Bubbleball
- Downloads：7182
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-05-15 06:19:25
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Ben Golliver
- ISBN：1419755536
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
A captivating account of the NBA’s strangest season ever， from shutdown to championship， from a prominent national basketball writer living inside the bubble
When NBA player Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19 in March 2020， the league shut down immediately， bringing a shocking， sudden pause to the season。 As the pandemic raged， it looked as if it might be the first year in league history with no champion。 But four months later， after meticulous planning， twenty-two teams resumed play in a "bubble" at Disney World-a restricted， single-site locale cut off from the outside world。
Due to health concerns， the league invited only a handful of reporters， who were required to sacrifice medical privacy， live in a hotel room for more than three months， and submit to daily coronavirus testing in hopes of keeping the bubble from bursting。 In exchange for the constant monitoring and restricted movement， they were allowed into a basketball fan's dream， with a courtside seat at dozens of games in nearly empty arenas。
Ben Golliver， the national NBA writer for the The Washington Post， was one of those allowed access。 Bubbleball is his account of the season and life inside， telling the story of how basketball bounced back from its shutdown， how players staged headline-grabbing social justice protests， and how Lakers star LeBron James chased his fourth ring in unconventional and unforgettable circumstances。 Based on months of reporting in the exclusive， confined environment， this is an entertaining record of an extraordinary season。
When NBA player Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19 in March 2020， the league shut down immediately， bringing a shocking， sudden pause to the season。 As the pandemic raged， it looked as if it might be the first year in league history with no champion。 But four months later， after meticulous planning， twenty-two teams resumed play in a "bubble" at Disney World-a restricted， single-site locale cut off from the outside world。
Due to health concerns， the league invited only a handful of reporters， who were required to sacrifice medical privacy， live in a hotel room for more than three months， and submit to daily coronavirus testing in hopes of keeping the bubble from bursting。 In exchange for the constant monitoring and restricted movement， they were allowed into a basketball fan's dream， with a courtside seat at dozens of games in nearly empty arenas。
Ben Golliver， the national NBA writer for the The Washington Post， was one of those allowed access。 Bubbleball is his account of the season and life inside， telling the story of how basketball bounced back from its shutdown， how players staged headline-grabbing social justice protests， and how Lakers star LeBron James chased his fourth ring in unconventional and unforgettable circumstances。 Based on months of reporting in the exclusive， confined environment， this is an entertaining record of an extraordinary season。
Reviews
Lance
，
When the NBA shut down operations on March 11， 2020 after Rudy Goebert of the Utah Jazz tested positive for the coronavirus， the entire sports world， as well as the league， was thrown into disarray。 Amid all the uncertainty， the NBA was working on a plan to try to salvage the season and crown a legitimate champion。 How the league did this is captured in this excellent book by Washington Post NBA writer Ben Golliver。Usually when an author who is not an athlete or part of the subject inserts thems When the NBA shut down operations on March 11， 2020 after Rudy Goebert of the Utah Jazz tested positive for the coronavirus， the entire sports world， as well as the league， was thrown into disarray。 Amid all the uncertainty， the NBA was working on a plan to try to salvage the season and crown a legitimate champion。 How the league did this is captured in this excellent book by Washington Post NBA writer Ben Golliver。Usually when an author who is not an athlete or part of the subject inserts themself into a book， I believe that it distracts from the actual topic。 That was not the case for this book， as Golliver's experiences in the "bubble" where all personnel associated with the league's restart – players， coaches， officials， media and others – were housed and worked， was not only enlightening but absolutely necessary to illustrate what everyone was going through at the Disney sports complex。 Another excellent aspect of the book was how the players responded to the shooting of George Floyd， Breonna Taylor and Jacob Blake – the most prominent cases of police shootings of Black people。 The social justice messages that were on display on the court， player jerseys and stated by players and coaches were just as much a part of the bubble experience as basketball and virus testing。 The section on the atmosphere and discussion in the Milwaukee Bucks dressing room when they learned about the Blake shooting was especially profound。 