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Can’t decide what book to dive into next? We got you. In Complex Canada’s new #BookTok series Feeling MyShelf, we highlight the latest and greatest sports, style, and music books that should be on your radar. Consider it a book club that’s a bit cooler than the one your mom is in.
In this installment, we explore the theme of setting the record straight. It’s a phenomenon we’re seeing a lot more of lately: players who sanction their own stories. First up on our list is Unguarded by Scottie Pippen, which packs a punch. The NBA Hall of Famer and recent agitator is sure to pique your interest as he drudges up old beef. Pippen is on a mission to get the credit he feels he—and anyone else not named Michael Jordan—deserves for helping build the Chicago Bulls dynasty. If you like tea, there’s plenty of it brewing in this title.
Check out the debut episode of Feeling MyShelf below, and keep scrolling to read more of our picks for the best basketball books to pick up right now.
'Unguarded'
Authors: Scottie Pippen, Michael Arkush
Price: $37
Where to buy: bookcity.ca
Unguarded by Scottie Pippen has the perfect amount of petty to tide us over during the anti-climactic month of February. Pippen’s biography is a direct response to The Last Dance, the Netflix docuseries centering on Michael Jordan, which he takes great issue with.
“I was nothing more than a prop. His best teammate of all time, he called me. He couldn’t have been more condescending if he tried,” Pippen writes.
The moment you crack the cover the tea is piping hot by way of a prologue that’s the literary equivalent of a DM you regret sending the next morning. “How dare Michael treat us that way after everything we did for him and his precious brand,” he continues.
At its core, though, Unguarded is a story about a man who’s missed out on being the main attraction, personally and professionally, and wants his flowers. Pippen is a Hall of Famer, six-time NBA Champion, seven-time All-Star, and an Olympic gold medalist but still feels underappreciated and makes it clear he doesn’t like how history has portrayed him. “Even before he (Michael Jordan) retired, I had come to the conclusion that I was our best all-around player,” he writes. Whether you agree or disagree with the guy, there are no dull moments in this book.
'The Joy of Basketball'
Authors: Ben Detrick, Andrew Kuo
Price: $35
Where to buy: chapters.indigo.ca
If Bill Simmons’ The Book of Basketball serves as the basketball bible, does that make Joy the New Testament? Ben Detrick and Andrew Kuo composed what they describe as the “encyclopedia of the modern game.” A celebration of the evolution of basketball over the last 25 years. The topics are wide-ranging, from superteams to positional erosion to scandal to the sacred Kardashian Blessing.
'Not a Game: The Incredible Rise and Unthinkable Fall of Allen Iverson'
Author: Kent Babb
Price: $23
Where to buy: chapters.indigo.ca
Over the course of his career, Allen Iverson became universally revered for what he did on the court, from his devastating handle to killer instinct. But off the court, he was splurging at every turn. As Kent Babb reports, “Iverson himself had come to believe his own hype.” From the backstory of the infamous “practice” rant to interviews with those closest to him, Not a Game promises to be an impeccably researched, sometimes uncomfortable look at the factors that led to the rise and fall of a basketball superstar.
'Shattering the Glass: The Remarkable History of Women's Basketball'
Author: Pam Gundy, Susan Shakleford
Price: $42
Where to buy: amazon.ca
It’s said that you can’t know where you’re going if you don’t know where you’ve been. So if you have any investment in women’s hoops, the WNBA or otherwise, it’s time to do the work and learn its history. Pamela Grundy and Susan Shackelford paint illuminating portraits the forgotten heroes and present stars of women’s basketball, all while exploring its history, it’s relationship with womanhood, race, and sexuality, and its ongoing fight for equal recognition. Throw on your orange hoodie and learn about the founding mothers.
'Giannis: The Improbable Rise of an NBA MVP'
Author: Mirin Fader
Price: $15
Where to buy: audible.ca
Mirin Fader, 2021’s Sports Media Author of the Year (as selected by The Big Lead), offers us a comprehensive biography of the world’s most likable superstar, Giannis Antetokounmpo. The always exceptional Fader details Antetokounmpo’s rise from poverty to transcendent talent. “(He) grew up in an era when Golden Dawn, Greece’s far-right, anti-immigrant party, patrolled his neighborhood, and his status as an illegal immigrant largely prevented him from playing for the country’s top clubs, making his NBA rise all the more improbable,” she writes. Untold stories about a true underdog and his much maligned franchise await you under the cover.
