NBA 80: The Seasons, the Players, the Greatest Moments

A season‑by‑season history of professional basketball, from its 1946 beginnings to today’s global superstars. Packed with iconic players, legendary rivalries, and vivid action photos, this definitive guide traces the sport’s evolution from Mikan to Jordan to LeBron and beyond.

To celebrate 80 years of the National Basketball Association.

Firefly Books is known for its handsome and comprehensive sports books. NBA 80 is all the history of professional basketball in one outstanding book.

NBA 80 takes you through every NBA season, from the league's roots in 1946 with the 11 teams of the Basketball Association of America, to the sports and entertainment powerhouse that it is today.

Beginning with the George Mikan big-player era in the 1940s, through the introduction of talented and driven black players in the 1950s (Bill Russell, Elgin Baylor) it documents the first years of breakthroughs in style and popularity.

The 1960s and '70s were glory years for Wilt Chamberlain, Rick Barry, and then Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (born Lew Alcindor) and basketball took off as an egalitarian, national preoccupation. Team rivalries (LA and Boston) and player rivalries (Larry Bird, Magic Johnson) are featured in that section, followed by Bill Walton, Julius "Dr J" Erving and, in the 1980s, Michael Jordan and the great Chicago Bulls teams.

In the 2000s we have the dominance of LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and the invasion of the powerful Europeans (Nikola Jokic, Victor Wembanyama), Africans (Pascal Siakam) and a Canadian MVP: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

All of this is told in an exciting style that doesn't spare accurate facts and background history. And it is packed with color photos of all the greats in action.

With a beautiful gold-stamped cover, this is a book every basketball fan will treasure.