The Breaks of the Game
Encyclopedia
The Breaks of the Game is a 1981 sports book written by Pulitzer Prize
winning reporter David Halberstam
about the Portland Trail Blazers
' 1979–1980 season
. The Trail Blazers are a professional basketball team which plays in the National Basketball Association
(NBA). Aside from a recap of the Blazers' season, the book attempts to gives a detailed history of the NBA, the 1976–77 Portland Trail Blazers
championship team, the injuries faced by departed star Bill Walton
, and the life of Kermit Washington
after his two month suspension for punching Rudy Tomjanovich
. The book also puts basketball into a social context and contains extensive discussion on race in the NBA.
At the time of its release, the New York Times gave it high praise. The book was also given a positive review by Sports Illustrated
upon its release, and later listed number 17 in Sports Illustrated's list of best sports books ever written. Popular sportswriter and television producer Bill Simmons
has repeatedly talked of his admiration for the book.
, and Lionel Hollins
, and coached by Jack Ramsay
. After winning the championship they started the 1977–78 season with a league best 50–8 record before Walton broke his foot, and when he came back to play in the playoffs, he re-injured the foot. Walton was nonetheless named Most Valuable Player
of the league for that season. Before the next season Walton was disgruntled because he felt that the Portland medical staff should not have cleared him to play in the playoffs. He sat out the following season in protest. He was traded to the San Diego Clippers
shortly before the 1979–80 season.
Kermit Washington arrived on the Blazers in the trade that sent Walton out. While with the Los Angeles Lakers
in 1977, Washington threw a punch which nearly killed Rudy Tomjanovich. He was suspended for the remainder of the season because of the incident, and Tomjanovich's injuries forced his retirement.
, and the struggles of Kermit Washington
after his 1977 suspension. The book describes Washington's difficult upbringing and his struggles with the stigma that has become attached to him and his family because of that incident. Late season Continental League
pickup Billy Ray Bates
struggle from illiterate small town player who bounced around the fringes of the NBA for several years to playoff starter is also chronicled. Halberstam provides background by discussing the history of the Portland Trail Blazers franchise. The book also puts basketball into a social context and contains extensive discussion on race in the NBA. Portions also discuss the growing pains the NBA experienced expanding from a game that was rarely featured on television in the 1960s to one that had a lucrative network contract by 1979. The television money and increased fan support brought with it with the advent of lucrative "no-cut contracts" for the players. Halberstam argues that because of this, the league has reached a point where the players often have more power than the coach. Woven into the narrative are biographical passages for Ramsay, Walton, and Washington (among others) and the misfortunes they each suffered in recent seasons. The Blazers make the playoffs behind the play of Washington and others, but are eliminated in the first round.
The story of each players' and coaches' lives act as the track upon which Halberstam advances his themes of racism in America, class-ism, white privilege, and labor rights and disputes. Put within the context of the sports world, especially ABA and NBA which saw the influx of black players at the same time the US civil rights issues were happening, race and worker's rights are especially prevalent and easily comprehended. Tracking the life of Maurice Lucas
who came to be known as the "Enforcer" for his rough play on the court and aggressive nature, honed his skills on East coast play grounds. He was a product of the ghetto, and felt he was wronged when he felt he should earn as much money as other, white, players in his same position. The friction caused much turmoil for the Blazers and was indicative of the struggle many black athletes experienced across the league during the 1970s.
Bill Walton
's personal story was used to display the manner in which owners and teams dealt with worker's rights, or in this case, player's rights, specifically in regards to their health. Walton was chronically injuring his feet and legs. He suffered a foot injury that he felt was not dealt with appropriately by the Blazers' training and medical staff. Walton felt he was being forced to play through pain and that his body and eventually his career would suffer for it. He sued the team after being traded. The message within this story is the struggles of team and player's to earn each others trust and work with each other prolong the player's careers and make sure the team's are getting max return on their "investments," so-to-speak.
Throughout the entire book, the overarching narrative is of personal and professional redemption, of the importance of pealing back the layer's of some of the more vulnerable people in contemporary society, and to marvel at what can be found beneath.
called it "one of the best books I've ever read about American sports." The book was also given a positive review by Sports Illustrated upon its release. In 2002 Sports Illustrated listed the book number 17 in their list of the top 100 books ever written on sports.
New York Times: "Few subjects come to mind that can provide a better overall view of America in the 1960's and 1970's than pro basketball does. That's why it has attracted as restless an intelligence as David Halberstam's. And that's why 'The Breaks of the Game' is at the very least one of the best books I've ever read about American sports."
