BLACK BALL Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Spencer Haywood, and the Generation that Saved the Soul of the NBA

This audiobook highlights the efforts of Black professional basketball players of the 1970s, including Connie Hawkins, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Spencer Haywood, to pave the way for the improved working conditions of today's stars. The audiobook details the challenges and sacrifices that these and other players made to create the freedom current players have to negotiate large contracts and move among teams with comparatively few restrictions. Narrator Xenia Willacey's tone and her adept use of emotion help propel the detailed history. Mispronounced names mar Willacey's performance, which otherwise ably conveys the racism African American players confronted and how they withstood the indignities of team owners, believing their positions would win in the end. D.J.S. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine [Published: MAY 2023]