When the Game Was War

The NBA's Greatest Season

By: Rich Cohen

Narrated by: Cary Hite

Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

“Cohen brings new life to these athletes and their legendary rivalries.”—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

Critic reviews

"Rich Cohen brings new life to these athletes and their legendary rivalries, both on and off the court, over the course of the 1987–88 NBA season. Now new fans can plug into a world where rivalries really mattered, bodies were flying around, and the arenas for these memorable games—all gone now—were themselves characters in drama.”—Bob Ryan, sports columnist emeritus, The Boston Globe

“Rich Cohen writes about basketball the way an artful astronomer would author a book about the cosmos. The stars—the Birds, Magics, Michaels, and Isiahs—are aligned in insightful, colorful, and dramatic order, while other NBA players, and meaningful games, of the era are fitted into their proper orbits. It’s not necessary to be a basketball fan to relish this book: It’s simply good stuff, beautifully composed.”—Ira Berkow, Pulitzer Prize winner and former New York Times sports columnist

“I was highly skeptical of Rich Cohen’s premise that the 1987–88 season was the greatest ever. But now, like a chastened sinner, I repent. That season was a carnival of wondrous hoops and competition. But most of all, it is Cohen’s warm and easy writing combined with his deep research and personal recollections that move the premise on to fruition.”—Rick Telander, senior sports columnist, Chicago Sun-Times, and author of Heaven Is a Playground

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.

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.

NBA's Greatest

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

Magic, Larry, Isiah & Mike

A wonderful chronicle of the golden age of the NBA. Though the book focuses mostly on the Lakers, Celtics, Pistons and Bulls, it’s a great look back at the 87-88 season.

Epic Story, Epic Time

Wonderful book about the golden age of the NBA. Like living it all again. Brilliant narration. Timeless story. Must read.

inside relationships between players

stories about earl Strom
stories about Zeke and magics relationship
Michael and Larry post retirement
the pistons team in general

Amazingly Personal Analysis of the NBA at its Peak

Rich Cohen is one of the best writers in the world, and this book is another feather in his cap. I love the NBA, and so does Rich, and his enthusiasm for the sport shines through in this book. Glad to have listened to it as well, the narrator shines with all the fun stories and anecdotes contained within. Enjoy!

Best Sports Book

This was the best sports book I’ve read. It blends fascinating writing with historical context and does what all sports writing should: mirror the human condition in which the game was played. Highly recommend. Hope Cohen writes more basketball books in the future, especially if he does another structured like this about a different era. 5/5 stars.