This book tells you how the lakers became the dominant team of the nba and how they, along with the boston celtics, saved the nba. Jeff pearlman joins bill littlefield to discuss his new book. While winning four championships with the lakers, he also caught the eye of linda zafrani. The lakers won the nba title in johnsons rookie year of 1980, and, after they hired pat riley, who lead the showtime lakers to championships in 1982, 1985 and backtoback titles in 1987 and 1988. Kobe bryant had impact on high school basketball and. Between 1980 and 1991, the lakers played in an unmatched nine nba championship series, capturing five of them.
Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read showtime. In 2004, the book spent eight weeks on the new york times best. A multitime best american sports writing honoree, jeff has made hundreds of appearances on national sports television, and is a weekly regular on espn radio. Executive producer adam mckay is directing the pilot, which. The book offers fantastic stories, great memories, and a behind the scenes look into the people who made up one of the most dominant runs the nba has ever seen. In the tradition of jeff pearlman s bestsellers showtime, boys will be boys, and the bad guys won, threering circus is a rollicking deep dive into one of sports most fraught yet successful pairings.
The names magic, kareem, worthy, riley, buss and the games four championships have long been studied by basketballs anthropologists. Unc hoops legend dean smith struggles with dementia only a game. In the tradition of jeff pearlmans bestsellers showtime, boys will be boys, and the bad guys won, threering circus is a rollicking deep dive into one of sports most fraught yet successful pairings. I could spend months simply reading john feinstein sports books such is quantity of high quality books he has produced over his career. The pilot is based on jeff pearlmans nonfiction book. Apr 23, 2019 showtime will be based on jeff pearlmans nonfiction book showtime. Pearlman is the author of the bad guys won, a biography of the. Bestselling sportswriter jeff pearlman draws from almost three hundred interviews to take the first full measure of the lakers epic showtime era. Boozing, bimbochasing and championship baseball with straw. No matter where kurts career took him, linda stayed with the lakers. The following is an excerpt from jeff pearlmans new book. According to that former player, its because of him. Feb 05, 2020 former tennessean sports writer jeff pearlman adds kobe bryant prologue to new lakers book.
Mar 04, 2014 author jeff pearlman joined the show to discuss his new book on the showtime lakers. In the tradition of jeff pearlmans bestsellers showtime, boys will be boys, and the bad guys won, threering circus is a rollicking deep dive into one of. On jerry tarkanian and the laker coach who wasnt jeff pearlman. In this interview, the new york times bestselling author of sweetness, jeff pearlman, talks about his latest bestseller showtime. Jeff pearlman discusses impact of showtime lakers in 80s march 4, 2014 dp show no comments. This is the story of a preachers kid from north dakota who grew up to be one of the most. Excerpt from jeff pearlmans new lakers book showtime. Jeff pearlman discusses impact of showtime lakers in 80s. Sep 12, 2019 the pilot is based on jeff pearlmans nonfiction book. He received the national junior college coach of the year award for the pacific association at the convention.
But what frank vogel had to say was minimized hours before he ever uttered a word. Dean smith won 879 games and two national titles while coaching the north carolina mens basketball team from 1961 to 1997. Our work has been featured or cited on several national and regional platforms, including the ringer, sb nation 2 3, heavy. If walter payton, magnificent football player and chicago treasure, is enough for. A dazzling account of one of americas greatest sports sagas, showtime is packed with indelible characters, vicious rivalries, and jawdropping, behindthescenes stories of the players decadent hollywood lifestyles. Death, and john maddens oakland raiders, badasses is the definitive biography of arguably the last team to play oldfashioned toughguy more. Lakers owner jerry buss purchased the team in 1979, and he wanted their games to. Author jeff pearlman is penning a book about bryant and the lakers and interviewed an anonymous former teammate of bryants during the shocking finals loss to detroit.
In his new book, showtime on the 80s lakers, jeff pearlman painted an unflattering portrait of kareem abduljabbar. Praise for jeff pearlman and showtime a marvelous and dishy history of the showtime lakers, full of bareknuckled assessments. Written by jeff pearlman, audiobook narrated by malcolm hillgartner. Lakers played in the national basketball association nba finals. Showtime lakers with author jeff pearlman nba nbc sports. What a tonic jeff pearlmans new book is for forlorn lakers fans suffering through the teams disastrous current season. She coached the baylor bears to three national titles, and she won one herself as a player. Written by max borenstein, the untitled showtime lakers project is based on jeff pearlmans nonfiction book showtime. Bryant, the 18time nba allstar who won five championships and became one.
