Sometimes it's easy to forget that baseball and hockey aren't the only sports with a minor league - the NBA has one too and this book on the G League makes for great reading.
Title/Author:
“Life in the G: Minor League Basketball and the Relentless Pursuit of the NBA” by Alex Squadron
Rating:
5 of 5 stars (excellent)
Review:
Having read several books on players or teams in baseball’s minor leagues, I expected this book to be about the same with the same format and the same stories. That wasn’t the case with this excellent book by Alex Squadron about the 2021-22 season of the Birmingham Squadron of the NBA’s minor league, currently known as the “G” League thanks to its partnership with Gatorade.
While there are certainly some aspects of this book that are like any other book on minor leagues, such as the less-than-desirable travel conditions (although here, there are always flights, but commercial not private charters like the NBA) and the stories of drive, determination and at times hopelessness, this one reads quite differently. For one, there is plenty of humor. That starts at the introduction when Squadron adamantly denies picking this particular team only because its name is the same as his own. From there, it was a fast-paced and fun read as the reader will learn about the history of the G League, some of the players and coaches who became successful at their craft in the NBA and some of the ways that players can be called up to the league.
One very interesting observation about the qualities that NBA teams look for in these players is that it is rarely the leading scorers or flashy players that get the call. Many times the NBA coaches and scouts are looking for players that are either totally into the team concept of basketball or are willing to do the dirty work such as defending the opponent’s best shooter or fight inside for rebounds or even court position. Of the players profiled in the book, the one who achieved the most NBA success, Malcom Hill, that was his ticket to getting a contract with the Chicago Bulls.
Hill’s story, just like those of the other three Squadron players profiled - Jared Harper, Joe Young, and Zylan Cheatham – make for great reading, as does Alex Squadron’s description of the Birmingham Squadron’s games and practices. It’s a fun ride through the season that will bring the reader much closer to the life of a minor league basketball player.
I wish to thank University of Nebraska Press for providing a copy of the book.
The opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own.
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