The Defender

By: Jordan Conn

Narrated by: Jordan Conn

Manute Bol was the first African-born player in the NBA and, at seven foot seven inches, the tallest. In the 1980s and 90s he was also among the league's most fearsome shot-blockers and its most beloved figures. Off the basketball court, however, Bol's story was more remarkable than most fans ever knew. Activist, gambler, joker, rebel-Bol was a complex man whose fate was inextricably bound with that of the Sudan, his homeland. Writer Jordan Conn traveled to southern Sudan to explore Bol's remarkable path from Africa to the NBA, his rise to stardom and fall into obscurity, and his final role as a renowned humanitarian and key figure in his homeland's independence. Conn's account is a funny and moving portrait of a man who lived a life befitting his outsized body.

Jordan Conn is a freelance journalist based in the San Francisco Bay Area. He contributes regularly to SI.com, and his work has appeared in The New York Times, Sports Illustrated, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Philadelphia Inquirer, Slam, and Draft, among others.

©2011 The Atavist, Jordan Conn (P)2011 The Atavist, Jordan Conn

Manute Bol was amazing!!!

I always knew he was a great defender on the basketball court, but I didn’t know he was a great teammate. Everyone loved him. He also may have invented the term “my bad.” Manute Bol was a great humanitarian! Every basketball player should read this book!