Nothing is ever as good as it once was. That’s a lie —they improve, or more accurately, they evolve. Still, why not look back with a bit of wonder?
Rich Cohen is the right writer to put the NBA, then and now, into perspective. In When the Game Was War: The NBA’s Greatest Season, Cohen stress-tests his belief that the 1987-88 season was the zenith of pro basketball.
Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Isiah Thomas, Michael Jordan, and their long-time teammates carry a narrative about the finesse and ferocity of a different time
Like a hard foul in the paint, Cohen’s prose will knock you down and stoke a hunger for more.