Popular ESPN writer and New York Times best-selling author Bill Simmons
has repeatedly praised the book. Simmons stated that he considers it the best book ever written on basketball, a template for good sports writing, and the force that propelled him into a career as a sportswriter:
Bill Walton
Maurice Lucas
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
winning reporter David Halberstam
David Halberstam
David Halberstam was an American Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, author and historian, known for his early work on the Vietnam War, his work on politics, history, the Civil Rights Movement, business, media, American culture, and his later sports journalism.-Early life and education:Halberstam...
about the Portland Trail Blazers
Portland Trail Blazers
The Portland Trail Blazers, commonly known as the Blazers, are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. They play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . The Trail Blazers originally played their home games in the...
' 1979–1980 season
1979–80 Portland Trail Blazers season
The 1979–80 season was the 10th season of the Portland Trail Blazers in the National Basketball Association . The Blazers lost seven more games than the previous season, ending with a record of 38–44, their first losing record since the 1975–76 season; despite that, they qualified for the playoffs...
. The Trail Blazers are a professional basketball team which plays in the National Basketball Association
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
(NBA). Aside from a recap of the Blazers' season, the book attempts to gives a detailed history of the NBA, the 1976–77 Portland Trail Blazers
1976–77 Portland Trail Blazers season
The 1976-77 season was the seventh for the Portland Trail Blazers 7th season in the National Basketball Association . The revamped Blazers would end up getting off to a terrific start winning 22 of their first 29 games....
championship team, the injuries faced by departed star Bill Walton
Bill Walton
William Theodore "Bill" Walton III is a retired American basketball player and television sportscaster. The "Big Red-Head", as he was called, achieved superstardom playing for John Wooden's powerhouse UCLA Bruins in the early '70s, winning three straight College Player of the Year Awards, while...
, and the life of Kermit Washington
Kermit Washington
Kermit Alan Washington is an American former professional basketball player. Washington is best remembered for punching opposing player Rudy Tomjanovich during an on-court fight in 1977. The punch nearly killed Tomjanovich, and it resulted in severe medical problems that ultimately ended his...
after his two month suspension for punching Rudy Tomjanovich
Rudy Tomjanovich
Rudolph Tomjanovich, Jr. , nicknamed Rudy T., is an American retired basketball player and coach who coached the Houston Rockets to two consecutive NBA championships. He is currently a scout for the Los Angeles Lakers.-Early life:...
. The book also puts basketball into a social context and contains extensive discussion on race in the NBA.
At the time of its release, the New York Times gave it high praise. The book was also given a positive review by Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
upon its release, and later listed number 17 in Sports Illustrated's list of best sports books ever written. Popular sportswriter and television producer Bill Simmons
Bill Simmons
William J. "Bill" Simmons III is a sports columnist, author, and podcaster. He currently writes columns and hosts podcasts for Grantland.com, which is affiliated with ESPN.com. He is a former writer for ESPN The Magazine and Jimmy Kimmel Live!...
has repeatedly talked of his admiration for the book.
Background
The 1977 NBA championship Blazers team was a young team built around Bill Walton, Maurice LucasMaurice Lucas
Maurice Lucas was an American professional basketball player. The first two years of his postcollegiate career were spent in the American Basketball Association with the Spirits of St. Louis and Kentucky Colonels...
, and Lionel Hollins
Lionel Hollins
-External links:***...
, and coached by Jack Ramsay
Jack Ramsay
Jack T. Ramsay is an American former basketball coach, commonly known as "Dr. Jack" . He is best known for coaching the Portland Trail Blazers to the 1977 NBA Title, and for his broadcasting work with the Indiana Pacers, the Miami Heat, and for ESPN TV and ESPN Radio...
. After winning the championship they started the 1977–78 season with a league best 50–8 record before Walton broke his foot, and when he came back to play in the playoffs, he re-injured the foot. Walton was nonetheless named Most Valuable Player
Most Valuable Player
In sports, a Most Valuable Player award is an honor typically bestowed upon the best performing player or players on a specific team, in an entire league, or for a particular contest or series of contests...
of the league for that season. Before the next season Walton was disgruntled because he felt that the Portland medical staff should not have cleared him to play in the playoffs. He sat out the following season in protest. He was traded to the San Diego Clippers
Los Angeles Clippers
The Los Angeles Clippers are a professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California, United States. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association...
shortly before the 1979–80 season.
Kermit Washington arrived on the Blazers in the trade that sent Walton out. While with the Los Angeles Lakers
Los Angeles Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
in 1977, Washington threw a punch which nearly killed Rudy Tomjanovich. He was suspended for the remainder of the season because of the incident, and Tomjanovich's injuries forced his retirement.