Because the locker rooms were much smaller than those of NBA arenas and the soundproofing was not as effective， Golliver was privy to information that he normally wouldn't be and as a result， it was a moving section about the Bucks' decision to not play the Orlando Magic that night。 Of course， the basketball writing was very good as well。 He covered all rounds of the playoffs and the completion of the regular season with just the right amount of detail。 He didn't get too bogged down with play-by-play descriptions， but these were more than just brief overviews as well。 As well as the prose was written， however， when the Los Angeles Lakers were crowned as the 2020 champions after the Miami Heat surprisingly gave them six tough games in the Finals， much like the players， readers will find themselves glad that the odyssey was coming to end。 Basketball aficionados will love this book for the inside look of life in the bubble while more casual fans will appreciate this look at the strange but completed 2019-20 NBA season。 I wish to thank Abrams Press for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review。 https://sportsbookguy。blogspot。com/20。。。 。。。more
Muneer Uddin
，
This book is the first one I've seen about a major sports league trying to make a go of it during the 2020 pandemic。 It's a worthy read about the subject。The initial chapters were a struggle for me。 I first thought it was because the book was boring and not for me。 But as I read on and reflected， I realized that Golliver was expertly recounting the feelings of aimlessness and general despair most of us had。 It is still viscerally uncomfortable for me to think about what was happening in March an This book is the first one I've seen about a major sports league trying to make a go of it during the 2020 pandemic。 It's a worthy read about the subject。The initial chapters were a struggle for me。 I first thought it was because the book was boring and not for me。 But as I read on and reflected， I realized that Golliver was expertly recounting the feelings of aimlessness and general despair most of us had。 It is still viscerally uncomfortable for me to think about what was happening in March and April 2020。 I wasn't prepared to recount it so soon。The action in the book picks up once Golliver reaches the bubble。 I enjoyed the little details he talked about， like taking pictures of the same egret and seeing different coaches and luminaries while out on his walks。 It's this type of atmosphere that takes a reader to a place instead of reading a bunch of bland facts。 I can get that information from wire reports from those games。 It's the behind the scenes action that I read these types of books for。 Golliver certainly delivered in the regard。The social justice crises around the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor， as well as the Jacob Blake shooting were expertly discussed。 The anecdotes captured the anger with the Floyd and Blake incidents， as well as the helplessness when Taylor's killers weren't indicted。 the discussions about the stoppage of play because of the Milwaukee Bucks was especially enlightening。 I didn't feel like there were good or bad guys in that situation， just people processing their grief differently。 If only all writing about the horrors of police brutality could be so evocative， perhaps the country could experience the fear and pain of people of color。I recommend this book to all fans of the NBA， as well as people who want a snapshot of how one group of people dealt with the 2020 pandemic。 。。。more
Jon
，
I am an avid listener to Ben Golliver's podcast and often read his columns， which makes this book both comforting but fails to provide new information about the NBA Covid-19 bubble in Orlando。 These facts aside， this book does a great and thorough job telling the story of both the social experience of living in the bubble and the NBA games that were played there。 My biggest critique of the book， and the reason I did not give it 5-stars was is that the audience for the book at its publishing is a I am an avid listener to Ben Golliver's podcast and often read his columns， which makes this book both comforting but fails to provide new information about the NBA Covid-19 bubble in Orlando。 These facts aside， this book does a great and thorough job telling the story of both the social experience of living in the bubble and the NBA games that were played there。 My biggest critique of the book， and the reason I did not give it 5-stars was is that the audience for the book at its publishing is a little lacking。 Diehard NBA fans will find most information common knowledge and casual fans will find much of the information too detailed。 However， I am setting a reminder to re-read this book in 5 years because it will likely serve as the definitive first-person history of Covid's impact on the sport most associated with it。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Bubbleball
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Bubbleball&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Bubbleball&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0