How to Watch Basketball Like a Genius: What Game Designers, Economists, Ballet Choreographers, and Theoretical Astrophysicists Reveal About the Greatest Game on Earth
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- Create Date：2022-07-06 06:51:46
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Nick Greene
- ISBN：141974481X
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Summary
A brilliant， entertaining deconstruction of basketball， drawing on the expertise of board-game creators， magicians， therapists， and more
Basketball is the second-most popular sport in the world—an insanely complicated game built on a combination of athleticism， craftiness， rules， intangibles， and superstardom。 However， while it’s enjoyable to watch， the real reason it works is because it’s a game of culture， art， and all the things that make us human。 How to Watch Basketball Like a Genius deconstructs the sport from top to bottom and then puts it back together again， detailing its intricacies through reporting and dozens of interviews with experts。 These experts， however， are a diverse group: wine critics weighing in on LeBron’s ability to delegate on the fly， magicians analyzing Chris Paul’s mystifying dribbling techniques， cartographers breaking down Steph Curry’s deadeye three-point shooting。 Every chapter treats basketball to a multi-disciplined study that adventures far beyond the lines of the court， examining key elements of the sport from some surprising and revealing angles。 There’s a reason it has conquered the world， and every game is a chance to learn about pop culture， fashion， history， science， art， and anything else that bounces our way。
Basketball is the second-most popular sport in the world—an insanely complicated game built on a combination of athleticism， craftiness， rules， intangibles， and superstardom。 However， while it’s enjoyable to watch， the real reason it works is because it’s a game of culture， art， and all the things that make us human。 How to Watch Basketball Like a Genius deconstructs the sport from top to bottom and then puts it back together again， detailing its intricacies through reporting and dozens of interviews with experts。 These experts， however， are a diverse group: wine critics weighing in on LeBron’s ability to delegate on the fly， magicians analyzing Chris Paul’s mystifying dribbling techniques， cartographers breaking down Steph Curry’s deadeye three-point shooting。 Every chapter treats basketball to a multi-disciplined study that adventures far beyond the lines of the court， examining key elements of the sport from some surprising and revealing angles。 There’s a reason it has conquered the world， and every game is a chance to learn about pop culture， fashion， history， science， art， and anything else that bounces our way。
Reviews
Peter
，
An interesting read， if not quite what I expected。 The basic premise of the book is that rules should and do make things more enjoyable by creating an order within which people invent their own new possibilities that wouldn't emerge without the rules （a good lesson for some folks today in other contexts about the value of imposing a bit of order on society rather than rejecting all institutions！）。 So it ends up being more of a history of the development of different rules in basketball and why/h An interesting read， if not quite what I expected。 The basic premise of the book is that rules should and do make things more enjoyable by creating an order within which people invent their own new possibilities that wouldn't emerge without the rules （a good lesson for some folks today in other contexts about the value of imposing a bit of order on society rather than rejecting all institutions！）。 So it ends up being more of a history of the development of different rules in basketball and why/how they emerged， often from responses to innovations by players and coaches。 His writing style is discursive and he makes interesting allusions， but occasionally he strays too far from his own premise just because he enjoys the detour into parallels in other non-basketball fields。 While they are interesting in their own right， they feel like they should be footnotes or separate articles rather than detours within the body of a book。 I can't say that the book made me better at watching a game of basketball and breaking down what I'm seeing; but I can say that it made me appreciate its evolution much more。 。。。more
Patrick Hanlon
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A fun read with lots of laughs in it and a few "did you know？" insights to share from Greene's pantheon of experts who weigh in from their respective positions。 The balance of historical perspective， overlooked facts and aforementioned smiles and chuckles make it a valuable read for a basketball fan。 Upon finishing this， my 10-year-old wanted me to read it to him and on the second time through there were even more nuggets that I'd overlooked。Fun， insightful， with a regular dash of snark to raise A fun read with lots of laughs in it and a few "did you know？" insights to share from Greene's pantheon of experts who weigh in from their respective positions。 The balance of historical perspective， overlooked facts and aforementioned smiles and chuckles make it a valuable read for a basketball fan。 Upon finishing this， my 10-year-old wanted me to read it to him and on the second time through there were even more nuggets that I'd overlooked。Fun， insightful， with a regular dash of snark to raise the eyebrows。 。。。more
Chris
