More Than Just a Game: The Black Origins of Basketball

Kirkus Best Informational Picture Books of 2021

STARRED REVIEW! Moore’s succinct and musical prose pairs well with Ollivierre’s dynamic, movement-focused illustrations to outline a rich history of the sport’s growth in popularity due to the unique circumstances of the early 20th century.–Kirkus Reviews starred review

A look at how Black players came to shine on the basketball court.

Today, the NBA is around 74% Black but, when basketball first started to catch on, it wasn’t easy for Black people to play. They couldn’t enter segregated YMCAs or attend privileged colleges. So Black Americans made their own spaces, playing in dance halls before the dancing started, and eventually forming teams called the Black Fives. More than Just a Game celebrates the history of basketball from a Black perspective, revealing how it changed Black communities and how they made the sport into what it is today.