Slam-Dunk Basketball Listens That Will Take You Courtside

The Last Dance is a celebrated 2020 documentary about Michael Jordan's final, championship-winning year with the Chicago Bulls. The only podcast on our list, Beyond the Last Dance tells even more about that legendary season through interviews, thought-provoking analysis, contemporary audio recordings, and behind-the-scenes scoops about the key players. Die-hard Bulls fans—and anyone curious about basketball's biggest secrets—are sure to get a lot from this Audible Original podcast, hosted by sports journalist J.A. Adande.

Basketball: A Love Story is an ambitious undertaking, with three acclaimed authors—Jackie MacMullan, Rafe Bartholomew, and Dan Klores—setting out to speak with hundreds of players, coaches, journalists, and others devoted to this singular sport. Their goal: to tell the entire history of basketball through the eyes of the individuals who make it so great. The extensive interviews, startling revelations, and their obvious love for the sport make this one of our favorite audiobooks about basketball.

The 1969 NBA playoffs culminated in an iconic match-up between some of the sport's best-ever players representing two teams at very different points in their existence—the Lakers were the new juggernauts, while the Celtics were fading stars. Needless to say, their clash inevitably made history. Written and narrated by award-winning journalist Leigh Montville, who was there to report on the playoffs firsthand, Tall Men, Short Shorts is the epic story about one of basketball's most memorable championships.

Phil Jackson is the most successful coach, not just in basketball but in all of sports. Now, in Eleven Rings, he reveals the keys to his success. His unique talents and position make him an ideal figure from whom to learn about some of the most important people and moments in modern basketball history. Jackson, after all, knows what it was like to not just be present for these events, but to actively participate in them and to mold the players into the superstars everyone admires.

From 1996 to 2004, the Los Angeles Lakers were dominated by two larger-than-life personalities: Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant. While they were arguably the most successful players the sport had ever seen, it often seemed like the Lakers weren't big enough for the both of them. Three Ring Circus takes listeners behind the scenes of this infamous yet fruitful rivalry to determine what made it work—and why we'll never see a dynamic or a team like this again.

LeBron James shocked and angered fans when he left the Cleveland Cavaliers to play for the Miami Heat in 2010…and then shocked them again by returning to Cleveland in 2015, just in time to lead the team to a spectacular victory at the NBA Finals. Return of the King uncovers the real story behind the sensational headlines and most talked-about sports comeback of the decade. It's written and read by Brian Windhorst and Dave McMenamin, journalists who witnessed every development firsthand.

As a college basketball coach, Pat Summitt has earned numerous honors and nationwide acclaim, and rightly so. In 2011, she gained respect for another, more heartbreaking reason: her staunch response to an early-onset Alzheimer's diagnosis. In Sum It Up, Summitt looks back at her incredible career and resilience, and how she has dealt with life's ups and downs. Narrated by co-author Sally Jenkins, this is an inspiring look at one of basketball's most lauded coaches.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar narrates the remarkable story of his relationship with the coach who launched his career and transformed his life. It all started during his days as a college player under Coach John Wooden at UCLA. Despite racial and cultural differences, the two quickly connected, becoming part of a winning team and forming a bond that lasted for 50 years. An acclaimed best seller, Coach Wooden and Me is a heartfelt tribute to Wooden as both a coach and a man, and to a friendship that changed basketball forever.

As Georgetown University's long-time basketball coach, John Thompson made history in many ways, but doing so was never easy. His entire life was influenced by racism, which forced him to view and handle his career much differently than a white man would have had to. Read with strength and sensitivity by coauthor Jesse Washington, I Came as a Shadow is a moving autobiography about sports, race, and a man who worked with what he had to forge an inimitable career.

A basketball team is only as good as its coach. What makes a "good" coach, however, varies wildly. It can be influenced by factors as diverse as the coach's personality, what sport they are playing, their players' abilities, and so much more. Author Seth Davis interviews college and pro coaches of basketball and football teams to figure out what the best coaches are made of. Revealing the complex inner workings that make sports teams tick,Getting to Us shows how a coach is the vital, make-or-break element behind any team's success or failure.

Basketball started out as a way for young Sugar Rodgers to hustle money from the drug dealers who populated her impoverished Suffolk, Virginia, neighborhood. By the time she grew up, she was good enough to earn a spot on the Minnesota Lynx, and she helped propel the team to championship victory in her first season. They Better Call Me Sugar is read by Rodgers herself and offers a down-to-earth look at how she beat the odds—and how other poor kids can reach for their dreams as well.

My Life, My Fight takes listeners behind the scenes of the NBA while diving deep into the life of Oklahoma City Thunder's Steven Adams. Hailing from New Zealand, Adams had to cope with his father's early death and move half a world away to become a basketball superstar. His journey, as told in this in-depth and enlightening memoir, will help listeners understand how much faith and dedication it takes to make it as a professional athlete.

Chris Bosh won countless titles as a basketball player and thought he'd be on the court for years to come—until a rare medical condition forced him into early retirement. Since then, he has found new goals and a new purpose in life, which includes sharing his hard-earned wisdom. Speaking to listeners beyond sports fans, Letters to a Young Athlete has a universal message about the power of adaptability and the right mindset. Throughout, Bosh, who narrates his own work, shares lessons to inspire any young person to rebound from setbacks and find their own path to greatness.

Cookie and Magic Johnson have been married for nearly three decades, but their journey together has been fraught with terrible challenges. Most famously, Magic's HIV diagnosis altered the course of their lives, forcing the couple to reexamine who they were, who they wanted to be, and what they wanted from life and each other. Believing in Magic is a very personal, human love story, all set amidst the backdrop of the world of professional basketball.

Giannis Antetokounmpo is one of basketball's most unlikely triumphs. After an impoverished childhood in Greece, throughout which his family was often threatened by racist and xenophobic neighbors, he became a rising NBA star with the Milwaukee Bucks. But as author and narrator Mirin Fader makes clear, this is not just another rags-to-riches story: this NBA MVP is far more complicated than that. Giannis explores the unfairness of the hurdles that stood in his way and how they still affect him today.

If anyone thought that basketball could never again rise to the heights that Michael Jordan and the "dream team" brought it to in the '90s, one look at Steph Curry should have been a happy revelation. Golden is the story of how Curry became one of the 21st century's most admired basketball players. Written by a journalist intimately familiar with Curry's team, the Golden State Warriors, this audiobook is perfect for Warriors fans or anyone who appreciates a good old-fashioned success story.