Boys Among Men

How the Prep-to-Pro Generation Redefined the NBA and Sparked a Basketball Revolution

By: Jonathan Abrams

Narrated by: Mirron Willis

When Kevin Garnett shocked the world by announcing that he would not be attending college - as young basketball prodigies were expected to do - but instead would enter the 1995 NBA draft directly from high school, he blazed a trail for a generation of teenage basketball players to head straight for the pros. That trend would continue until the NBA instituted an age limit in 2005, requiring all players to attend college or another developmental program for at least one year. Over that decade-plus period, the list of players who made that difficult leap included some of the most celebrated players of the modern era: Garnett, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwight Howard, Tracy McGrady, and numerous others. It also included notable "busts" who either physically or mentally proved unable to handle the transition. But for better or for worse, the face of the NBA was forever changed by the prep-to-pro generation.

In compelling, masterfully crafted prose, Boys Among Men goes behind the scenes and draws on hundreds of firsthand interviews to paint insightful and engaging portraits of the most pivotal figures and events during this time.

©2016 Jonathan Abrams (P)2016 Tantor

good backstory of high school players going to NBA

always wondered what things these high school players experienced when deciding to jump to NBA.

A Basketball Nerd's Dream

This book is an amazing look at how the NBA has been shaped by teenagers. I loved the details on the players families and upbringings. If

Good book weird narrator.

What didn’t you like about Mirron Willis’s performance?

It's like the narrator doesn't know anything about basketball. He constantly mispronounces some very well known people's names.

Great book

Great story and very well written book. However the narrator wasn't very good in my opinion. He mispronounced a lot of names.

Names mispronounced

Great writing but the audio performance is distracting with the mispronunciations of many of the well-known names of the basketball words and the word "phenom."