Basketball Book Review: The Punch by John Feinstein

So I realized a while back that I only read basketball books. So I figured I might share the good ones with you.

The first one is my favorite: The Punch by John Feinstein.

This book recounts a horrific night in 1977 when Rudy Tomjanovich (the same one who coached the Rockets to two titles) was seriously injured by a punch from Kermit Washington in a game at the Great Western Forum. It was a moment that transformed the NBA in ways that people probably do not even think about.

Feinstein does a fantastic job re-telling what led up to this event, the characters involved and what happened afterward to the league and to those involved.

It is often thought that Washington was the "thug" in this incident and he did blindly throw that fateful punch. But Feinstein does a great job painting him as the person he was off the court not the guy he was on it.

Washington's role on the Lakers was to protect Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and that sometimes meant laying down the law. The initial scrum that ensued that night was because Kevin Kunnert and Abdul-Jabbar were jostling with each other running down the court.

This is a book for the basketball history enthusiast. You learn that this event led to a bigger crackdown on fighting in the league -- something prevalent in the 70s -- and the introduction of the third referee to trail the play.

It changed two men's lives in immeasurable ways and it changed basketball too.

This is a fantastic read. Feinstein is very conversational and does a good job fleshing out the impact it had on Tomjanovich, Washington and the NBA. He works really well to change your pre-conceived perceptions of those involved in the incident and really delves into its impact.

It was a bigger event than you think and every basketball fan should be aware of what happened that night and its consequences. This book is how you do it.