Tipoff: How Basketball Began

by John Walters

The only worldwide sport invented in the United States, basketball has grown from an indoor winter game for the YMCA into an international success story. Tipoff tells the humble origin story of hoops, starting with its invention, almost overnight, by James Naismith, and then its rise and early years of struggle, change, and growth. Today's NBA and Olympic heroes look back with thanks to these early pioneers, while readers will learn how much their favorite game has changed . . . and how much it remains the same.

40 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2012

About the author

John Walters is a writer and author, primarily of sports. He worked at Sports Illustrated for 15 years, and also at NBC Sports where he won two Sports Emmys for his on-air writing at the Athens and Beijing Olympics. He has also worked at AOL Fanhouse and The Daily, as well as waited at a popular Manhattan steakhouse. Walters is the author of The Same River Twice: A Season With Geno Auriemma and the Connecticut Huskies. He is the founder of mediumhappy.com, a pop culture blog that he updates daily. He holds a B.A. from the University of Notre Dame, where he studied pre-med and rowed crew.