Dražen Petrovic was born on October 22, 1964, in Šibenik, Croatia. Learning basketball at an early age from his older brother, Aleksandar, Dražen was a natural. He began his professional career at the age of fifteen, playing for the national team, where he began his rise through the European circuit. Known as a skilled shooter, it was not unusual for him to score 40, 50, even 60 points during a single game. While playing for Yugoslavia in the Olympics, Dražen and his team finished with the...

Drawing on his work with some of the top teams in professional sports, noted sport psychology consultant Gary Mack shares with you the same techniques and exercises he uses to help elite athletes build mental "muscle." These 40 accessible lessons and inspirational anecdotes will help you gain the "head edge" over the competition.

They were the Beatles of basketball, the Mercury Seven in sneakers.In Dream Team, acclaimed sports journalist Jack McCallum delivers the untold story of the greatest team ever assembled: the 1992 U.S. Olympic Men’s Basketball Team that captivated the world, kindled the hoop dreams of countless children around the planet, and remade the NBA into a global sensation.As a senior staff writer for Sports Illustrated, McCallum enjoyed a courtside seat fo...

The definitive, never-before-told story of the prep-to-pro generation, those basketball prodigies who from 1995 to 2005 made the jump directly from high school to the NBA.When Kevin Garnett shocked the world by announcing that he would not be attending college—as young basketball prodigies were expected to do—but instead enter the 1995 NBA draft directly from high school, he blazed a trail for a generation of teenage basketball players to head straight for the pros...

This New York Times bestseller follows Pete Maravich as he became basketball icon Pistol Pete and how his rise affected his family.Almost four decades have passed since Maravich entered the national consciousness as basketball’s boy wizard. No one had ever played the game like the kid with the floppy socks and shaggy hair. And all these years later, no one else ever has. The idea of Pistol Pete continues to resonate with young people today...

Athletes compete for national honor in Olympic and World Cup games. But the road to these mega events is paved by big business. We all know who the winners on the field are-but who wins off the field?The numbers are staggering: China spent $40 billion to host the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing and Russia spent $50 billion for the 2014 Sochi Winter Games. Brazil's total expenditures are thought to have been as much as $20 billion for the World Cup this summer and Qatar, which w...

Part sports star, part antihero, part hip-hop icon, Allen Iverson has managed to cross over into the mainstream of American culture -- without compromise. Defiantly tattooed, with his hair in cornrows, the six-foot Philadelphia 76ers point guard is one of the most recognizable and controversial stars of the sports world. His meteoric rise from a troubled childhood in the ghetto to NBA superstardom has been marked by five straight playoff appearances, including a finals berth in 2001 and an...

As part of the acclaimed Sports Virtues series, John Wooden: Discipline discusses the struggles and triumphs of John Wooden's life. As with each story in the Sports Virtues series, this book assigns a virtue to a celebrated athlete or coach, and uses that person's story to help the reader achieve that virtue for him or herself.What emerges after reading these stories is not only a greater understanding and appreciation of the virtues that these icons needed to get through ...

The remarkable story of the unlikely Canadian hockey team that clinched Olympic gold in 1948The announcement was shocking—Canada, the birthplace of hockey, would not be sending a team to the 1948 Winter Olympics in Switzerland. Outraged, a Royal Canadian Air Force squadron leader, Sandy Watson, quickly assembled a team of air force hockey players who were “amateur enough” to complete under the Olympic guidelines.Sergeant Frank Boucher was recruited to coach...

Inspiration, something much needed in these times, abounds as Sir Steve relates the entertaining tales of his fellow sportsmen and women that spurred on his success.From Jonny Wilkinson’s famous dropkick, Roger Bannister’s 4-minute mile and Brian Clough’s self-belief to tales of lesser known characters from his childhood and personal life, Sir Steve narrates with passion and awe, the motivation gained from his heroes and peers. Overcoming adversity, the importance of teamwork, graf...

Lebron James and Kevin Durant are international superstars. This book follows both men's lives from their humble beginnings to becoming two of the best basketball players in the world.LeBron James, The Chosen One, is one of the greatest basketball players ever to play the game. He is an eight-time NBA All-Star, a three-time league MVP, and an NBA champion. Most fans are aware of his amazing accomplishments on the court and of his controversial "Decision" to leave Cleveland for Sout...

With the whole world watching his every move, Jeremy Lin has become an international phenomenon. Everyone is talking about him, breaking down his basketball skills and analyzing him in every way. But does anyone really understand where he came from and how he got here? With Jeremy Lin: An Unauthorized Biography, readers will learn everything there is to know about Jeremy Lin and discover exactly how he went from obscurity to ""Linsanity"" – seemingly overnight.After being ...