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.

A book about the first year of the Birmingham G League team? I'll read that! It was really good. The author was a fly on the wall for Birmingham's first season. He focussed on several players and the coaches as they played through the season. I learned about the team, the G League and about guys who were so close and yet so far away from their dreams. I was really rooting for all of them to make it to the NBA.

The NBA G League has always been a curiosity of mine. The G League is the NBA’s minor league, it prepares players, coaches, and team personnel for the NBA. NBA G League teams are usually affiliated with a NBA franchise, but there are exceptions. Alex Squadron’s new book, Life in the G, shares the story of the Birmingham Squadron through his eyes. We meet the head coaches and some of the players including Joe Young, Jared Harper, Zylan Cheatham, and Malcolm Hill.

Alex explains in great detail the realities of playing in the G League and the differences between playing in the NBA when it comes to flying commercial, per diems, training facilities, etc. He shares the history of each of the subjects with the reader as well as interview NBA players who also played in the G League at some point in their careers. I was engrossed in learning how each player coped with fighting for their NBA dream by playing in the G League, hoping that someone would be given a fair shot to make a roster. You see that’s why these young men are in the G League, they are fighting for the chance Alex Caruso, Danny Green, Seth Curry, and Gary Payton II.

I learned a lot about the G League experience from this book and couldn’t put the book down. I must say I am a basketball junkie so I was engrossed in the story. I believe this book will be of interest of sports fans who want to learn what the G League experience is like. I highly recommend it.