Brooks on Books: "Tip-Off" by Filip Bondy

"Tip-Off: How the 1984 NBA Draft Changed Basketball Forever" is a solid book for basketball fans. "New York Daily News" writer Filip Bondy provides an entertaining overview of the seminal draft and its participants. He's less successful at establishing how it "changed basketball forever," leaving most of that for the ending, but, hey, the draft brought the league Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon, Charles Barkley, and John Stockton, so that's pretty much a 'nuff said right there as far as the lasting impact goes.

Two recent events make this 2007 book relevant to me now. One is the sad news of former Kentucky Wildcats great (and NBA not-so-great) Mel Turpin's recent suicide. The other, much happier event is NBA-TV's rebroadcast of the original USA Network telecast of the '84 draft.

Several things stand out when you watch the coverage today: David Stern's mustache, Lou Carnesecca's blend of bland content and colorful delivery as the analyst, and the lack of Jordan hype. It's possible some footage is missing from NBA-TV's version, and Jordan's presence in training for the Olympics team under Bob Knight meant he couldn't be in New York, but still, you kind of want to say, "This is gonna be the greatest player of all time, everybody!"

Bondy explains the circumstances that created the draft atmosphere and deconstructs the fateful choice of fragile Kentucky center Sam Bowie by Portland at number two over Jordan, who went to the Bulls at 3 (Olajuwon was an undisputed no-brainer for Houston with the top pick). Nowadays, it seems like a joke, but Bondy does a fine job of taking us into the thought process, showing why the Blazers believed that with a playmaker like Clyde Drexler already on board, a big man like Bowie was the better option. Even then, it was by no means a slam dunk decision, but, as Bondy shows, even the Bulls weren't always 100% set to take Jordan. Various scenarios could have changed the history of the league before or during the 1984 draft, including games won or lost (Bondy gives ample coverage to the perception that Houston tanked to get the #1 draft position) and trades made or not made.

The prose is not spectacular, but the structure is clear and well defined, making for a narrative that is easy to follow. Bondy focuses on the superstars I mentioned earlier, plus Jordan's college teammate Sam Perkins, giving mini-biographies of them up through their college years. He examines the decision-making process of the teams that took them, while also writing a good overview of league-wide trends and the draft as a whole.

"Tip-Off" is best suited for a more serious hoops fan who will appreciate the detail on the players, teams, and front office types involved in this story. Bondy's interviews with figures like Rod Thorn (who drafted Jordan) supplement contemporaneous material, and the author succeeds in offering modern-day perspective while also delivering the context of the 1984 mindset that could only have guessed at Jordan's staggering success or Bowie's relative failure. "Tip-Off" is an entertaining and informative look at a pivotal event in NBA history.