The Joy of Basketball

A vibrant, unconventional, highly opinionated guide to the triumphs, joys, struggles, and heartbreaks of the modern era of the game, for every obsessive basketball fan who loves to hate hot takes

The Joy of Basketball celebrates the meteoric rise of basketball over the last quarter century by ignoring the bland, traditionalist binary of wins or losses. Instead, the book's focus is on everything else. Using text, charts, and illustrations that upend conventional jock wisdom, the book details the most incredible players in history, draft flops, long-limbed oddballs, superteams, the international talent wave, brawls, scandals, the rapid evolution of contemporary gameplay, coaching, fashion, crime, positional erosion, tragic tales, memes, and the sacred Kardashian Blessing.

Bouncing between witty graphics and keen sociopolitical observations, The Joy of Basketball is a subversive sports manifesto camouflaged as a colorful reference book for your coffee table.

About the Author

Ben Detrick has been a contributing writer to the New York Times since 2007, covering pop culture, style, nightlife, travel, and music. His byline has appeared in publications like New York magazine, The New Yorker, GQ, Vice, Vibe, and Complex. Detrick is the cofounder and cohost of Cookies Hoops, and has been a guest on The Ringer NBA Show alongside Bill Simmons, NBA Desktop, The Dan Le Batard Show, and Jalen & Jacoby. He lives in New York.

About the Illustrator

Andrew Kuo is an artist and regular contributor to the New York Times, where his colorful visual columns have appeared in Arts & Leisure, the Magazine, T Magazine , and the Sunday Section . Since 2013, he's been represented by Marlborough Gallery in New York City and London. His paintings and sculptures have also been reviewed in Art Forum, Frieze Magazine, and the New York Times . He is the cohost of Cookies Hoops and lives in New York.