When the Game Was War

The NBA's Greatest Season

By: Rich Cohen

Narrated by: Cary Hite

The gritty, no-holds-barred account of the 1987 NBA season, a thrilling year of fierce battles and off-the-court drama between Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Isiah Thomas, and Michael Jordan—from New York Times bestselling author Rich Cohen.

“Plug in to a world where rivalries really mattered.”—Bob Ryan, sports columnist emeritus, The Boston Globe

AN ESQUIRE BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

Four historic teams. Four legendary players. One unforgettable season.

The 1980s were a transformative decade for the NBA. Since its founding in 1946, the league had evolved from a bruising, earthbound game of mostly nameless, underpaid players to one in which athletes became household names for their thrilling, physics-defying play. The 1987–88 season was the peak of that golden era, a year of incredible drama that featured a pantheon of superstars in their prime—the most future Hall of Famers competing at one time in any given season—battling for the title, and for their respective legacies.

In When the Game Was War, bestselling author Rich Cohen tells the story of this incredible season through the four teams, and the four players, who dominated it: Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics, Magic Johnson and the Los Angeles Lakers, Isiah Thomas and the Detroit Pistons, and a young Michael Jordan and his Chicago Bulls. From rural Indiana to the South Side of Chicago, suburban North Carolina to rust-belt Michigan, Cohen explores the diverse journeys each of these iconic players took before arriving on the big stage. Drawing from dozens of interviews with NBA insiders, Cohen brings to vivid life some of the most colorful characters of the era—like Bill Laimbeer, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Danny Ainge, and Charles Oakley—who fought like hell to help these stars succeed.

For anyone who longs to understand how the NBA came to be the cultural juggernaut it is today—and to relive the magic and turmoil of those pivotal years—When the Game Was War brilliantly recasts one unforgettable season and the four transcendent players who were at the center of it all.

©2023 Rich Cohen (P)2023 Random House Audio

Outstanding basketball book

Isiah finally gets his due. Great season where Lakers, Pistons, Celtics, and Bulls dynasties all meet at various stages of their reign.

The greatest NBA season told in fascinating detail

Any true NBA fan will love this chronicle of the season where four of the greatest individual players ever and four of the greatest teams ever were at a pivot point. Agree with the authors assertion that the revisionist history of Isaiah T has not been right and have robbed him of his true ranking amongst all time greats.

A fun look back at a classic period

Even if you don’t agree that the ‘87/‘88 season was the best ever, “When the Game Was War” does a marvelous job recounting a classic year in the NBA. As a lifelong basketball fan who watched that season as a kid, it brought to life the astounding players and games the the era.

The back stories.

I love this era of basketball. We need that type of physicality back in our game today.

Phil Jackson accuses Red Auerbach of cheap tactics

Phil Jackson accusing Auerbach of tactics? Jackson admitted he kept a basketball air fill needle in his shorts when he played for the Knicks to let air out so Willis Reed could get more rebounds. See, a dead ball will stay on the rim longer so they could get position for rebounds. Zen Master, give us a break.

Superfluous Play-by-Play

If you're an NBA fan, this looks like a great book from the jump. It's not. I thought it would be full of authentic, behind-the-scenes details of the 1980's NBA dynasty era. It's not. The work is nothing more than someone's take on the highlights of the Lakers-Celtics-Pistons finals runs of the time frame, but it reads terribly. Let down, for sure.

nostalgic.

the book is great for basketball history lovers. most of the details are known, but its a fun trip to to 80s basketball.

Awesome!

I absolutely loved this audio book. Great memories. I'm so grateful that I grew up and witnessed this era. I feel bad for those that didn't. The Golden Age of basketball.

Great for any Basketball fan

I grew up in the 1980s and enjoyed watching Bird, Magic, Jordan, and others. This book examines those players and their teams in an interesting way. The interviews and information collected by the author are all enjoyable. The author also did a good job of reminding me about the talent of Isiah Thomas. As a Bulls fan in the 1990s and coming off of the recent "The Last Dance" miniseries, I had come to remember Thomas as someone who was decent but mostly a poor sport when the Pistons were finally overtaken by the Bulls, This book does a good job of giving Thomas his due along with all of the other stars of the time--enough to make me realize that my memory of Thomas was not fair and that he really was an amazing star in his own way. The stories about Bird, Magic, Jordan, and others are all what I expected. The story about Isiah Thomas was not what I expected, but I enjoyed it and the book made me think of him differently, which I appreciate.

NBA's Greatest

Enjoyed every minute. The stories behind the great rivalries in a great season. EXCELLENT!