He told an incredible story about how jerry tarkanian almost took over the team and what pat riley was like when he first came on the scene in l. Jeff pearlman had already finished his book on the kobe bryantshaquille oneal phil jackson lakers era. Its hard not to have competing expectations going into a book about the team that set the standard for winning and looking good at while doing it. Jeff pearlman is the new york times bestselling author of eight books, including biographies of brett favre, walter payton, barry bonds, roger clemens and the 1986 new york mets and 1990s dallas cowboys. To help keep our communities safe, all our retail locations are temporarily closed until further notice. As of summer 2012, the lakers hold the alltime records for wins 3,125, winning percentage. Jeff pearlman adds kobe bryant prologue to new lakers book. He is a former espn columnist and sports illustrated senior writer whose 1999 profile of thenatlanta braves pitcher john rocker remains one of the most widely read stories in the magazine. Of course magic johnson takes center stage with his effervescent personality and larger than life persona who really defined the showtime era.
Author jeff pearlman joined the show to discuss his new book on the showtime lakers. Showtime will be based on jeff pearlmans nonfiction book showtime. Perhaps more than any, a season on the brink, is the book most would point to as both feinsteins breakthrough and most enjoyable work. Jeff pearlman had already finished his book on the. A book that explores the enduring legends of snake, foo, dr. Raiders to two ohio valley conference championships and two ncaa regionals. Mar 05, 2014 jeff pearlmans books sweetness, the bad guys won. Mar 08, 2014 dean smith won 879 games and two national titles while coaching the north carolina mens basketball team from 1961 to 1997. Kobe bryant had impact on high school basketball and nevada. Free shipping and pickup in store on eligible orders. The lakers compete in the national basketball association nba, as a member of the leagues western conference in the pacific division. Armen keteyian, 60 minutes sports the names magic, kareem, worthy, riley, buss and the games four championships have long been studied by basketballs anthropologists.
Pearlman, a native new yorker, is currently working on another book about the lakers. Shop amongst our popular books, including 14, the bad guys won, gunslinger and more from jeff pearlman. I have loved every book that jeff pearlman has written. This time, however, it will document the kobe bryantshaquille oneal era. Hbo has ordered a pilot for a scripted drama based on jeff pearlmans nonfiction book showtime.
What a tonic jeff pearlmans new book is for forlorn lakers fans suffering through the. Upon hearing that hbo is planning a new documentary on continue reading. Feinstein followed the indiana university basketball team through the entire 198586 season the ups and the downs as. The book begins with the lakers in 1979 beginning with the drafting of magic johnson. The lakers may be struggling today, but in the 1980s they won five nba titles. Jeff pearlman had already finished his book on the kobe bryantshaquille onealphil jackson lakers era. Thomsen shows us who the players, coaches, scouts and executives really are, what motivates and drives them to succeed. Signin to download and listen to this audiobook today. Hbos 1980s lakers pilot finds its magic johnson, kareem. Thomsens ability to get key people to open up and share revealing insights is a real asset to the book. Jun 04, 2018 dirk nowitzki was much less wellknown to me and emerges as the most fascinating figure in the book. Bestselling sportswriter jeff pearlman draws from almost 300 interviews to take the first full measure of the lakers epic showtime era. No basketball fans bookshelf will be complete without it.
Jeff pearlman is one of the best for detailed research and interviews and. Once again, jeff pearlman has produced an exhaustively researched, elegantly written book that recreates one of the most colorful and memorable teams of the modern era. Former tennessean sports writer jeff pearlman adds kobe bryant prologue to new lakers book. He was withdrawn, moody, and most definitely a jerk to the media. Hbo to team with adam mckay on scripted showtime lakers. Get this book free when you sign up for a 30day trial. But so much of the story of the showtime lakers, the team of the 80s, took place behind closed doors. Founded in 1947, the lakers are one of the nbas most famous and successful franchises. In response to the thr article, pearlman said on twitter that the news was pretty thrilling.
Apr 21, 2014 in this interview, the new york times bestselling author of sweetness, jeff pearlman, talks about his latest bestseller showtime. Abduljabbar and johnson helped lead the lakers to multiple nba championships. Beginning with the franchises early years, readers will experience the teams highest and lowest moments, meet the teams best players and managers, and gain the inside track. Mar 04, 2014 praise for jeff pearlman and showtime a marvelous and dishy history of the showtime lakers, full of bareknuckled assessments. Led by magic johnsons passing skills and kareem abduljabbars scoring, the team relied on fast breaks and won five nba championships. Aug 04, 2019 based on jeff pearlmans book showtime.
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