Having read a lot of Jack McCallum over the years in Sports Illustrated, this book was familiar in a lot of good ways. McCallum's features always have a relaxed flow to them, even on the most action packed pieces of a basketball game. In a lot of ways, this was like reading an extremely extended feature from SI, where he could take all of the extra info that he found and show it to us. I felt like the strongest pieces of the book were the parts on the '72 Lakers. I think part of that comes from the distance from the subject, and that McCallum wasn't up against time to bring all the info in and really let us soak in the atmosphere of the team. The Warriors' parts weren't bad by any means, but they clearly didn't have the context around them and the extra information that McCallum was able to bring into the Lakers' sections. I think that mostly stems from the Warriors section happening in real time, and he had to write about it as it happened.

While I was reading, I kept expecting to see more of a connection between the Lakers and the Warriors, besides the connection of Jerry West. In a lot of ways it seemed like West was an integral part of the Lakers sections but wasn't really as much of a focus on the Warriors sections, which could admittedly come from West's estrangement and eventual departure from the Warriors franchise at the end of the book. Really, that was my only complaint - I wanted to see more of a connection between the two, whether it was the way that they represented their times, or the way that West put an imprint on both of them. It was fine the way it was written, but it could come off as disjointed from time to time. Still, an enjoyable and recommended read!

A really nice read about Jerry West, the connective person between the 33-win in a row Lakers of the early 70s and the current Warriors. There's some curmudgeon in the author.

Two of the best teams in the history of professional basketball are the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers and the 2016-17 Golden State Warriors. Both teams had lengthy winning streaks – Golden State had a 24 game streak and the Lakers had a 33 game streak that still stands as the longest winning streak by a professional team in the four major sports. Both teams won their respective championships. Both teams had several all-star players on the roster. The comparison between the two teams is captured in this wonderfully written book by Jack McCallum, considered one of the better basketball authors in the business.

There is one link between the two teams from different eras – Jerry West. West was one of those all-star players on that Lakers team, and was relieved to finally win a championship after many years of finishing second to either the Boston Celtics or New York Knicks. After his playing career, he worked in the front office for several teams, but his best work was with the Warriors in putting together the team that includes Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson and Drayman Green.

The book is fast paced, has many humorous passages and is a wonderful looks back at both teams’ construction and the championship seasons. One chapter is dedicated to each game of the Lakers’ historic winning streak – this was my favorite section of the book as a reader will either have great memories of the team or, if too young to have seen this team, will learn what the culture of professional basketball was at the time and the colorful characters that made up the Los Angeles Lakers.

This doesn’t mean McCallum shorts changes his quality work for the Warriors either. The reader will learn how the Warriors went from laughing stock to domination through the hard work of new-thinking owners, sheer luck on draft night in 2009 that allowed them to draft Curry and how they have become the hip team of the current basketball culture. I enjoyed reading about this team as well, mainly because McCallum writes in such a manner that he shows great respect for both teams without the book coming off as a love fest for either one of them. It is simply a lot of great information and stories about two legendary teams. This book is highly recommended for all basketball fans of all ages.

I wish to thank Ballantine Books for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A compelling and informative exploration of the history of the NBA with Jerry West serving as the catalyst. Comparing the Wilt/West/Elgin Lakers with the Curry/Durant/Green Warriors and how these teams have shaped and have been shaped by the rest of the league is fascinating. Each team deserves (and has) books dedicated to their successes and failures, but this book was excellent at treating each team with the respect that they deserved without becoming a lovefest for one particular team. Jerry West being the connective tissue for both teams was quite inventive, and makes the book more interesting because you have a central figure to rely upon as the narrative progresses. This is a must read for any NBA fan, not just a Lakers or Warriors fan.

Interesting quick read that flows well. Highly recommended if you're a fan of the NBA.