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Fun， intellectual book about basketball that answered a lot of questions I had about the modern game， like what exactly is the triangle offense？ Why does LeBron James pass so often when the game is on the line？ Why do modern NBA players shoot so many 3’s？ Why couldn’t Shaq make free throws？
Dima Traboulsi
，
Struggling to come up with a review。 The parts that were enjoyable were VERY entertaining。 I mean， Andre Drummond strays， incorporating （somewhat pseudo or shallow） science， the 2015 Rudd study， Rube Goldberg machines， comparing Wilt and Lebron: All really well done with a lighthearted， fun tone。 But oh man， the random philosophical tangents -aside from Theseus’s boat problem， seemed to drag on and on。 Maybe I don’t appreciate magic enough but how does a Shamgodd’s classification of a magic tric Struggling to come up with a review。 The parts that were enjoyable were VERY entertaining。 I mean， Andre Drummond strays， incorporating （somewhat pseudo or shallow） science， the 2015 Rudd study， Rube Goldberg machines， comparing Wilt and Lebron: All really well done with a lighthearted， fun tone。 But oh man， the random philosophical tangents -aside from Theseus’s boat problem， seemed to drag on and on。 Maybe I don’t appreciate magic enough but how does a Shamgodd’s classification of a magic trick vs。 technique matter at all？ I don’t regret reading it but I never want reading to feel like a chore。 I enjoyed it overall。 Very much liked the proverb Tex Winter referred to， sums up the ripple effect well:“Everything turns upon a trifle;For want of a nail the shoe was lost，For want of a shoe the horse was lost，And for want of a horse the rider was lost，Being overtaken and slain by the enemy;All for want or care about a horseshoe nail。”P。S。 Still wondering how any player had the strength to shoot without jumping。P。P。S。 Would Jahlil Okafar share Cousy’s sentiments？ 。。。more
Luke Estrada
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Not great， not as insightful as I wanted it to be， and it reads like an extended blog post。
Elisia
，
A fun read that I’d recommend to even the casual basketball fan。 I placed this one on my bed side table and would read a chapter every month or so and then spend that month thinking about it while I watched games。 I appreciated the chance to deepen my knowledge on the sport while also being reminded of just how many people love it。 This books’ format of interviewing “geniuses” is genuinely enjoyable and dynamic。 In addition to a fun concept， Greene’s writing is engaging， comedic at times， but mo A fun read that I’d recommend to even the casual basketball fan。 I placed this one on my bed side table and would read a chapter every month or so and then spend that month thinking about it while I watched games。 I appreciated the chance to deepen my knowledge on the sport while also being reminded of just how many people love it。 This books’ format of interviewing “geniuses” is genuinely enjoyable and dynamic。 In addition to a fun concept， Greene’s writing is engaging， comedic at times， but most importantly manages to write about basketball without being condescending when explaining some of the 101 knowledge。 。。。more
Laura Walin
，
This book has an intriguing idea: how to understand better what happens on a basketball court when discussing the game with experts from completely other fields。 At the same time the idea is to track the evolution of the game from its early days with the famous peach basket to the full-blown entertainment industry of today。Greene is really into his subject which is both good and bad。 Good in the sense that he really dwells into his topics and is visibly enjoying his conversations on basketball w This book has an intriguing idea: how to understand better what happens on a basketball court when discussing the game with experts from completely other fields。 At the same time the idea is to track the evolution of the game from its early days with the famous peach basket to the full-blown entertainment industry of today。Greene is really into his subject which is both good and bad。 Good in the sense that he really dwells into his topics and is visibly enjoying his conversations on basketball with all the different people he interviewed for the book。 Bad in the sense that （at least for a non American whose main focus is not in NBA basketball） the book appears somewhat of a inside joke at times。Having said that， the book nevertheless does open new views into the game even at the very low level here in Finland， and makes one think how to improve it in your own team with the means that you have at hands。 And obviously， from thinking the next step is only practicing， practicing and practicing。。。 。。。more
Andy
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The most fun you’ll ever have reading about basketball。 Love his angle。 Recommended。
Reed
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 A fun， if not repetitive book about a game I love。 this book made me want to watch more basketball but it did not make me a basketball genius。 it made me think about the game differently- in a more profound sense， not in a schematic sense。 it’s about how the game （and probably many types of games） reflects life and how it is more than just 10 guys and a ball。 i learned a ton about the history of the game and the early chapters are more about having an open mind and embracing crazy ideas。 the tho A fun， if not repetitive book about a game I love。 this book made me want to watch more basketball but it did not make me a basketball genius。 it made me think about the game differently- in a more profound sense， not in a schematic sense。 it’s about how the game （and probably many types of games） reflects life and how it is more than just 10 guys and a ball。 