THE BOOK OF BASKETBALL PAGE
by Bill Simmons (Updated 12/5)
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If you find any typos or errors in The Book of Basketball, or if you want to send along any feedback, please e-mail us at bookofbasketball@aol.com.
Obviously in a book of 700-plus pages that was researched and fact-checked during a whirlwind span of about 2-3 months, I figured we would end up with a few errors of the "total brainfart" variety, as well as some research errors and maybe even answers to things that I admittedly couldn't figure out in the book. The over/under was 50. Well, we hit the over. The majority of errors happen in the last 250 pages, when we were speed-rushing the book to meet a printing deadline. The other problem I didn't anticipate: in certain cases, I was working off research (either a book or a magazine article) in which the information was originally wrong, then, I repeated the wrong information in my book.
My ultimate goal: I want the Book of Basketball to be impeccably researched and typo-free some time between now and 2079. I'd also like to expand this page into an interactive section that plays off material in the book - with magazine links, You Tube clips and other goodies - but just haven't had the time yet. Yes, I will be hiring a couple of interns to help me. Stay tuned.
Anyway, here is a complete list of fixes/errors/typos/afterthoughts - a work in progress - that was last updated on December 4th, 2009. Thanks so much to everyone who e-mailed us with a potential fix.
FACTUAL ERRORS
Page 41: Totally screwed up the details of the Sleepy Floyd Game. Which is sad because I wrote a whole column about it in 2004. The game happened in Round 2 (not Round 1), and he scored 29 points in the quarter (not 33). Other than that, I was dead-on.
Page 61: Bill Russell didn't join the Celtics until December (not January) because he played in the Melbourne Olympics (not because of military service).
Page 137: Seattle (not Phoenix) played the Lakers in the 1980 Western Conference Finals.
Page 165: The 1988-89 Georgetown Hoyas advanced to the Final 8 with Mutombo and Mourning (not just Round 2, as I wrote). Still, how can you not make the Final Four with that team at least???
Page 176: James Worthy left UNC after his junior year (not his senior year).
Page 236: Darryl Dawkins didn't break his first backboard until the 1979-80 season. I thought it was 1977-78 and was so sure that I didn't even look it up.
Page 309: Artis Gilmore was the '75 ABA MVP and Playoffs MVP (not '72). Also, the Colonels never played in the '72 Finals, so Artis was only the best player on one champ.
Page 363: Dominique was robbed in the 1988 Slam Dunk Contest in Chicago (MJ won), not 1987 (he was injured). I knew all of these things and have no idea how this ended up wrong in my book.
Page 435: KC Jones missed 2 NBA seasons because of military service (not Sam Jones). Sam didn't reach the NBA until 24, as I wrote, but it happened because he graduated from college at 24 for reasons unknown.
Page 508: The 1990 Sixers won 53 games (not 49).
Page 639: I wrote that the 2000 Lakers went 11-8 in the playoffs before sweeping the last four Philly games. Got the 2000 and 2001 Finals mixed up. Actually, they started out 11-6, then beat Indiana 4-2.
Page 647: I wrote that the '84 Nets stormed back from a 2-0 deficit to win Round One (including Game 5 in Philly). Actually, Jersey won the first two in Philly; Philly won the next two in Jersey; then Jersey won Game 5 in Philly. No home team ever won a game.
Page 650, FN 43: The thesis was correct - that Kobe started going for his own stats for the first time, averaging a career-high 28.5 PPG and attempting 398 FG's and 128 FT's in December alone (16 games, 32.3 PPG), and that Phil Jackson detailed in the "Lost Season" about how he battled with Kobe to be more unselfish for the first time. But Kobe's scoring streak of nine straight 40-plus games happened during the 2002-03 season (not 2000-01, as I wrote).
Page 660: For 1995-96, the NBA expanded to Vancouver and Toronto (not Minnesota).
SUPER NITPICKY FACTUAL ERRORS
Page 170: Derek Fisher's buzzer-beating miracle shot that killed the 2004 Spurs was a two (not a three). I knew this. Crap.
Page 385: Should I have included Andrei Kirilenko on the "White Guys Who Played Like Black Guys" Team? He's a Euro. Tough call. I'm on the fence. Need to think about it more.
Page 415: I wrote that Nash, Dirk and Bird were the only living members of 50-40-90 club. Technically, Jose Calderon also did it in 2007-08, although he didn't shoot enough FT's to qualify for the FT title.
