*Hoop Atlas*

The author is Kirk Goldsberry, and the subtitle is Mapping the Remarkable Transformation of the NBA.  I enjoyed this book very much, and the visual are excellent.  The prose reads well, but also sticks to the analytical.  Excerpt:

Over 80 percent of NBA 3s involve an assist.  Typical 3-pointers are catch-and-shoot attempts that punctuate playmaking sequences that occur far away from the actual shot location, and that’s where James comes in.  James is the NBA’s all-time leader in assisted 3s.  He may never surpass John Stockton for total assists, but James has had his hand in more 3s than anyone else, period.  He’s assisted on more 3s than Curry has made, and he’s had an outsized impact as a producer of corner 3.  As a playmaker, James has extended what [Bruce] Bowen and the Spurs began.

…Six of the 10 most prolific corner-3 shooters of all time have been assisted by James, and that’s no coincidence.

…On the list of the NBA’s greatest scorers ever, James is the best playmaker, and it’s not close.

And this:

MJ was a durable player by any reasonable standard, but he ended up playing fewer career minutes than Jason Terry.

Recommended.