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Money Players: Inside the New NBA

Money Players: Inside the New NBA
by Armen Keteyian, Harvey Araton and Martin F. Dardis
Hardcover,
Pocket Book Publishing
Paperback, 420 pages, ISBN: 0-671-56810-8

Reviewed by Thomas R. Mueller

One of my research interests is examining the off court events that have a profound impact on professional sports. One book that explores this topic is called Money Players: Inside the New NBA by Armen Keteyian, Harvey Araton and Martin F. Dardis. This book examines certain off  court events that have shaped the National Basketball Association such as, the labor strife, gambling by NBA Players, and the saga of two talented young rookies, Joe Smith and Kevin Garnett. The authors, three investigative reporters, utilize their tremendous talents to uncover these events.

The two most interesting parts of the book are the ones that discuss the labor strife and the rise of David Stern as the commissioner of the NBA. The discussion of the labor relationship between the owners and  the players begins with the details of the 1964 All Star game. Larry Fleisher, who represented the players, threatens the owners that the players will not play unless they receive a pension plan, the owners eventually agreed. Then the story continues by examining the events that almost led to the NBA Players' Union being decertified. I really enjoyed this section of the book, because I have not found many books that  focus on the labor issues in the NBA. The book also investigates how David Stern began as a legal eagle for the NBA and became one of the most powerful commissioners in professional sports. It explores the internationalization of basketball through the agreements between FIBA and the NBA.

This book does an excellent job of giving the reader an inside look at the off court stories of the NBA. However the splitting up of the Joe Smith saga throughout the book disrupted the flow. Nevertheless this is an extremely useful book to use as a starting point for a researcher who wants to examine the business and off court experiences of the NBA and its players.