Today in New York, you can’t get to lower Manhattan because the streets are clogged with Knicks fans. My town is still on fire from their historic championship win last weekend. People who could not name a single NBA player a month ago (ahem, it me) have sprouted expertise and regional patriotism overnight. Thanks to Jalen, OG, Josh, and Karl, the street vibes haven’t been this good since Obama’s win in 2008.
Yet I anticipate the complaint of the serious sports fan. Where will all this goodwill go after the parade ends? A lesson of this historic season is that one could love basketball all year, not just when the games are being projected on the sides of bodegas. But say you have a nebbish temperament, and poor hand-eye coordination.
Literary sports-writing is a long American tradition. But in the wake of Grantland‘s demise, it’s been harder to find diamonds in the genre. There are some great basketball books out there. And diehards always have ESPN. But if you’re a casual reader on the bench, you might check out some of these features first.
Here’s what to read if you’re almost ready to commit to basketball.
A still from Love & Basketball. Omar Epps & Sanaa Lathan.1. Hanif Abdurraqib’s “Notes on Hoops,” The Paris Review
