it as if it were inevitable. As a teenager,
he would practice talking to imaginary reporters.
“What were your thoughts on your performance today, Renaldo?”
“I did well. I could’ve gotten my teammates more involved, and I could’ve
played better defense.”
“Walk us through that play down the stretch.”
“Well, I tried to turn baseline and uh—”
Stop. Jordan never said “uh.”
So Major would start over, rehearsing lines about a nonexistent play for
a nonexistent team in a nonexistent game—sometimes for over an hour. “I
knew I was going to be a basketball player. I knew I was going to make the
NBA,” he said. “I was put on earth to be an NBA player. I always envisioned
that. I just knew it was going to come.” He just didn’t know how.
Major graduated from Carver in June of 2000 without any college scholarship
offers. He had no thoughts of going to school strictly for an education.
Sulking at home all summer, his father ultimately presented him with two
options: get a job or enlist in the army. In other words, it was time for Renaldo
Major to face reality. To move on.
Growing up on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois, Renaldo Major was convinced
that he would one day be a professional baseball player. He wore number
30 and was the centerfielder for the Meyering Park Mets, a local youth team.
He was good too. Really good. Good enough to be singled out by coaches as
a potential future star, even though he was just in elementary school. For a
brief time, Major thought he was destined to become the next Ken Griffey Jr.
That all changed at a family barbeque in May of 1991—right around Renaldo’s
ninth birthday. His uncles were all huddled around a small television,
watching the Chicago Bulls game. Little Renaldo wedged his way into the
crowd. He stared curiously at the screen. He didn’t know much about basketball,
but the announcer kept repeating the same name, over and over again:
Michael Jordan. Michael Jordan. Michael Jordan.
“Who’s Michael Jordan?” Renaldo finally asked.
Michael Jordan—the eventual five-time NBA MVP and six-time NBA
champion, widely considered the greatest basketball player to ever walk the
earth—would soon become Renaldo’s hero. More than that, Jordan would
completely change the direction of Renaldo’s life. The Bulls legend grew to
be so famous and so idolized that it became almost cliché to say, “Michael
Jordan inspired me to become a basketball player.” But Michael Jordan inspired
Renaldo Major to become a basketball player, without a doubt.
Not long after that family gathering, Major quit baseball forever—no
more centerfield, no more Meyering Park Mets, no more worshiping Ken Griffey Jr.
Instead, basketball became his obsession—the sort of obsession that drowns
out everything else in the world. Major’s life was basketball. And soon, his
dream was to make it to the NBA. “They say don’t put all your eggs in one
basket, but I kind of did that,” he said. “I wanted nothing but the NBA. I had
my mindset stuck on the NBA. NBA or nothing. NBA or nothing.”
Though rail thin, Renaldo had the physical tools for basketball. He was
tall, long-armed, fast, and athletic—just like his father, Ronald, had been.
His go-to move was a little midrange jumper, catching the ball around the
foul line and rising over smaller defenders. Renaldo became a good player at
Carver High School, but not that good. Not the kind of player who dreams
of making it to the NBA. Not the kind of player who puts all his eggs in one
basket.
Still, despite a high school career that caused about as much splash as a
rock tossed in the ocean, he fully, albeit foolishly, believed that basketball was
his purpose. So much so that he neglected schoolwork—he had to scramble
in the last few months of his senior year just to graduate from Carver—and
any semblance of a social life.
“I was weird in high school. I had no friends,” he remembered with a laugh.
“It’s funny—I didn’t want to pay attention to anything else. All I wanted to
do was just play basketball.”
His confidence was admirable, sure, but also delusional. He was a zero-star
recruit in a pre–social media era. Even at six feet seven with solid skills, how
was Major going to get noticed? How was he going to make it to the pros?
What miracle path existed? And here’s the thing: Major didn’t just dream
of a life in the NBA, he prepared for it as if it were inevitable. As a teenager,
he would practice talking to imaginary reporters.
“What were your thoughts on your performance today, Renaldo?”
“I did well. I could’ve gotten my teammates more involved, and I could’ve
played better defense.”
“Walk us through that play down the stretch.”
“Well, I tried to turn baseline and uh—”
Stop. Jordan never said “uh.”
So Major would start over, rehearsing lines about a nonexistent play for
a nonexistent team in a nonexistent game—sometimes for over an hour. “I
knew I was going to be a basketball player. I knew I was going to make the
NBA,” he said. “I was put on earth to be an NBA player. I always envisioned
that. I just knew it was going to come.” He just didn’t know how.
