Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: Busting Out the Goggles, 1974

Kareem got off the bench, and the boos began. He was booed every time he put an elbow near Gianelli’s throat in the pivot, did anything the fans didn’t like, and when he entered and left the game

Willis Reed: The Art & Agony of a Gentle Giant, 1973

Willis Reed was past 30 now, and in the compressed lifespan of athletics that is to be past middle-age. It is a time when the body begins to betray its promises of youth, a time when the infinite resilience and boundless energy start to become less dependable certainties.

Bob Love: The Bodacious Butterbean, 1972

Through it all, Bob Love, the “defensive” forward, remained with Chicago, which was fine with Butterbean. He just wanted to play, knowing that if he ever got the green light, he’d be a star.

David Thompson’s Leap to Fortune, 1979

There are, in all of basketball, only two players who can play their worst of games—play like any other jump shooter from Oshkosh for 47 minutes, 57 seconds—yet leave 15,000 people awestruck with one incredible moment. There are only two: Julius Erving and David Thompson.