From 1996 through 2004, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal combined-- and collided-- to help bring the Lakers three straight championships and restore the franchise as a powerhouse.

"A wonderful book—not just for basketball fans, but for everyone." —Earvin "Magic" Johnson Ira Berkow steps out from behind his New York Times reporter's notebook to spin the wonderful and moving tale of his love—for the game of basketball, for his friends and family, and for life itself. His enduring passion for the hardwood began in his boyhood in Chicago in the 1940s and '50s, and has continued in pickup basketball with the same vigor and competitive fire of his youth, often against opponents half his age. To the Hoop tells the story of a year in his basketball life, as he resolves to enhance his game and stave off the ravages of time amidst a looming family tragedy. Here he runs the court with Oscar Robertson, talks strategy with Walt Frazier, and find fellowship and good humor across the country on playgrounds, in gyms, even in some of the world's most famous arenas. Ira Berkow's poignant book transcends the game and approaches a kind of wisdom usually unavailable in writing about sports.

Gaining access to personal letters, albums and scrapbooks, plus spending hours with family members among some 300 interviews, has allowed the authors to craft the definitive biography of one of the most remarkable basketball stories in history. They reveal new facts and provide startling insight into Pistol Pete Maravich, who lived a life of triumph and tragedy before finding happiness in religion in the years before his death at age 40.