Content
Halberstam worked as an embedded reporter and traveled with the team during the season. Apart from the central discussion of the 1979–80 Blazers season, Breaks provides a history of the NBA, discusses the 1977 Portland Trail Blazers NBA championship squad, the life of departed star Bill WaltonBill Walton
William Theodore "Bill" Walton III is a retired American basketball player and television sportscaster. The "Big Red-Head", as he was called, achieved superstardom playing for John Wooden's powerhouse UCLA Bruins in the early '70s, winning three straight College Player of the Year Awards, while...
, and the struggles of Kermit Washington
Kermit Washington
Kermit Alan Washington is an American former professional basketball player. Washington is best remembered for punching opposing player Rudy Tomjanovich during an on-court fight in 1977. The punch nearly killed Tomjanovich, and it resulted in severe medical problems that ultimately ended his...
after his 1977 suspension. The book describes Washington's difficult upbringing and his struggles with the stigma that has become attached to him and his family because of that incident. Late season Continental League
Continental Basketball Association
The Continental Basketball Association was a professional men's basketball league in the United States, which has been on hiatus since the 2009 season.- History :...
pickup Billy Ray Bates
Billy Ray Bates
Billy Ray Bates is a retired American professional basketball player. Bates played shooting guard at McAdams High in Mississippi and attended Kentucky State University....
struggle from illiterate small town player who bounced around the fringes of the NBA for several years to playoff starter is also chronicled. Halberstam provides background by discussing the history of the Portland Trail Blazers franchise. The book also puts basketball into a social context and contains extensive discussion on race in the NBA. Portions also discuss the growing pains the NBA experienced expanding from a game that was rarely featured on television in the 1960s to one that had a lucrative network contract by 1979. The television money and increased fan support brought with it with the advent of lucrative "no-cut contracts" for the players. Halberstam argues that because of this, the league has reached a point where the players often have more power than the coach. Woven into the narrative are biographical passages for Ramsay, Walton, and Washington (among others) and the misfortunes they each suffered in recent seasons. The Blazers make the playoffs behind the play of Washington and others, but are eliminated in the first round.
- Maybe so, but what stands out about "The Breaks of the Game" is the people. Halberstam wasn't known for excessive empathy, but in writing about Ramsay and Lucas and Walton he found their humanity and saw their flaws as part of what made them special. In a long, subtle section on Washington, Halberstam wrote, "Sometimes when he talked about Swen Nater, his friend in San Diego, he would say he that he understood Swen because he was passed around a lot as a little boy. I can understand that, Kermit would say, I was passed around too. That was a sad phrase from a difficult childhood. Passed around.
The story of each players' and coaches' lives act as the track upon which Halberstam advances his themes of racism in America, class-ism, white privilege, and labor rights and disputes. Put within the context of the sports world, especially ABA and NBA which saw the influx of black players at the same time the US civil rights issues were happening, race and worker's rights are especially prevalent and easily comprehended. Tracking the life of Maurice Lucas
Maurice Lucas
Maurice Lucas was an American professional basketball player. The first two years of his postcollegiate career were spent in the American Basketball Association with the Spirits of St. Louis and Kentucky Colonels...
who came to be known as the "Enforcer" for his rough play on the court and aggressive nature, honed his skills on East coast play grounds. He was a product of the ghetto, and felt he was wronged when he felt he should earn as much money as other, white, players in his same position. The friction caused much turmoil for the Blazers and was indicative of the struggle many black athletes experienced across the league during the 1970s.
- The rebounder grew up in the worst part of Pittsburgh, had his life saved by basketball, then spent much of his professional career hoping to extricate himself from bad contracts and bad advice. He just wanted to get paid. He deserved to get paid. Instead of feeling fortunate for playing with the big redhead -- they were perfect together, just like everything else about that team -- he never forgot for a second that the big redhead was making four times as much money. He couldn't get past it. When the team fell apart, so did he. Eventually, they traded him for 40 cents on the dollar and he finally got paid, only he never played for another great team. You could say he got what he deserved. Or, you could say he was justified all along.
Bill Walton
Bill Walton
William Theodore "Bill" Walton III is a retired American basketball player and television sportscaster. The "Big Red-Head", as he was called, achieved superstardom playing for John Wooden's powerhouse UCLA Bruins in the early '70s, winning three straight College Player of the Year Awards, while...
