In more than a few of my visits to second-hand bookstores, I was fortunate to find some paperback copies of the 1st printing (1982) of The Breaks of the Game (or “Breaks”, as fondly called by avid basketball book readers).
With a cursory search in the internet, I discovered that this book is regarded as one of the best basketball books ever (some even going as far as proclaiming it as the G.O.A.T. (greatest of all time) as far as roundball literature is considered.
With that, I set out to read Breaks. Is it as good as advertised? What made more than few people sing its praises?
In a nutshell, The Breaks of the Game follows the tumultuous season of the 1979-1980 Portland Trailblazers, and is authored by the late great, Pulitzer-winning author David Halberstam.
Although the book centers on the exploits of the suddenly struggling franchise (just a year or so removed from winning the NBA championship), it encompasses much more.
I love how Halberstam paints its main and minor protagonists in the season; he does not just describe their performances on the court, but also paints a comprehensive picture starting from the childhood of several of the players, which gives the reader a context of why the players does what he does.
With his somewhat detached yet very vivid storytelling, he makes the reader feel the pain of franchise cornerstone Bill Walton, whose once very promising NBA career fell short of expectations due to injury.
BILLY RAY BATES
He convinces the reader to root for the underdog Billy Ray Bates, who despite growing up in squalid conditions, exuded confidence in his basketball talent which got him immediate, although fleeting stardom in the NBA.
He stirs up sympathy for Kermit Washington, who was a shy and unassuming man, but after an incident involving a near-fatal punch to Rudy Tomjanovich, was treated as a pariah despite showing Washington showing remorse and working hard to repair his image.
As you read the book, you will see the players as people, with their different characters, motivations and hardships; this is a fresh perspective from the what the general public expects of its professional athletes: to be near-perfect upstanding citizens and clean-cut ambassadors of the game.
When I finished “Breaks”, I felt that I was there with them in their journey through the season and was able to see the characters, without judgment, for who they are and not just what they do.
The author does a magnificent job in painting the backstories not just of players and coaches, but also the other components of the team, including owners, general managers, even trainers and team physicians.
He also touches on the recent history of the NBA in general, and reveals to the reader the leagues evolution, not just with its rules, but more so its culture and soul.
The beauty of the book also lies in its timelessness. Although most of the younger readers may not be familiar with names like Abdul Jeelani, Geoff Petrie or Bobby Gross, Breaks touches on issues in the league which are still relevant even in 2021: salary disputes, ego clashes between players, the importance of skills development, and the inevitability of retirement due to injury or lack of fit just to name a few.
My only, minor knock on the book is perhaps its continuous prose, devoid of subheadings, pictures or tables. And this was probably done in purpose, as if Halberstam wanted an analogy through the printed words the Portland Trailblazers’ slogging through their up and down season.
Even though I am not a Portland Trailblazers fan, this does not change the fact how deeply informative and enjoyable this book is, since it also touches so on the history as well as culture and evolution of the game at the time.
I highly recommend this book to all NBA fans who want to achieve a deeper sense of the league’s history, as well as to anyone interested in sports literature, as the book is truly as good as advertised. With well-written it is, reading Breaks will be surely worth your time.