From Hang Time to Prime Time: Business, Entertainment, and the Birth of the Modern-Day NBA

(Hardback)

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Perfect for fans of Moneyball and The Book of Basketball, this vivid, thoroughly entertaining, and well-researched book explores the NBAs surge in popularity in the 1970s and 1980s and its transformation into a global cultural institution.

Far beyond simply being a sports league, the NBA has become an entertainment and pop culture juggernaut. From all kinds of team logo merchandise to officially branded video games and players crossing over into reality television, film, fashion lines, and more, there is an inseparable line between sports and entertainment. But only four decades ago, this would have been unthinkable.

Featuring writing that leaps off the page with energy and wit, journalist and basketball fan Pete Croatto takes us behind the scenes to the meetings that lead to the monumental American Basketball AssociationNational Basketball Association merger in 1976, revolutionizing the NBAs image. He pays homage to legendary talents including Julius Dr. J Erving, Magic Johnson, and Michael Jordan and reveals how two polar-opposite rookies, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, led game attendance to skyrocket and racial lines to dissolve. Croatto also dives into CBSs personality-driven coverage of key players, as well as other cable television efforts, which launched NBA players into unprecedented celebrity status.

Essential reading whether youre a casual or longtime fan, From Hang Time to Prime Time is an enthralling and entertaining celebration of basketball history.

Reviews

PRAISE FOR From Hang Time to Prime Time



In these days of LeBron and Zion and shoe deals and gazillion-dollar arenas, it's easy to forget that, not so long ago, the NBA was a podunk operation just fighting for a crumb. But thanks to Pete Croatto's brilliant work, the rise of the league (or, these days, The League) is brought forth in full color, with zest and passion and oomph. Its outstanding. Jeff Pearlman, author of Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s.

From Hang Time to Prime Time is deeply reported, smart, funand important. All the great players are hereDr. J, Bird, Magic, Jordanand so are the shoe deals, the songs, and the TV broadcasts that shaped the modern game. If you want to understand how and why the NBA changed the world, this is a great place to start.Jonathan Eig, author of Ali: A Life

Meticulously researched and deeply reported,From Hang Time to Prime Timetakes basketball fans on a rollicking journey through the sport they love. Chronicling all the secret backroom deals, Hall of Fame talents, twists of fate, and everything else that paved the way for the modern NBA, Croatto has written a definitive and vital history that will stand the test of time.Erik Malinowski, author of Betaball: How Silicon Valley and Science Built One of the Greatest Basketball Teams in History

Its difficult imagining the NBA as anything but the cultural and financial juggernaut that it is. Of course, the league didnt start out the way. InFrom Hang Time to Prime Time, Pete Croatto deftly documents, explores and details the twists and turns, the coincidences and circumstances, and the many, many personalities that contributed to the NBA s evolution into todays behemothJonathan Abrams, author of Boys Among Men: How the Pro-to-Prep Generation Redefined the NBA and Sparked a Basketball Revolution

A marvel of intention, focus, and reporting, Pete Croatto'sFROMHANG TIME TO PRIME TIMEtells the story of the rise and professionalization of basketball culture and business with intimacy, humanity and even comedy. In a sports universeof superstars and sycophants, Croatto'sbook stands apart as a testimonial of how such worlds truly get built--on successes and failures, shrewd innovation and sheer luck, a hostof scrappy and surprisingcharacters from all walks of life hustling to get the deals done. The NBA we know and love hardly emerged fully formed. Croatto generously treats us all to courtsideseats for its remarkable evolution.HowieKahn, co-author of Sneakers

I love basketball. You might say it's a lifelong obsession. And I love reading the work of other basketball obsessives. Particularly when they write with as much heart and fire as Pete Croatto does. This book is a Meadowlark Lemon half court hook, sweet on the release, sweeter as it travels in the air, and even sweeter as it swishes cleanly throughthe hoop.Brian Koppelman, co-creator of Billions

"The growth of the NBA over the past 45 years is interesting not just because of its remarkable rate of expansion but also for how many segments of U.S. culture the sport intermingled with along the way. As Croatto shows repeatedly inFrom Hang Time to Prime Time, basketball's growth was fueled by factors such as sneaker sales, the political landscape of the U.S. and the burgeoning hip-hop culture. The book has plently of hoop anecdotes, but what makes it shine is the stuff adjacent to the game. Erstwhile All-Star forward Curtis Rowe doesn't appear; Kurtis Blow does, more than once." Sports Illustrated

"Any fan of the game would do well to pick this upit's a slam dunk." Publishers Weekly (starred review)

You dont even have to know a dunk from a dribble to be fascinated by this insightful history of how the NBA not only went mainstreambut became pop culture itself. How did Michael, LeBron, and Kobe become not just rock stars, but modern gods Pete Croatto tells that tale, through exhaustive research and riveting storytelling. Jennifer Keishin Armstrong,New York Timesbestselling author ofSeinfeldia

Author Bio

Pete Croattos writing has appeared in many outlets, including The New York Times, Columbia Journalism Review, Rolling Stone, and more. He lives just outside Ithaca, New York, with his wife, daughter, and a basketball hoop in the driveway. From Hang Time to Prime Time is his first book. Follow him on Twitter: @PeteCroatto.