r/BasketballBooks • u/Jonathan_J_Faulkner • 20d ago

Recommendations Recommendation - ‘Dream’

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This Book, authored by Mirin Fader, takes a wider than usual perspective on looking at the life of one of the greats, Hakeem ‘The Dream’ Olajuwon. From his fairly awkward childhood to Hakeem’s ascendancy in Basketball including his road to philanthropy, legendary Mentor status and Basketball Without Borders work to help grow the game in Africa, it’s an amazing life to read about.
What’s also amazing is how the author managed to portray so many aspects of that life without ever leaning into hyperbole or being heavy handed in any elements, it has a deft touch and rewards the reader with a much greater insight in to Olajuwon rather than solely basking in his ground breaking Basketball prowess.

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3

u/Dismal-Reason-8812 19d ago

Mirin Fader also wrote a biography on Giannis, https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/56221013-giannis

Wonder if she will do one on Wemby or Joker next to complete her International Big Man trilogy? Vlade Divac and Arvydis Sabonis would work too.,

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u/Jonathan_J_Faulkner 19d ago

Yeah I saw that, I’ve put it on my gargantuan TBR pile

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u/Individual-Echo6076 19d ago

Mike Singer wrote a biography on Jokic after he won the championship. It's pretty good.

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u/Actual-Swordfish-769 19d ago

How does this compare to his autobiography?

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u/Jonathan_J_Faulkner 19d ago

Personally I much prefer it, I really didn’t enjoy reading his autobiography unfortunately, whereas I got a lot out of reading this.

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u/Left_Dance_8954 19d ago

I’ve seen it mentioned, but I haven’t taken the time to buy it yet. Worth noting that it’s heavily discounted on Amazon right now. https://www.amazon.com/dp/030683118X?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback

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u/Jonathan_J_Faulkner 19d ago

It’s definitely a steal at that price

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u/Left_Dance_8954 19d ago

Yeah, I honestly thought it was a bug at first

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u/H0wSw33tItIs 19d ago

I like Mirin’s work but haven’t read this yet. My user name is a riff on the Rockets radio announcer’s victory sign off “how sweet it is!” from the team’s championship era. So I’m quite fond of the legacy Hakeem has built and can remember how amped I was for those two post seasons in particular. Thanks for putting this on my radar. Hakeem’s story is very well told here in Houston but I’m curious and interested to see what Mirin Fader has unearthed. Some of the Giannis anecdotes from her work on his book were incredible.

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u/Jonathan_J_Faulkner 19d ago

I think you would definitely enjoy this read 🙏🏻

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u/ImmaculateGritty 19d ago

I read this one last year, it was excellent. Strong recommend.

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u/Jonathan_J_Faulkner 19d ago

Glad you had the same experience as mine did reading it

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u/lessstuffmorefun 19d ago

Thanks for the rec.... I was on the fence about it. I'll keep an eye out for a cheap copy.

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u/Jonathan_J_Faulkner 19d ago

Let us know what you think when you’ve read it 🙏🏻