Fred VanVleet and the fabric of the NBA

“I like a lot of the refs. They try hard, they’re pretty fair, they communicate well. And then you got the other ones.”

BY HENRY ABBOTT

Hello TrueHoop! It has been a while … I have been hard at work on a book, called “BALLISTIC,” which has been enlightening and inspiring. It’s about something we all have in common with NBA players and elite professional athletes of all kinds: the joy of movement. 

I can’t wait for you to read it. But damn if it hasn’t kept me from writing here for quite some time. I have missed you!

Meanwhile, the NBA hasn’t stopped fascinating me. Shawn Kemp, Kendrick Perkins, Nikola Jokić, Leon Black, and runner Lauren Fleshman’s brilliant book, “Good For a Girl” (which I would argue, has big and surprising implications for every athlete and especially those in the NBA) … there’s a lot I’d like to discuss. 

But, I thought to myself, life is about prioritizing—the book has a due date, so all that’ll have to wait. 

Then I heard Fred VanVleet.