Page 479: In the famous "Pippen Self-Benching" game, Toni Kukoc swished the game winner (and didn't bank it).
Page 564: Adrian Smith was white, not black. The good news? He just belatedly made the Reggie Cleveland All-Stars!
BRAINFARTS
Page 109: For the White Guy Records, technically, I shouldn't have counted Dirk Nowitzki as a co-record holder for steals since he's a Euro.
Page 124: Two mistakes in the same paragraph: Jaws was released in 1975, and Randy "Pink" Floyd's class didn't graduate until 1977 (although they became seniors in the summer of '76). Without "Jaws," I'm not sure I can give that summer "Greatest Summer Ever" status. Need to rethink it.
Page 162: Rick Barry attended the University of Miami (not the University of San Francisco). Sadly, I knew this and have always known this. Why did I write "University of San Francisco?" I don't know.
Page 269: Ray Kinsella and Terence Mann drove in a VW Bus (not VW Bug). Only one of my 10 favorite movies. And I knew it was a Volkswagen bus. Crap.
Page 271 (FN 19): I wrote that the Luxor had become Planet Hollywood, but actually, Aladdin did. What's weird is that, yes, I knew this. I guess when you're writing a 700-page book, you suffer some rare form of temporary brain damage that only manifests itself in short 10-second bursts.
Page 630: I cannot for the life of me explain how "that's a bigger upgrade than Ashton Kutcher going from January Jones to Brittany Murphy" ended up in this book. It's inexplicable. My only explanation could be that I meant to write "...from Brittany Murphy to Demi Moore" but my brain was fried and all hell broke loose. I am perplexed.
Page 690 (FN 4): Rick & Jon Barry are listed as one of the father-son duos who won a title. Actually, it was Rick & Brent Barry. And I knew this. But you know who noticed this mistake and had Ric Bucher e-mail me about it? BRENT BARRY! Now that's embarrassing. Sorry, Brent. He'd also like to remind everyone that his brother, Jon, never won a ring.
Page 701: Ken Dryden's incredible book "The Game" is mistakenly listed as "The Season," even though I quoted from it extensively in "The Secret" chapter. I am an idiot.
FOLLOWUPS
Page 152 (FN 115): I mentioned how they cancelled the Old Timers Game one year after someone blew out his ACL, but I couldn't remember the player. The player? Norm Nixon. And actually, David Thompson also injured a knee in the same game.
Page 171: For the No. 25 "What If," a few readers reminded me that Orlando was trying to get T-Mac, Duncan AND Grant Hill (and would have happily settled for 2 of the 3).
Page 605 (FN 95): I wonder where the saying "get out of Dodge" came from. Apparently the saying started in the late-1800's in Dodge City, Kansas, a city that had a ton of crime at the time.
LAYOUT MISTAKES
Page 183: The Webber/Warriors parentheses should redirect you to Page 382 (not 182).
Page 228: Kareem's 1972 MVP season and McAdoo's 1975 MVP season should be bolded.
Pages 312-314: Had Joe Dumars ranked No. 74 and Sidney Moncrief ranked No. 73, but in the text of their section, I mention them being #75 and #74.
Page 437: There's no edge for "Head Case Potential." Should say, "EDGE: GERVIN."
WORDING FIXES
Page 35: “I’d rather be playing blackjack and drinking vodka lemonades THAN figuring out how...” (not "then")
Page 54 (FN 35): "Because they sold the shit OUT of their opponents" ("out" was mistakenly omitted).
Page 58: "...many of the dense jurors couldn’t UNDERSTAND the damaging...” (not "understood").
Page 128: Should say "only one team WON LESS than 28" (not more than 28). And technically, I could have gone higher. Every 1976-77 team won 30-plus games except for the Nets.
Page 143: Should say DON Murdoch (not Dave).
Page 152: "...if someone ever WRITES O'Brien's autobiography..." (not "write's).
Page 271: "We spent the rest of OUR ride figuring out..." (not "out").
Page 281: Neil Johnston played on the title-winning Philadelphia WARRIORS (not Sixers).
Page 311: Should say T-Mac "never won a PLAYOFF SERIES" (not "playoffs").
Page 420 (FN 111): "Pau Gasol not helping ON Ray Allen..." ("on" was missing).
