Book Log 2012 #41: Dream Team by Jack McCallum

I liked this book quite a bit, and I think anyone who remembers the Dream Team - or who likes basketball and wants more of the story about this turning point in international play - will like it quite a bit as well. That being said, I do have three quibbles.

1. There's not enough about the actual Olympics. I suppose the thinking is that we know more about that than the other stuff, so focus on the creation of the team. But I'd have liked more inside stuff about the actual games and competition. I suppose that may be hard to come by given how lopsided the games were and that head coach Chuck Daly passed away a few years back.

2. Can we please stop making the pop culture asides in sports books now, please? I don't know if they're there to provide some sort of time reference to readers or if it's the Bill Simmons effect that now makes every sports writer throw in references regardless if they actually mean anything to the subject matter. Either way, please stop wasting space on this. It's not necessary.

3. There were a few times in the book where I felt like McCallum was a little too chummy, and the narrative veered more towards him than the team. That's probably an occupational hazard given his role in covering basketball and this team specifically.

Anyway, none of these issues are big enough (separately or as a group) to not recommend the book.