Jack McCallum no longer covers the NBA on a regular basis for Sports Illustrated, but thankfully he still writes books about the game. His latest effort, "Golden Days," shows why he was the 2005 winner of the Curt Gowdy Media Award from the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. McCallum connects today's glory team, the Golden State Warriors, to one of the most iconic teams in the past: the early 1970s Los Angeles Lakers. The link for both is Jerry West.
As a player, West was a regal superstar who endured constant heartbreak in losing seven straight NBA Finals. He is appropriately nicknamed "The Logo," because that is him on the NBA's familiar trademark. As a storied NBA executive nearing age 80, he served as a consultant and part-owner of the Warriors during their recent run to two NBA titles.
McCallum artfully tells the stories of both the teams in alternating chapters. He documents how the '71-'72 Lakers, also featuring the great and mercurial Wilt Chamberlain, ran off a record 33-game winning streak en route to finally landing West that elusive first NBA title. He also charts the rise of the Warriors, built around an unlikely superstar in Steph Curry, who initially detested the notion of playing for Golden State. McCallum shows how the Golden State guard has revolutionized the game with his three-point shooting prowess. Mostly, though, this book is a fascinating look at West, a complex and complicated man who cuts a huge swath of NBA history.
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