Major graduated from Carver in June of 2000 without any college scholarship
offers. He had no thoughts of going to school strictly for an education.
Sulking at home all summer, his father ultimately presented him with two
options: get a job or enlist in the army. In other words, it was time for Renaldo
Major to face reality. To move on.
Cuprins
Foreword by Andre Ingram
Author’s Note
Introduction
1. What’s the G League?
2. It’s Nice to Have You in Birmingham
3. Tryouts
4. Draft Day
5. Training Camp
6. Winning Matters
7. The Marshmallow Experiment
8. November 17, 2021
9. The Panic Button
10. The Price of a Dream
11. Basketball in the Magic City
12. Omicron
13. Showcase
14. Going Up
15. Centimeter of Chance
16. Can You Pass This Test?
17. A Ruthless Business
18. Keep Going
19. Malcolm Hill’s Here
20. At Peace
21. Thinking about Life
22. For the Love
23. We All We Got
24. Win or Go Home
25. Never Ending
Acknowledgments
Notes
Author’s Note
Introduction
1. What’s the G League?
2. It’s Nice to Have You in Birmingham
3. Tryouts
4. Draft Day
5. Training Camp
6. Winning Matters
7. The Marshmallow Experiment
8. November 17, 2021
9. The Panic Button
10. The Price of a Dream
11. Basketball in the Magic City
12. Omicron
13. Showcase
14. Going Up
15. Centimeter of Chance
16. Can You Pass This Test?
17. A Ruthless Business
18. Keep Going
19. Malcolm Hill’s Here
20. At Peace
21. Thinking about Life
22. For the Love
23. We All We Got
24. Win or Go Home
25. Never Ending
Acknowledgments
Notes
Recenzii
“A fascinating and well-reported look at the ups and downs of life in the G League and the everyday struggles of players reaching for their dream. Highly recommended!”—Paul Fichtenbaum, chief content officer of The Athletic
“Life in the G is an oft-gritty, oft-surprising, always engrossing love letter not simply to basketball but to those scratching and clawing to make the League. Alex Squadron has written his dream book, and the passion drips from every page. Bravo.”—Jeff Pearlman, New York Times best-selling author of The Last Folk Hero: The Life and Myth of Bo Jackson
"Squadron's book is filled with colorful, interesting characters, the most captivating being head coach Ryan Pannone. A basketball mastermind with unparalleled knowledge of the game who cares so much, the reader has no other option but to feel for him."—Lukasz Muniowski, Sport in American History
"This is an unforgettable view of an aspect of the NBA that most of us don't see, in which the glitz and glamour we're used to are replaced by the true, day-to-day grind of the $37,000-a-year-earning NBA hopeful. Squadron's detailed narrative impeccably captures the pursuit of an elusive dream."—Philip Zozzaro, Booklist
“Finally, a book that captures the struggle, the yearning, the grind of pursuing an NBA dream. It might take luck to make the big leagues, but there’s nothing lucky about Alex Squadron’s soulful, deeply reported book. He has taken us to the gym, to the heartbreak, and to the very core of what it means to dream.”—Mirin Fader, New York Times best-selling author of Giannis: The Improbable Rise of an NBA MVP
“Squadron provides a necessary deep dive beneath the glitz and glam of major professional sports to reveal the pure human pursuit of happiness and dream-chasing that underscores the modern NBA.”—Jake Fischer, author of Built to Lose: How the NBA’s Tanking Era Changed the League Forever
“Unlike the oft-romanticized world of Minor League Baseball, the professional basketball played below the NBA in this country is undercovered and totally misunderstood. With deft reporting and a humane approach that makes you care about the characters, Alex Squadron’s Life in the G brings you inside the NBA G League and teaches what it really takes for many NBA players to make it to the ‘Association.’”—Ben Osborne, author of The Brooklyn Cyclones: Hardball Dreams and the New Coney Island
"I can’t recommend Life in the G enough. It's an instant classic on the level of 'Hoop Dreams' and 'Friday Night Lights.' For sports fans, it's essential reading. Any fan of basketball will absolutely cherish every single word, but Life in the G is so much more than a book about basketball. . . . Squadron is a first-class reporter and a brilliant writer. Life in the G is American basketball canon."—Joe Goodman, al.com
Descriere
Life in the G details the G League experience and the relentless pursuit of the NBA dream through the lens of the Birmingham Squadron’s inaugural season.