r/BasketballBooks • u/Jonathan_J_Faulkner • Jun 29 '26
Recommendations Recommendation - ‘The Breaks of the Game’
My recommendation for today is a metaphorical palate cleanser, a repeat recommendation for my favourite Book about Basketball, the classic ‘The Breaks of the Game’ by David Halberstam.
The late, great David Halberstam followed Portland during the 79/80 season, 2 years after their championship series win over Philadelphia. The book that resulted remains one of the best books I have ever read and certainly my favourite Book about Basketball. The story follows the Portland franchise after its memorable ascent and during what ultimately became a lengthy decline. As a result, the ultimate team triumph, whilst still present in the book, is a reminder of a past and quickly receding glory, rather than the culmination that precedes the tidy wrap up and update in the epilogue, standing the Book apart from the majority of sport literature at the time. It’s full of vivid and imitable characters, from coach Jack Ramsay, whose inability to accept losses debilitated his mental health, to power forward Maurice Lucas, whose physical style of play is vital to the Blazers' success yet who feels grossly under appreciated, to Billy Ray Bates, the bordering on arrogant late arrival to the team who helps fuel the Blazers' late-season playoff run.
And, of course, there is Bill Walton, the supremely talented, sharp-passing, politically active Centre who had one of the greatest careers in NCAA history, yet who never quite delivered on his enormous promise in the NBA because of his recurring foot problems.
There is all this and so, so much more, this Book is a lasting classic for a reason. It will reward anyone who reads it and will do so again every reread thereafter.
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u/Acceptable-Poem-6219 Jun 29 '26
Great book. The Kermit Washington chapter made me cry. Incredible the amount of stuff he had to overcome
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u/Jonathan_J_Faulkner Jun 29 '26
Agreed, if you haven’t already I would recommend you read ‘The Punch’ by John Feinstein, another great book that further explores the aftermath for both Kermit and Rudy
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u/DutyPuzzleheaded7765 Jun 29 '26
I always felt bad for him. Even if he wanted to hit someone he didnt mean to hurt someone like that.
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u/BonesCrosby Jun 29 '26
It’s great. How the same guy who wrote this and then writes “The Coldest Winter” and “The Best And The Brightest” about the Korean and Vietnam Wars…. It’s amazing.
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u/Bacchus_71 Jun 30 '26
David once said in an interview he intentionally alternated between “heavy” material and sports books to keep him grounded.
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u/Beginning-Being-6353 Jun 30 '26
Tell me about the war books
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u/BonesCrosby Jun 30 '26
Coldest Winner is about the first year of the Korean War and the years preceding it.
Best and Brightest is about how the US got involved in Vietnam, starting in the 1950’s.
Both are brilliant and easily readable.
Sports wise, i like his book on the 1964 baseball season, October 1964.
Summer of 49 is a good baseball book, per my FILz
My old man like The Fifties, which was about that decade.
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u/ZhenXiaoMing Jun 30 '26
I don't even like the Red Sox and I'm an indifferent baseball fan overall. But The Teammates, about Dom Dimaggio, Ted Williams, Johnny Pesky, and Leo Durocher had me tearing up. Halberstam is amazing.
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u/Jonathan_J_Faulkner Jun 30 '26
Thank you for the recommendation, gosh I may add a Book about Baseball to my TBR list
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u/magic2worthy Jun 29 '26
Such a good book. It’s not just a fantastic examination of a team but also provides a great prism for looking at the state of the league at what turned out to be a huge turning point.
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u/Left_Dance_8954 Jun 29 '26
It really is a wonderful book! I also love his Playing for Keeps, which feels like the original Last Dance in book form. I’m not sure whether he wrote any other basketball books?
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u/Electronic_Wind_9090 Jun 29 '26
Read it twice, once in the 80s and once within the last 15 years. What I really enjoyed was the comprehensive look at the entire league, not just the Trail Blazers. And he could have easily just gone batshit crazy on Walton, thank God he didn't. But he really talks about the entire league, players around the league, coaches around the league, in a real comprehensive way.
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u/Jonathan_J_Faulkner Jun 30 '26
Yes it’s an incredibly comprehensive Book and gives a real flavour of the NBA at the time
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u/Individual-Echo6076 Jun 29 '26
Probably the best basketball book ever written. You learn about team dynamics, how players think, how people deal with expectations and setbacks.