I got this from Netgalley, so I can read and review it before it’s published. Before I dive in, I was a huge basketball fan (mainly San Antonio Spurs, but also the league in general). So, when I saw this biography of Moses, I was all in and extremely intrigued. I knew a little about his life, but was looking forward to reading a lot more. Let me tell you, after I read a few chapters, I was already thinking this could very easily be the book of the year for me.
Moses was the first player to go from High School to a professional team, and that professional team was the Utah Stars in the ABA. He was recruited by the University of Maryland and did sign a letter to attend, but money talks, and Moses needed the financial stability so he could support his family. The overall college recruitment process was talked about, and a lot of them offered more than a scholarship to Moses.
Looking back at all the teams and coaches he played for, it’s very impressive…
After Utah, he went on to play for the Spirits of St. Louis in the ABA, the Buffalo Braves, the Houston Rockets (Rudy Tomjanovich was a teammate and he mentored and helped Hakeem Olajuwon while he playing for the University of Houston – he become a superstar in the NBA years later, the Philadelphia 76ers (his teammates were Dr. J., Bobby Jones, Maurice Cheeks, and Charles Barkley – just to name a few key ones), the Washington Bullets (7’7 Manute Bol and 5’3 Muggsy Bogues were teammates), the Atlanta Hawks (Dominique Wilkins and Doc Rivers were teammates), and he finished is storied career as a member of the 1994-1995 San Antonio Spurs (David Robinson and Dennis Rodman were teammates).
Some of his highlighted accomplishments include:
1983 NBA Champion
1983 NBA Finals MVP
3x NBA MVP
13x All-Star
A lot of game details were included throughout the book. His sense of humor was tongue-in-cheek and his media personality was boring – on purpose. He had a knack for the game itself and prided himself on being prepared and never taking anything for granted. If he took interest in you, you would be set for life inside the courts and also outside the courts.
Overall, I really enjoyed all the stories of Moses from his childhood to retirement to the NBA Hall of Fame where he was inducted in 2001.
