Hardwood Paroxysm summer reading recommendations
Rockin’ Steady: A Guide to Basketball and Cool by Walt Frazier, Recommended for Nick Young
By Sean Highkin (@highkin)
Nick Young loves his red Gucci backpack more than most things. “I’m Swaggy P, baby!” he’s fond of saying when asked about it. “See the bag? See all this swag?” There is no doubt that Swaggy P is the swaggiest player in the modern NBA.
But before there was Swaggy, there was Clyde Frazier, whose swag was (and is) on a level Young can never hope to touch. Clyde’s book Rockin’ Steady is utterly unlike any other sports book out there — it’s a combination of basketball autobiography and fashion guide. It features romantic advice, among other things — Swaggy is doing pretty well in that department, but his new contract will open up more possibilities for taking Iggy Azalea on some nice dates.
If you asked Swaggy what his ultimate goal was, there’s a good chance it would be to master the art of swag. In all facets of basketball and life, Clyde Frazier did just that. Nick Young must learn from the master.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, Recommended for Blake Griffin
By Ian Levy (@HickoryHigh)
Blake Griffin plays the game of basketball with one the best poker faces to have ever graced this great green Earth. I’ve heard Griffin interviewed before and there appears to be some levity behind the facade, but he is careful to never let it leak out in a professional setting. Even his series of Kia commercials, ostensibly comedic, are humorous mostly because of the ludicrous setup wrapped around his humorless stone face. If anyone plays straight man to the rich comedic tapestry of the NBA, it is Griffin. Laying waste to his foes with dunking destruction, the aftermath is always that same smoldering stare. It’s designed to intimidate, and it scares the heck out of me, but it seems a shame that we fans get such enjoyment out of his play while he seems to get so little.
That’s why I’d love to slip Griffin a copy of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, a looping science fiction epic purposefully steeped in inanity at every turn. The story follows Arthur Dent, one of two survivors from the destruction of Earth (to make room for a hyperspatial express route), on an adventure around the galaxy in search of everything and nothing. The book is a Rubik’s Cube of sparkling life lessons and utter nonsense, all mixed up together. But it’s nothing if not fun.
The ultimate lesson of the book, at least for Griffin, is that greatness doesn’t necessarily need to be taken seriously. An epic narrative can be built around joy and nonsense just as it can around gravity and maturity. Go on Blake, I dare you, have a little fun.