Appearing on journalist Derek Thompson's Plain English podcast (which is also a really reliable platform for current events), author Kirk Goldsberry talked about his recently released book, “Hoop Atlas,” in which he profiles five NBA superstars. Invented The modern NBA. Goldsberry calls these former and current players “He was a tactical entrepreneur, introducing new plays and skills that changed the way basketball was played.. ”
While some big names like Michael Jordan, Nikola Jokic, Stephen Curry, and Allen Iverson (debatably) make appearances, the star of the Pounders is (obviously) Manu Ginobili! The entire podcast is worth listening to, but here are some notable moments and observations:
- For Goldsberry, the modern era truly began on June 3, 1992, when Michael Jordan drained six 3-pointers in the first half of Game 1 of the 1992 Finals against Portland (ending it with a self-satisfied shrug).
- Credit goes to our very own Bruce Bowen for the invention of the corner 3 “3&D” specialist. Amazingly, PATFO was discussing how to better defend in the half court and stumbled upon the idea of using the corner 3 as a weapon for a cross court player, essentially from Tim Duncan on the “left block”.
- Thompson and Goldsberry have an interesting conversation about Iverson's contributions (“He made the dribble… stylistically cool”).
- Ginobili's part was just awesome. (No preview needed…no sharing needed) His particular section spans the 17:45 to 20:40 marks. Thompson noted that Goldsberry was “very convincing” to make it onto this illustrious list.
- Goldsberry then detailed Curry's journey to becoming the greatest shooter of all time, including San Antonio's defense against him in the 2013 WCSF (defending Danny Green).
The book can be purchased for around $26 and so far the content on Bowen and Ginobili is everything I expected in terms of explaining their contributions and impact.To add to your interest in the book, there are two pages of content and charts dedicated to Bowen's performance in Game 2 of the 2003 WCSF and the Spurs' win over the Lakers.