i learned a ton about the history of the game and the early chapters are more about having an open mind and embracing crazy ideas。 the thought of a shot clock was insane to these early coaches and players， now it’s impossible to imagine the game without it… pretty easy to connect with this idea even if you hate basketball。 the author does a great job tying a little bow around each story。 he introduces the basketball concept， introduces the other professional comparison and brings them together （sometimes more elegantly than others）。 this gets formulaic though and by the end i was getting a little bored of meeting these really interesting people （which is obviously a sort of critique… you shouldn’t feel bored meeting a materials scientist talking about superconductivity but all these amazing people start to blend together）。 i would have loved to go deeper with these people instead of introducing so many。 talk to the game design expert in more detail， what other facets of basketball are well designed etcfun fact， the record for most consecutive free throws is held by a 61 year old dairy farmer。 over 5200 in a row。 that’s unimaginable。 it’s 99。98%do not regret reading but it could have been a special book （3。25 ⭐️） 。。。more
Michael Reilly
，
A clever idea。 Greene analyzes the various parts of basketball by consulting experts in other fields。 He analyzes Naismith's original rules by talking to experts on designing games。 He discusses the shot clock by talking to traffic experts who design traffic lights and intersections。 He has a great chapter about understanding dunking as a kind of ballet。 He talks to great ballet teachers。 Greene is having fun。 A designer of Rube Goldberg machines helps him understand the famously intricate trian A clever idea。 Greene analyzes the various parts of basketball by consulting experts in other fields。 He analyzes Naismith's original rules by talking to experts on designing games。 He discusses the shot clock by talking to traffic experts who design traffic lights and intersections。 He has a great chapter about understanding dunking as a kind of ballet。 He talks to great ballet teachers。 Greene is having fun。 A designer of Rube Goldberg machines helps him understand the famously intricate triangle offense。 Jump shooters are discussed with great bagel bakers。 They both have to have perfectly consistent ingredients and timing every night。 He also has some great basketball nuggets。 In 1891 James Naismith invented basketball in a YMCA gym in Springfield， MA。 In 1936 he attended the gold medal game at the summer Olympics where a Chinese referee officiated the game between Canada and the United States。 The original rules said that the player with the ball could not run。 He had to pass or shot。 Those sneaks at Yale argued that a dribble was legal because it was a pass to yourself。 On December 5， 2016， Klay Thompson scored 60 points。 His time of possession was 90 seconds。 Wilt Chamberlin was bored by the 1967-68 season so he decided he would win the assist title to answer all the critics who said he was selfish。 He beat Lennie Wilkins by 23 assists。 It is the only time in the history of the NBA that a center won the assist title。 Greene is a basketball junkie with a knack for coming at the game from quirky directions。 。。。more
Jon
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Not necessarily the book I was expecting but an enjoyable read nonetheless。 As a recently converted basketball fan -- compared to 40 years of baseball and football -- was thinking this might help me understand fundamental things -- which position is the "4，"， what actually is a play vs improvisation， the switch， etc。 -- so I could better follow as I'm watching。 This didn't reveal any of those things but I found Nick Greene's investigations into the dunk， the 3-pointplay， free-throw shooting enjo Not necessarily the book I was expecting but an enjoyable read nonetheless。 As a recently converted basketball fan -- compared to 40 years of baseball and football -- was thinking this might help me understand fundamental things -- which position is the "4，"， what actually is a play vs improvisation， the switch， etc。 -- so I could better follow as I'm watching。 This didn't reveal any of those things but I found Nick Greene's investigations into the dunk， the 3-pointplay， free-throw shooting enjoyable。 A lively writer with a good sense of humor， this book proved to be more of an intellectual exercise than a fan's guide。 Again， different from my expectations but worthwhile in a wholly different way。 。。。more
Shawn Persinger
，
2。75This may seem obvious to others – this book is for fans of basketball， not for those who are merely curious （me）。 It's good for what it is， but it is not a gateway。 2。75This may seem obvious to others – this book is for fans of basketball， not for those who are merely curious （me）。 It's good for what it is， but it is not a gateway。 。。。more
Danielle Julian
，
I would definitely read this book， if like me you’ve found yourself a relationship where their whole family is basketball obsessed。 The bball bug but me too and now with this book I have a deeper appreciation for the game’s history and the many different facets of the game。
Steven Neal
，
Different than every other Basketball book I've read， I enjoyed it。 Different than every other Basketball book I've read， I enjoyed it。 。。。more
Jeff Anders
，
