one of the last years of the Larry-Kevin-Robert trio.  In fact this would be Bird's next to last season in the NBA.  It details Chris Ford's first year as the Boston coach and an era of when the younger Celtics were looked to to make a contribution as that of Larry-Kevin-Robert declined.  Injuries played a big part of the big three's issues as well as age itself.  For his part, Parish actually stayed healthy in the regular season.  It was an unlikely season where Boston entered the playoffs as the #2 seed in the Eastern Conference after a year in which they started strong but injuries derailed the season.    In the playoffs they reached the second round only to lose to bitter rival Detroit.  Again injuries took their toll.  Back to the title of the book, these Celtics were so good that until injuries did them in, it looked like they were a true title contender. 

I was finally able to pick up Jack McCallum's Dream Team book which was published in 2013.  I've looked forward to this for quite a while and snagged a used book through Amazon.  The book chronicles the 1992 Dream Team which allowed NBA players to participate in the Olympics for the first time as a reaction to college players not winning gold in the 1988 Seoul Olympics.  McCallum doesn't disappoint as he chronicles the forming of the team, the behind the scenes that made that possible, the marketing, international impacts and most importantly the players themselves.  From who wanted to be on the team, to who was selected and why, their relationships and stardom in Barcelona that transcended the lives these players already lived.  I love the back stories the behind the scenes goodies and this book delivered.

About the only thing this book won't provide is detailed analysis of the games themselves but they don't deserver to be front and center.  They weren't as important as the players and the stories.  The one game that stands out the most when the Dream Team is brought up is a scrimmage the team had which pitted Michael Jordan dueling Magic Johnson.  That was more important than the drubbing the team laid upon opponent after opponent.  Bottom line is I loved this book.  If you are an NBA fan of any sort this is an easy read.  The world's greatest players were on this team.  All, sans college player Christian Laettner, were future hall of famers and had either led the revival of the NBA (Magic Johnson and Larry Bird) or helped build on the momentum through 1992.  But not only were they great players, many were great personalities.  Some were exactly as I've known (John Stockton, Chris Mullin) but some surprised me some (Patrick Ewing).  It was great getting to know these players on a different level.  McCallum spoke to every player, coach, executive, competitor, or other writers who could bring the story more to life.  And it came together wonderfully.  Every NBA fan needs to read this book.