Basket Ball

The Story of the All-American Game

by Kadir Nelson

Review posted August 10, 2026.
Little, Brown and Company, 2026. 104 pages.
Review written August 10, 2026, from a library book.
Starred Review

Like Kadir Nelson's stunning We Are the Ship from many years ago, his oversize paintings of players are the stars of this book. The book is large and square, as big as a picture book, but packed with text that's full of information. The detailed text is broken up with a large, magnificent painting on every spread, as if the players are standing there ready to throw you the ball.

He's got information about how basketball was invented and how it caught on, how and why the rules changed, how it slowly became integrated, and the various leagues over the years. One section highlights star players over the history of the game.

There's a chapter at the end about women's basketball. My one quibble is I would have liked this information included with the rest of the book. The author did a good job covering the times when there were separate leagues for African Americans - it would have been interesting to mention how Women's Basketball fit into that in the same timeline.

But that's a minor quibble for this strikingly beautiful book. I make no secret that I'm not a sports fan - but reading this had me riveted. I learned much about basketball that I didn't think I cared about before picking up this book.