Page 461: Should say "fourteen HEALTHY years from Robinson..." (not "quality").
Page 482 - "...If Bird was BLACK, he'd be just another good player" (not white)
Page 543: Should say "MADE a bet with the other warden" (not "met a bet").
Page 546 (FN 7): Should say "don't try to BLOCK this" (not "dunk").
Page 604: "The list: Game 7, 1957 DOUBLE OT" (not "triple")
Page 617: Should say "...guys like Wade, Kobe and LeBron compared to him..." (not "Wade, Jordan and LeBron").
Page 619: "The drinks KEEP coming" (not "keeps")
Page 631 (FN 15): "GREGG Popovich" (not "Greg")
Page 672: "In the fourth quarter OF three of four..." (not "or").
TYPOS
Page 63: Should say '63 Warriors (not '63 Sixers).
Page 103: Neal Walk's name spelled two different ways. Should be "Neal."
Page 112 (FN 50): "Harold Porter" should say Howard Porter. My manuscript had "Howard," not sure why it was changed.
Page 124: The dick-swinging ABA lawyer was named "Fred Furth" (not Fred Fruth). My least favorite typo in the book especially since I got the story from "Loose Balls," which spelled his name correctly.
Page 165: Should say Georgetown Hoyas (not "Hoys") obviously.
Page 178: Linas Kleiza (not "Linus").
Page 214: Portland's owner during the Walton Era was Larry Weinberg (not "Weisberg"). Especially embarrassing since I've read "Breaks of the Game" 6500 times and didn't catch the typo.
Page 230: McAdoo's 1975 MVP season was mistakenly omitted from the 17 seasons we would be examining.
Page 269: Should say "Otsego, New York" (not Oswego).
Page 342: In the Allen/Jumbotron section, it should say Game 5 of the 2008 Finals (not 2000 Finals).
Page 450 (FN 42): I mention how well Willis Reed played against elite centers but accidentally call him "Wilt."
Page 463: On 2Pac's All Eyez on Me double disc, "All About U" is listed as "All About The U." I can't emphasize this strongly enough - that was changed AFTER I handed in my manuscript. Even on my most brainfarty day ever - hell, even after a head injury - I would not write "All About The U" for the title of that song.
Page 470: Should say that Stockton had 11 quality years (not 10).
Page 472: Should say Stockton had a 16-4-10 (not a 16-4-0).
Page 481. Isiah should be listed as the best player on 2 champs (1989, 1990) and one runner-up (1988). 1988 was mistakenly listed twice.
Page 484: Magic and Isiah kissed each other before every game of the '88 and '89 Finals (not '87 and '88). This is the funniest correction of all-time.
Page 495: LeBron played 14 games in the '09 playoffs (not 146, which would have been amazing).
Page 519 - Should say Kobe was "best player on runner up" in both '04 and '08 (not just '04).
Page 535 (FN 84): Should say "for his third DUI" (not "for his third").
Page 541: In Moses' resume, the '81 Playoffs are listed twice. The sequence should be the '81 Playoffs (27-15), then the '84 Playoffs (26-16).
Page 546: Shaq's career FG% was accidentally omitted (58%).
Page 563: Should say Jason Terry (not "Tarry").
Page 582: For the list of Legend's Club guys, Bird's 1985 season added up to 29 (not 27).
Page 587 & 598: Magic's stats for Game 6 of the 1980 Finals are listed 2 different ways. Page 598 was correct: 42-15-7.
Page 594: Kareem is mistakenly spelled "Kareen" in one spot.
Page 609: Says "Drexler's Pistons" when it obviously should say "Drexler's Blazers." It's astounding how many Portland fans were pissed off about this. Come on. Like I didn't know Drexler played for the Blazers.
Page 636: "number one 1 silver anniversary choice" ("1" should be omitted).
Page 643: '91 Bulls averaged 103.9 PPG in the playoffs (not 109.9)
Page 645-646: The '83 Sixers lost to New Jersey in Round One of the '84 Playoffs (not Philly).
Page 674: "Wine connoisseur" is spelled 2 different ways.
Page 680: "The best Jordan imitiation yet" should say "imitation."
Page 694: "Colonoscopy" (not "colonscopy").
Page 702: www.basketball-reference.com was accidentally omitted from the acknowledgements.
**END**
