KING JAMES BRINGS THE LAND A CROWN begins with an engrossing background analysis of the Cleveland Cavaliers and its players, before launching into a recounting of the 2015 season and a detailed retelling of the NBA playoffs and championship series. Chris Parker is an entertaining writer, finding metaphor after metaphor to describe the actions of his team, and remains willing to discuss the Cavs deficiencies.
The book is at its best when sharing the stories of the players and explaining the big picture. The stories of Lebron’s childhood and journey to the NBA are revealing of the man often referred to as the best basketball player in history. The discussion of David Blatt and his dramatic firing during the season is fascinating, not only explaining what happened, but the possible whys of his dismissal, which caused a great deal of comment throughout the NBA.
General basketball fans, however, may find so much play by play a bit tedious, despite Chris Parker’s engaging style. Once KING JAMES BRINGS THE LAND A CROWN begins recounting the regular season, it is punctuated by passages analyzing the overall trends that are worth trudging through reliving the games; once the playoffs begin, the general sections become scarce and often seem to have only a tenuous connection to the games themselves. For example, there is a brief mention of Channing Frye joining the Cavs in Chapter 8, but the significance of Frye’s inclusion into the team isn’t mentioned again until just before the book begins the second round of playoffs against the Atlanta Hawks, a seemingly arbitrary inclusion.
The general reader will not find this book one that bridges the gap between fans and nonfans, unlike sports books like “Boys in the Boat,” as, for the most part, the author assumes familiarity with the terms of the game.
KING JAMES BRINGS THE LAND A CROWN is definitely a book for the Cavs fan who wants to recall this historic season, and is well-written at a lively pace for general basketball fans who want to know more about the Cavs drive to the NBA Championship.
~Jodi McMaster for IndieReader