This book was enjoyable， but with so many meandering side quests and comedic attempts that it took away from the experience。 I can appreciate the idea that basketball can be connected to everything from magic， dreams， couples counseling， cybersecurity， and more， but these chapters didn't really analogize anything that couldn't have just been explained outright。 I did pick up a bunch of enjoyable stories about the sport， but probably would have been better off just reading a basketball history bo This book was enjoyable， but with so many meandering side quests and comedic attempts that it took away from the experience。 I can appreciate the idea that basketball can be connected to everything from magic， dreams， couples counseling， cybersecurity， and more， but these chapters didn't really analogize anything that couldn't have just been explained outright。 I did pick up a bunch of enjoyable stories about the sport， but probably would have been better off just reading a basketball history book。 。。。more
K Hue
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Fun read。
Charlie
，
One of the smartest and funniest books I have ever read。 This is a must read。
Troy Thomas
，
Ball Is Life 🏀
Zeke
，
Meh。 Not sure who this book is for necessarily - it's a little too oddball to be for most hoops fanatics and the title is misleading， really is more of a basketball appreciation book than something akin to learning the intricacies of the game。 Some fun tidbits throughout but I struggled to finish it。 Meh。 Not sure who this book is for necessarily - it's a little too oddball to be for most hoops fanatics and the title is misleading， really is more of a basketball appreciation book than something akin to learning the intricacies of the game。 Some fun tidbits throughout but I struggled to finish it。 。。。more
Alida
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All around， a really fun read。
Andrew
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An excellent overview of all the concepts of basketball， this book's wit and interviews are outstanding and insightful。 An excellent overview of all the concepts of basketball， this book's wit and interviews are outstanding and insightful。 。。。more
Dash Williams
，
Cute pop science book that uses basketball as a hook。
Renny Thomas
，
This was more of a history lesson than a book about basketball through the prism of other professional viewpoints。 When they did ask a nuclear physicist about defending and whatnot， it was interesting。 When they were talking about how James Naismith created basketball， it was boring as hell
John McPhee
，
Unforgettably good。 Origin of 3 pointer。 Elam Ending。 Four ABA teams。 How technology changed the world。 The Moneyball truths of basketball。 SO SO GOOD！
David
，
Entertaining book in which Greene speaks to experts from a wide variety of fields to gain a deeper and witty understanding of the game of basketball。 Since Greene grew up on the championship Bulls - a team and period of time close to my heart， too - the examples he uses are familiar and， of course， exemplary of the best of basketball。 Greene’s basic thesis: basketball was created from a list of 13 rules written Naismith， all designed to be expanded by players in order to make the game more enjoy Entertaining book in which Greene speaks to experts from a wide variety of fields to gain a deeper and witty understanding of the game of basketball。 Since Greene grew up on the championship Bulls - a team and period of time close to my heart， too - the examples he uses are familiar and， of course， exemplary of the best of basketball。 Greene’s basic thesis: basketball was created from a list of 13 rules written Naismith， all designed to be expanded by players in order to make the game more enjoyable for the fans。 Seems right。 How about Dr。 J scoring from behind the backboard？ No rule for that but amazingly enjoyable for the fans and probably the Doctor as well。 。。。more
Kaven
，
i can already feel myself watching the game smarter！ love the cross-professional approach to basketball。 i am walking a way a more informed & appreciative fan！
Terry ~ Huntress of Erudition
，
This engaging and enlightening book is obviously written with love for the game。 The author educates and entertains by making the information very readable and lighthearted。You don't need to understand all the aspects of the game， you just have to appreciate how they all work together， to enjoy watching basketball。I thought it was interesting that James Naismith created the game in the 1890's to keep "incorrigible" young men from breaking into fights while stuck inside school during a snowstorm。 This engaging and enlightening book is obviously written with love for the game。 The author educates and entertains by making the information very readable and lighthearted。You don't need to understand all the aspects of the game， you just have to appreciate how they all work together， to enjoy watching basketball。I thought it was interesting that James Naismith created the game in the 1890's to keep "incorrigible" young men from breaking into fights while stuck inside school during a snowstorm。The book goes on to explain the principles of basketball and throws in some anecdotes。I bought this for my son， who is coaching my grandson's elementary school basketball team。 。。。more
John
，
Didn’t live up to the promise of the title but was interesting at the first and had a couple of interviews links to a dribble move and Dr J。
sbans
，
Didn't really have anything too interesting to say。 Picked up it up thinking it'd be about actually watching basketball and dissecting game plans， but it's just finding analogs for modern basketball themes in different professions。 Didn't really have anything too interesting to say。 Picked up it up thinking it'd be about actually watching basketball and dissecting game plans， but it's just finding analogs for modern basketball themes in different professions。 。。。more
Charlie Kruse
，