Narrating the NBA

Cultural Representations of Leading Players after the Michael Jordan Era

Lukasz Muniowski (Autor)

Buch | Hardcover

216 Seiten

2021
Lexington Books (Verlag)
978-1-7936-2339-3 (ISBN)

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Muniowski analyzes the career narratives of eight selected NBA players who rose to prominence after Michael Jordan's second retirement in 1999. Combining a variety of approaches and perspectives, the author highlights how well-known archetypes influence modern-day forms of sports storytelling.

This book analyzes career narratives of selected prominent NBA players after the Michael Jordan era, understood as the time after his second retirement in January 1999. It was a pivotal time for the league, as Jordan became synonymous with NBA basketball and the face of its global expansion. The players discussed in the book have been selected because of the significance of their career narratives, as all of them correspond with certain archetypes, prevalent in the world of not only professional basketball, but professional sports in general. The private and public personas of eight players as well as their depiction by the media are analyzed not only regarding their success on the basketball court, but also in light of what they have come to represent for the modern NBA. The players discussed in this book are Shaquille O’Neal, Alonzo Mourning, Vin Baker, Allen Iverson, Antoine Walker, Steve Nash, Tim Duncan, and Kobe Bryant. Collectively, these eight players embody the distinguishing character profiles and career arcs of sports superstars with dominance, individualism, and athleticism being as much a part of sports star culture as egotism, injuries, boredom, addiction, and bankruptcy.

Lukasz Muniowski holds a PhD in American Literature from the University of Warsaw and is the author of Three-Pointer! A 40-Year NBA History.

Introduction
Chapter One. Michael Jordan and the Creation of the Modern NBA
Chapter Two. Shaquille O’Neal: Black Superman
Chapter Three. Alonzo Mourning: The Player with a Mission
Chapter Four. Vin Baker: The Downfall and Rebirth of the Alcoholic Athlete
Chapter Five. Allen Iverson: Celebrity and the Event
Chapter Six. Antoine Walker: Overconfident or Asshole?
Chapter Seven. Steve Nash: The “Unlikely” Hero
Chapter Eight. Tim Duncan: The Boredom of Excellence
Chapter Nine. Kobe Bryant: Personification of the Spectacle
Conclusion
Works Cited
Index
About the Author

Erscheinungsdatum	10.05.2021
Sprache	englisch
Maße	164 x 228 mm
Gewicht	508 g
Themenwelt	Literatur ► Biografien / Erfahrungsberichte
	Sport ► Ballsport ► Basketball
	Sozialwissenschaften ► Soziologie ► Allgemeines / Lexika
ISBN-10	1-7936-2339-2 / 1793623392
ISBN-13	978-1-7936-2339-3 / 9781793623393
Zustand	Neuware