's personal story was used to display the manner in which owners and teams dealt with worker's rights, or in this case, player's rights, specifically in regards to their health. Walton was chronically injuring his feet and legs. He suffered a foot injury that he felt was not dealt with appropriately by the Blazers' training and medical staff. Walton felt he was being forced to play through pain and that his body and eventually his career would suffer for it. He sued the team after being traded. The message within this story is the struggles of team and player's to earn each others trust and work with each other prolong the player's careers and make sure the team's are getting max return on their "investments," so-to-speak.
- The big redhead anchored the perfect team in college, then spent his professional career wondering if it would ever happen again. Slowly, he watched the right nucleus form around him, quick guards and heady players who intrinsically understood where to go and what to do. The entire team became an extension of him -- his mind, his skills, his passing, his rebounding, his unselfishness, his enthusiasm, his everything. When his fragile feet betrayed him while they were defending their first title, a member of the team's medical staff convinced him to try a painkiller injection for the playoffs. Didn't work. He blamed the organization and signed with another franchise for a ton of money, obliterating the perfect team and suffering an especially painful divorce with his coach. What he didn't know was that basketball wouldn't make him happy again for another seven years. Eventually, you could say he was haunted.
Throughout the entire book, the overarching narrative is of personal and professional redemption, of the importance of pealing back the layer's of some of the more vulnerable people in contemporary society, and to marvel at what can be found beneath.
- “Just as the camera had caught and transmitted the true intensity of old-fashioned rivalries in the earlier days of the league, so it now caught with equal fidelity the increasing lethargy and indifference of many players in regular season games, a lethargy and indifference now seen by a largely white audience as at least partially racial in origin.”
Reception
The book received positive reviews. In The New York Times book review at the time of its release, Christopher Lehmann-HauptChristopher Lehmann-Haupt
Christopher Lehmann-Haupt is an American journalist, critic and novelist who has worked in the field of books all of his professional career. He began as an editor for various New York City publishing houses, among them Holt, Rinehart and Winston and The Dial Press, from where he moved in 1965 to...
called it "one of the best books I've ever read about American sports." The book was also given a positive review by Sports Illustrated upon its release. In 2002 Sports Illustrated listed the book number 17 in their list of the top 100 books ever written on sports.
New York Times: "Few subjects come to mind that can provide a better overall view of America in the 1960's and 1970's than pro basketball does. That's why it has attracted as restless an intelligence as David Halberstam's. And that's why 'The Breaks of the Game' is at the very least one of the best books I've ever read about American sports."
Popular ESPN writer and New York Times best-selling author Bill Simmons
Bill Simmons
William J. "Bill" Simmons III is a sports columnist, author, and podcaster. He currently writes columns and hosts podcasts for Grantland.com, which is affiliated with ESPN.com. He is a former writer for ESPN The Magazine and Jimmy Kimmel Live!...
has repeatedly praised the book. Simmons stated that he considers it the best book ever written on basketball, a template for good sports writing, and the force that propelled him into a career as a sportswriter:
Main Players
Kermit WashingtonKermit Washington
Kermit Alan Washington is an American former professional basketball player. Washington is best remembered for punching opposing player Rudy Tomjanovich during an on-court fight in 1977. The punch nearly killed Tomjanovich, and it resulted in severe medical problems that ultimately ended his...
| POR 1979-80 Pts/Reb/Ast | POR 1980-81 Pts/Reb/Ast | POR 1981-82 Pts/Reb/Ast |
|---|---|---|
| 13.4 | 11.4 | 5.0 |
| 10.5 | 9.4 | 5.9 |
| 2.1 | 2.0 | 1.5 |
Bill Walton
Bill Walton
William Theodore "Bill" Walton III is a retired American basketball player and television sportscaster. The "Big Red-Head", as he was called, achieved superstardom playing for John Wooden's powerhouse UCLA Bruins in the early '70s, winning three straight College Player of the Year Awards, while...
| POR 1974-75 Pts/Reb/Ast | POR 1975-76 Pts/Reb/Ast | POR 1976-77 Pts/Reb/Ast | POR 1977-78 Pts/Reb/Ast | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12.8 | 16.1 | 18.6 | 18.9 | |
| 12.6 | 13.4 | 14.4 | 13.2 | |
| 4.8 | 4.3 | 3.8 | 5.0 |
Maurice Lucas
Maurice Lucas
Maurice Lucas was an American professional basketball player. The first two years of his postcollegiate career were spent in the American Basketball Association with the Spirits of St. Louis and Kentucky Colonels...
| POR 1976/77 Pts/Reb/Ast | POR 1977/78 Pts/Reb/Ast | POR 1978/79 Pts/Reb/Ast |
|---|---|---|
| 20.2 | 16.4 | 20.4 |
| 11.4 | 9.1 | 10.4 |
| 2.9 | 2.5 | 3.1 |