TALK OF CHAMPIONS

The renowned broadcaster and former NBA star looks back at his life and influences.

Smith, a two-time NBA champion, co-host of TNT's Inside the NBA program, and broadcaster for CBS/Turner’s coverage of March Madness, delivers a smartly structured memoir that reinforces the significance of relationships, perspective, and social awareness in the making of a champion. He chronicles his story primarily through the lens of his bonds with several champions both on and off the court. Refreshingly absent is the phrase "as told to (sportswriter name)" normally associated with memoirs from celebrities and professional athletes. This book—largely inspired by pandemic lockdowns and racial unrest in the U.S. in the past few years—is clearly Smith's alone, written for his children and the readers he invites "as if you are one of my family members.” The author describes his multicultural upbringing in Queens, his time playing for Dean Smith at the University of North Carolina, and his professional playing career. He examines his relationships with a variety of people across his entire life, including his legendary high school and college coaches, college teammate Michael Jordan, and superstars such as Magic Johnson and the late Kobe Bryant. Smith demonstrates how understanding the winning mindsets of these seminal figures shaped his maturation on and off the court. This is particularly evident in the chapter featuring his TNT co-host Charles Barkley, with whom he has publicly disagreed about social, racial, and political issues. Perhaps the finest chapter details Smith's first NBA season, with the Sacramento Kings, during which he was coached and mentored about winning and social action by Bill Russell, who won 11 NBA titles as a player. “He taught me to be a professional,” writes the author, “and showed me what it looked like to be a strong, self-assured Black man.” Throughout, Smith writes with detailed recall and focus.

An engaging read with insights and stories that basketball fans in particular will value highly.