Sam Smith and Phil Jackson grew to know and respect each other in the late 1980s, when Smith was a Chicago Tribune sportswriter and Jackson was an assistant coach for the Chicago Bulls. Forty years later, the two remain close friends. In 2021, Smith helped the NBA arrive at a list of the seventyfive greatest players of all time in celebration of its seventyfifth anniversary. Phil Jackson was asked to participate too, but hes not a big fan of ranking greatness. Theyve been enjoying the argument ever since. In Masters of the Game, Smith and Jackson chop it up about the basketball life, the sport, and the genius and the shadow side of the alltime greats Jordan, Kobe, Shaq, Magic, Bill Russell, Wilt, Jerry West, Bird, LeBron, KD, Steph Curry, Bill Walton, and more. In a conversation full of highgrade analysis and highgrade gossip, we meet the stars of longago eras of basketball and see the mark race left on players and the business of the gameand we get a master class on character and the alchemy of a good team. And of course, inevitably, these two old heads get into the GOAT debate. There are so many huge characters here, and Smith and Jackson can hold their own with any of them. Their spiritsharp, wise, irreverent, honest, respectful of the lore and legacy of the game but never piousand the clash of their different perspectives combine to make this book a joyous ride, a short course in greatness open to all students.

Binding: Paperback;400 pages; Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc; Classification: WSJM; Weight: 812 g; Dimensions: 242 x 167 x 34

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